Judge Teresa Harper told a defendant in court Tuesday she was prepared to give him the maximum sentence, but changed her mind.
“I think you’re a bright young man,” she told him.
David Swails, 19, was arrested April 10, 2017, and charged with attempted murder of a police officer.
The attempted murder charge was dismissed due to conflicting evidence, but he faces remaining felony charges of resisting law enforcement, criminal recklessness and unlawful use of body armor.
Swails was driving a 2016 orange TaoTao moped scooter on West Country Club Drive when a Bloomington Police officer stopped him because the scooter’s headlights and taillights were out, and it did not have a license plate, according to the probable cause affidavit. Swails ran away because he believed the scooter was stolen.
As an officer chased him, Swails pointed a handgun at the officer and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not discharge, according to police reports.
Officers eventually found Swails hiding in tall grass and took him into custody, where they discovered he was wearing body armor under his shirt. At the time, Swails told police he was high on marijuana and prescription pills and that he had intended to shoot the officers. Swails later told the court he did not attempt to shoot the officer.
Swails and his defense attorneys told Harper in court Tuesday that he plans to get his high school diploma or GED and then join the U.S. Marines after he is released. His father and grandfather served in the military, and he has always dreamed of doing the same, he said.
Harper said to achieve that dream, Swails needs to put his criminal history behind him.
“If you want to serve our country, you have to serve yourself first,” she said.
Swails also sent a letter to Harper last week asking her to suspend his sentence to probation.
“I want an equal opportunity to prove to myself, the prosecutor, the state and you that I can be a law-abiding citizen,” he said in court. “All I need is one chance. I think I deserve a chance to redeem myself.”
Prosecutor David Gohn said he thinks prison time and supervised probation would help Swails prepare for the future.
“He’s gotten off to a bad start in his adult life,” Gohn said.
Swails said he plans to live with a friend in Monrovia, Indiana. if he is released on probation. Harper rescheduled his sentencing to Oct. 18 because she wants confirmation that this friend and the friend’s parents will still allow Swails to live with them.
