Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 28, 1993 TAG: 9310280051
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Mark Dunford, 60, was hit with the maximum sentence for two counts of trespassing, a misdemeanor that usually carries a fine or short jail term.
But Dunford - a downtown fixture known for his habitual loitering, panhandling and public drunkenness - reached the end of General District Judge Richard Pattisall's patience.
"Mr. Dunford has made himself a pest to the downtown area for years," Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell said in asking for jail time.
The stiff punishment comes while Roanoke authorities and merchants are trying to eradicate a small but visible group of vagrants from downtown.
Police are routinely called to remove drunks and beggars from the streets. Downtown Roanoke Inc. in April launched a public awareness campaign aimed at discouraging contributions to panhandlers.
Dunford, who was arrested 55 times last year on charges of public intoxication, trespassing and panhandling, is one of the "regulars" who frequent homeless shelters by night and downtown sidewalks by day.
"Every inclination is to be compassionate and understanding, but there comes a time when people have just had enough," Pattisall said in imposing two 12-month sentences.
Officer L.C. Ollie testified that on the nights of Sept. 12 and 15, Dunford parked his wheelchair next to the front door of Macado's on Church Avenue.
Watching through the glass for patrons who received change at the register, Dunford would ask for a handout as they left the restaurant - often cursing the ones who said no, Ollie testified.
Defense attorney Richard Derrico had argued there was not enough evidence to support a trespassing conviction, much less the maximum punishment.
"I think Mr. Dunford has the same right to the sidewalk as anyone else does," Derrico said.
However, testimony showed that Dunford was in an alcove that is part of the restaurant's property, and that he had been asked to leave.
In imposing the maximum sentence, Pattisall noted that Dunford "is no stranger to the court." Earlier this year, a judge offered to suspend panhandling charges against Dunford if he would enter a supervised program that offered free food and shelter at an adult home. Dunford turned it down for the streets.
Pattisall called him a "classic example" of those who give the truly needy a bad name. "He continues to prey on the compassionate nature of people . . . as if they owed him," the judge said.
Dunford, who likely will serve only six months based on "good time" credits, plans to appeal, Derrico said.
Earlier this year, he and other transients who were charged with begging under a city ordinance received support from the American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU charged that prohibiting begging violates the First Amendment right to free speech. Facing a possible lawsuit, City Council voted to repeal the law, leaving on the books another measure that deals with aggressive or threatening panhandling.
Most of Dunford's arrests in the past year have been for public intoxication. In Roanoke, public inebriates are held in jail until a magistrate determines they are sober. They are then released - usually to return to the streets.
Pattisall said that while alcohol abuse is a "defining factor" in Dunford's actions, "it is no longer an acceptable excuse."
People like Dunford present an "unsolvable problem," Caldwell said.
Incarceration not only protects the public from harassment in the short term, he said, but it also shields Dunford from attacks and robberies in which street people often are the victims.
"It's true that confining him in jail may not be the best alternative," Caldwell said. "But at least in jail he can be fed and housed and protected to some degree.
"Whether he's in jail or on the street, someone is going to have to take care of him."
by CNB