Plea reached in Victoria Lindsay beating

January 21, 2009

1–2 minutes

April Cooper, beating, Brittani Hardcastle, Kayla Hassall, Mercades Nichols, MySpace, Victoria Lindsay

Plea Deal Accepted In Teen Beating Case:

18-year-old Brittany Mayes has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery in the video recorded beating of Florida teen Victoria Lindsay. Under the plea agreement, prosecutors dropped felony charges of kidnapping and witness tampering. Mayes is facing a possible one year behind bars. Also, Mayes can have no contact with Victoria and can not profit from her crime. The judge warned her to keep her nose clean between now and sentencing which is scheduled for March 5th.

Lawyers for Kayla Hassall and April Cooper said their clients are scheduled to accept pleas at the beginning of February. Mercades Nichols and Brittani Hardcastle must both accept pleas or they both head to trial.

Both Nichols and Hardcastle face charges of kidnapping, misdemeanor battery and tampering with a witness. The kidnapping charge could carry a life sentence.

My advice to all those involved is to take the pleas. You’ll be eaten alive at trial.

Rate this:

Please Support Us on Patreon

26 responses to “Plea reached in Victoria Lindsay beating”

Scott

January 22, 2009 at 2:31 pm

It was a prudent move by Brittany Mayes to accept the plea offer. She won’t even get the full one year in jail. My guess is the judge gives her 6 months and she’s out in 3 months with good behaviour. Now the question is if Ms. Mayes serves time will she serve time in prison or juvenile detention?

If Mayes went to trial she would have risked too much time in jail and that would have been too much of a risk for her to take.

Reply
gompertz

January 23, 2009 at 9:49 am

Scott, it looks like most will get a sweet deal. It sends an ominous message and we can expect even more of these disgusting violent videos posted on the Internet with no threat of serious punishment. It makes law enforcement look silly after all that bluster about harsh sentences at the beginning of the case. Once again the courts have proven too timid to confront the problem of bullying and the violence is becoming more acceptable among young people.

It is time we stop looking to the courts for a solution and take responsibility collectively, as a society. One good thing has come out of this case in that more people have become aware of the seriousness of the problem. Not only is this kind of violence more widespread than most people knew, but it is condoned by the pusillanimous people in authority such as school officials who refuse to act to defend the victims. Thus, many children suffer the attacks of bullies in silence, knowing that if they report it no one will listen and the bullies will hurt them even worse for reporting it. And we wonder why children perform poorly in school, and why they turn to drugs and alcohol!
We cannot trust the “authorities” to protect us. The courts and universities are in control of left-wing ideologues (who call themselves “liberals” lol) who rationalize and condone criminal behavior while at the same time blaming victims for their predicament. We can see that the strategy of attacking the victim works well in the courts by looking at what the defense lawyers did to Victoria Lindsay. It certainly paid off for the perpetrators. That should alert us as to what we can expect if we, the decent people, fight back. That is why the response must be collective, and decisive because as individuals no one can fight the power of the established leftist dogma which holds sway throughout this country and other parts of the “civilized” world. Our response must begin with the awareness of the seriousness of the problem. One solution is for everyone to practice martial arts because no one in authority will protect us from the prevailing culture of violence. And if we fight back, be prepared for the bullies to have the authorities on their side, not ours. That is why we must learn to organize at a grass-roots level with the understanding that we are in a war for the survival of civilization.

Reply
Phil

January 23, 2009 at 10:06 am

To Trench
when I am trying to log on this site my internet shuts down .This has happened at 2 different sites and at this one if i try to go to a different thread .Example Casey Anthony Or Plea deal offered from this site internet shuts down.At home I cannot even get into MCS .No other site I visit at home or here at work is doing this .Is anyone else have issues.
I know i was able to post from here this morning on the other thread but now i cannot and it took me 3 trys to get on here .

Reply
Phil

January 23, 2009 at 10:10 am

To Trench as soon as i hit the submit button on my last post my internet window closed . i really hope its the site .Again it is happening at two diferent places under 2 different accounts
Thanks Phil

Reply
gompertz

January 23, 2009 at 11:26 am

Phil- idk about others but no problem on my computer

Reply
Scott

January 23, 2009 at 2:06 pm

Gomp, it does indeed look like these teens will get sweet deals. I want them to get second chances at young ages as long as justice is served for Victoria Lindsay. But I’m not sure that will happen.

Reply
myriskalen

January 24, 2009 at 2:59 pm

she should be jailed for three years.

Reply
gompertz

January 24, 2009 at 4:10 pm

Jailed for three years in adult or juvenile facility? And what about probation and restitution for the victim?

Reply
Phil

January 25, 2009 at 10:56 pm

test

Reply
Phil

January 25, 2009 at 11:38 pm

I have to post here because .I am having problems submitting my post on the other thread

We have had alot of discussions about plea deals and such . Lot’s of great debates . I have been really asking questions about specfic charges lately .I would like to explain why .When we say that BM should of got more . All of us pretty much agree to light of a sentence .In any plea deal you have to plead guilty to certain charges .You just cant say 2 years jail + 3 years probation Just because thats what a judge feels thier overall actions deserve.For what BM pled guilty to the maximim is one year You can’t really add to a maximum sentence . In order for BM to get an increased sentence is to plead guilty to one of the 2 other charges .Kidnapping and forcible confinement and tampering with a witness are felony charges .

So do you think BM should have had a felony conviction attached to her sentencing . There is no other way to give them more then a year as the charges were laid.
This becomes the same issue i think with the other girls .With BH I do not think they will wave the felony charges .So does at April at 14 deseve a felony conviction .With her they may have come up with something more creative ,this is where it gets the hardest,Does anyone believe that Mercades is innocent . The answer is usually no .She is guilty . When I ask what is she guilty of . Which of the charges she is facing would you have her convicted of . Scott says she should not be charged in the asult because she didn’t hit Victoria .This means she would I think have to plead guilty to a felony charges .Does her actions deserve felony convictions and all that it means . if no do you convict her of assult if you do not think the evidence supports the charge . Do you just let her go .

It is not enough just to pick a sentence you have to look what the defendents have to plead guilty of to get the deal

Reply
gompertz

January 26, 2009 at 1:28 am

Phil- I am real sleepy so only a brief comment. The problem of what to charge them with is exactly what led some like Greta van S. to question the appropriateness of the charges early on. In advocating trying them as juveniles she was not being overly lenient but saying that if the charges were too harsh the result would either be too harsh ( long sentences with permanent felony) or something too light. If there had been juvenile charges you might not have seen this lengthy process that lead to the present fiasco. We might have seen two or three years in juvie for the worst with long probation. Maybe that would have been preferable to the maximum one year in adult prison which the judge will probably reduce to much less. Anyway it’s possible the original charges were not well thought out and as for Mercades it is hard to see how a fair sentence could be determined based on the charges as they stand if indeed she was guilty of being part of the planning phase. And any kind of permanent felony charge for Mercades is ridiculous. Even for Ms Hardcastle I don’t think it’s appropriate, though a few years in juvie and long probation are not as lenient as it might look. Then if they offend again that is a different story. good night.

Reply
Phil

January 26, 2009 at 5:09 am

Gomp -exactly what my next point was going to be
First off Scott I just used your example with Mercades because it was most recent .Not to dispute anyone’s ideas of what some deserve The assult charges facing Mercades are the least of her worries. She would take the BM deal in a minute, but mayby not if it could be a year in Jail. My next question then is equally hard , Do you think the defendents have or will be more deservidly punished if thyy were charged in juvenile court without the tape being released , or the more linient sentencing but with the noeriety that has been brought on them ,

Reply
David

January 26, 2009 at 7:05 am

testing

Reply
Amyv

January 26, 2009 at 7:34 am

Phil –

Very insightful comments. Perhaps from the beginning juve. charges would have been more appropriate. However, would the charges themselves not be the same?

Everyone agrees that Mercades did not hit Victoria. Assuming accessory to Assault and Battery can not be added to the charges then she would be innocent of this charge. Four of the other girls however should be found guilty.

The most debateable of the charges is the kidnapping. Would this also be a felony if charged as juves.? I would assume it would still carry a pretty stiff sentence. However, according to some there is no proof and this charge should be dropped. So that would leave four of the five girls with Assault and Battery, misdameanors only. This would include Brittini H.
Mercades would be innocent of this charge as well.

Tampering with a witness has been levied against Mercades, Brittini h and Brittini M. We already know this charge has been dropped against Brittini M. She plead misdameanor Assault and Battery only. Which she continues to deny yet accepted punishment for it anyway. So the maximum is 1 year.

We have not spoken much about the tampering with a witness charge. This again, like the kidnapping charges, could come down to two girls statesments against one. Victoria stated Brittini H. stated if you go to the police next time will be worse. Did Mercades or Brittini M. add to this statement or are we to believe these charges should have been filed against Brittini H. alone. So Mercades could arguably not guilty of this charge as well. Brittini M. no longer in that scenario as plea deal has already been reached.

So what does it boil down to for the original 8. Dropped charged against the boys for insufficient evidence. Dropped charges for Cara Murphy because of insufficient evidence (still hmm). Brittini Mayes plea deal already accepted with both felony charges dropped and only mis. remaining max. 1 year in prison. April Cooper working on plea deal. She was one of the most violent with the assault and battery charges however, if sources are to be believed will receive lenient sentence. Will have to wait and see on that one. Kayla Hassel (little one) also accepting a plea deal unsure of what all if entails however once again sources say it will be lenient.

That brings us down to two. Brittini H. a.k.a. most brutal or a.k.a. fall guy. Depends on which theory you go by. Is still facing all three charges. No way to deny Assault and Battery (should have been a felony). Kidnapping which to some has not been a proven fact and should be dropped. As I stated before we have not debated the tampering with a witness charge. Is there anymore proof to support this then the kidnapping charges? Let us assume there is not. That would leave Brittini H. with Assault and battery with one year max. Mercades would have all charges dropped.

Of course these assumptions about the kidnapping and tampering with a witness are just that. I would like to hear everyones opinion on what proof is provided for the tampering charge that is not provided for the kidnapping. I am not playing detective just trying to bring the whole picture together.

We would have to assume at this point there is a reason why the kidnapping and tampering with a witness charges have not been dropped against these two. Since there were only four girls in the car narrowing it down would not be difficult.

Mercades was the driver that is not debated. Brittini H. according to Victoria made further threats. Brittini M. got a lighter sentence because of a plea deal. So someone is talking and I would believe B.M. would be the most reasonable in that scenario.

Over all pretty poor justice for the victim. I always believed the charges were insufficient. I believed false imprisonment should have been added to all six in the house. Accessory crimes should have been levied. Then perhaps justice could have been served in this case.

None of us knowns any of the girls in this case. Not that I am aware of anyway. So I have no personal assumptions about any of them as far as who is the innocent. I say none. The tape shows some sort of participation from all six.

I believe anyway you go in this case sympathy will be felt for some of these girls more than others. Brittini H. not much except for if you think she was used to do other peoples dirty work. Mercades because she was just caught up in the whole thing by mistake. Kayla because she is the smallest. April because she was the youngest.

I will stop at Brittany Mayes. I surely will not forget the sickening sounds she was making on that tape. Yet many of them enjoyed it or they would not have been there. Also much has been said of her size. I saw some pretty hefty girls on that tape and Brittany Mayes did not seem to be the only large one in that group. I did not see her much on the tape so I am not sure where the size comparision is between her, Mercades and Brittini H. April herselfa, although much smaller, was larger than Victoria.

Only an issues I bring up because much has been made about the size of Brittany Mayes.

Reply
Scott

January 26, 2009 at 10:13 am

Yes these teens should have been charged as juveniles from day one of this. I believe that as long as the prosecution was not serious about the adult charges the teens were originally charged with. After hearing about such serious adult charges that carry serious jail time it feels like a letdown to hear misdemeanor charges as juveniles. The prosuction raised the bar too high for this case and therein lies the problem of people feeling the teens are being let off easy.

Oh Amy it’s cute how you’ve nicknamed Kayla “Little One”.

Reply
Phil

January 26, 2009 at 11:12 am

So Scott ‘ what do tou do with Mercades and BH ,one year for each not time for Mercades and what would you have Mercades plead guilty to .This is also what the state
is faced with.

Reply
gompertz

January 26, 2009 at 6:46 pm

Phil, it looks like the original charges were filed for maximum dramatic effect and not with a view to how they would fit the demands of justice when the thing went to trial. There is no way that the current charges can lead to justice and we seem to be moving toward that scenario where we are faced with a choice between excessive harshness and excessive lenience. Now as for the possibility of permanent felony status (with or without jail time) I just said it is wrong to have anyone stuck with that for life, but then I go back to the fact that the video is always there and the Victim is stuck for life with the status of “the girl that got beat up.” So I don’t think the courts can deliver justice and we have to go back to that one little word “remorse.” While Victoria has a life sentence imposed on her, it is only right that the perpetrators should have some sort of life sentences also, if not a felony charge, then at least they should always be stuck with the stigma attached to the knowledge of their horrible deed. And for Victoria and her attackers so much depends on the ability to find reconciliation and that means there must be genuine remorse and it must be expressed in a way that can offset the effects of the deed. So in terms of justice the prosecution held all the cards and they missed their opportunity. Now in terms of healing, the perpetrators hold some cards because of their ability to take the initiative in making restitution and accepting blame and thus the notoriety and opprobrium attached to this crime will be overcome, and we can only hope that the perpetrators don’t fail to take advantage of their opportunity. If they do the right thing and show genuine remorse they can help us to move beyond the terrible deed and take a stand against the violence that is destroying our society.

Reply
Phil

January 26, 2009 at 7:41 pm

The trouble with the current way of thinking to me is that everybody wants it both ways they want a strong sentence that sends the proper message and stiff enough to say that that Victoria got justice yet with no lasting reprecussions for the defendents .If they are guilty of felony charges then they should have recieved feolny convictions . The sentences are woefully lacking in any deterent mecanisms nor do they reflect the seriousiness of the crimes commited . ..These girls deserve to have a lifetime attachment by thier names to shy away from this truth is the courts shying away from thier responsibiliteis . Felony convictions were earned by the actions of the defendents ..To have them pleaded away although fortunate for those luckey enough does not make them any less deserving then those that may or will receive them
…To get proper justice then do we now hope that society will not let these girls forget how we detested thier actions and even further do we wish that society shows them no forgiveness ,so to do the job that the proscecutors have not .Do we want this to follow them to the job interviws ,meeting the new boyfriends family. Do we want thier daughters to find the tape on the internet so to again make the defendents feel the anguish and face the consequenses of thier actions .If ever there were youth crimes that deserved adult status and the punishmentes that went with them it is these people for these actions .There was indeed enough blame to go around .the state did not have to pick and choose and give sentences that would not discouage anyone from seeking to do this type of violence .When they were charged as adults pretty much every body agreed that this was just, The felony charges were well explainedand still the very vast majority though it still just and represented the acts commited . .When the courts fail to make the tough decesions and show mercey to those that did not show mercey to the victim then the defendents win and we all lose .

Reply
gompertz

January 26, 2009 at 9:05 pm

That’s exactly the questions I have, Phil. Can we find a solution that acknowledges the seriousness of the crime while at the same time leaving room for repairing the damage done? if the video is there forever there must be some stigma attached to those who created it, and it must be an enduring stigma. Can this be possible without attaching a felony conviction that will permanently impair the ability of the perpetrators to succeed academically or in the job market? And why should we care if they can never get a job? Wouldn’t that satisfy the desire for retributive justice, considering the fact that the video is always out there? And beyond the purely legal punishment what about those death threats? True, most people who voice these kinds of threats don’t act on them but some do and all it takes is one determined avenger who is so outraged by that video that he is moved to turn threats into reality. Would a show of remorse on the part of the perpetrators help to meet the demands for justice? And how do you learn to feel remorse if you are not inclined to feel it but harbor feelings of bitterness against the victim whom you blame for your troubles?

Reply
Phil

January 27, 2009 at 4:34 am

Gomp Ask
” Gomp hard questions to answer
Many people will say no that if you add the public scorn to what ever
punishment they will recieve .Then include the general disdain that a large dded to the negative image that a huge part of populatinn has for the participants , they should not have to have a felony Charge attached .

The exception to some will be BH at just under 18 and the absolute Visciousness of her attack will probaaly get her a felony conviction .
This is where to me it starts to get tricky . Was Bh acting out some ones interest .If they knew this would happen and facilitated the assult with planning or timing , then part of the pysical damaged inflicted becomes part of thier legal resonsibility . If you provide a place for others to assult someone you are guilty of assult wether you hit or dont hit . . If it was planned wasBH just the most viscious of the total acts of the group ..The actions of them all are too intertwined to know where someones resposibility stops and someone elses begin ,
If the state had only 2 options then they should have chosen to convict with felonys it is not if the they did not do these deeds .

Reply
Phil

January 27, 2009 at 10:49 am

Mercades has accepted plea deal

Reply
Scott

January 27, 2009 at 11:47 am

Phil, with all the chargers Mercades was facing I would say she got a real nice plea deal. It’s absurd it took so long for the proseuction to come to this. But Hardcastle has to do time in jail, doesn’t she? She can’t get the weet plea deal Nichols got can she? Afterall Tori never even attenpted to fight back yet Hardcastle kept assaulting her with dozens of punches and a vicous verbal rirade. It would be amazing for all 8 teens to end up with little or no punishment after all the threats of serious charges.

Reply
Phil

January 27, 2009 at 12:43 pm

Scott I better type quickly sometimes I can post sometimes not.
You will likley see 6 months for BH and i bet she will be the only one to serve time . An absolut e joke when someone can invite people over allow them to visciously beat a friend allow these same people to record it to add to the humiliation and only get probaton ,. The lesson to the youth . If you want to get someone just supply the place, invite over who you want to do the beating then throw up your arms in a mock suprise of innocense .

Reply
Scott

January 27, 2009 at 1:03 pm

It si amazing isn’t it Phil? It’s like the prosecution was all bark and no bite. If they were going to end up doing this the teens never should have been charged as adults. That got people’s hopes up that the teens would actually receive real punishment from the law. The crimes against Tori were on video. This was a slam dunk case. Allegedly.

Reply
Scott

January 29, 2009 at 1:23 pm

Written apologies not accepted. Why do the teens have to write letters of apology to Victoria? They should be made to make public apologies to Tori and her family from the courthouse as part of their plea deals. These kids have been able to hide for 10 months while Tori has been ripped over and over again. It’s not fair. These formerly out of control teens should have to publilcy make ammends with the Lindsay’s and Polk County as far as I’m concerned. They have gotten off lightly and get to write an apology to Tori. Wow talk about creampuff city. Ridiculous.

Reply
GregS

January 29, 2009 at 7:15 pm

The hate is still spreading with posts like these “Posted by ( TimTebowSux ) on 01/29/2009 at 01:55 pm.

Just give them the chair. they are a disgrace to humanity and have absolutely nothing positive to offer to society. The parents can blame themselves for letting their kids turn out the way they have. Hopefully they have to move out of the state to escape the shame these families should be subjected to. Ban MySpace while you’re at it. Its for losers and santi-social behavior. “
www2.tbo.com/content/2009/jan/29/hardcastle-pleads-guilty-polk-video-beating/

Reply