Sentence delayed in 311 Boyz case

By Matt Pordum (contact)

Wednesday, April 6, 2005 | 8:49 a.m.

An alleged member of the 311 Boyz gang who violated District Judge Michael Cherry's order to stay out of trouble had his sentencing postponed Tuesday but will remain jailed in the meantime.

Dominic Harriman's lawyer, Richard Schonfeld, had asked Cherry to move Harriman from jail to house arrest and have him undergo drug counseling while he awaits his new May 3 sentencing date.

Cherry, however, said, "This is not a man I want back on the streets. In my mind the community is protected with him not on the streets."

Police arrested Harriman twice in February. In two separate incidents, Harriman was allegedly found with drugs in his possession.

In August 2004 Cherry had fined Harriman $2,000, but did not place Harriman on probation, in connection to a rock attack that left 18-year-old Stephen Tanner Hansen's face crushed in July 2003.

But Cherry ordered Harriman to stay out of trouble for at least a year.

Because Harriman violated the terms of his plea agreement by getting into trouble with the law, he now faces up to a year in prison for the charge of conspiracy to commit burglary he pleaded guilty to in connection with the rock attack.

Cherry ordered Harriman into jail on March 4 while awaiting sentencing.

The sentencing was postponed Tuesday due to the Department of Parole and Probation's failure to interview Harriman for his pre-sentencing report, officials said.

The report takes into account a person's previous criminal history and interview and offers a recommended sentence for a judge presiding over the person's case to consider at sentencing.

Schonfeld said Harriman had paid the $2,000 fine imposed by Cherry and had gone nine months without getting in trouble with the law. The defense attorney said Harriman's "underlying problem was drugs and like any other disease it requires treatment."

After Tuesday's hearing, Schonfeld said outside the courtroom that he was "disappointed (the sentencing was postponed), I was anticipating a recommendation from the department and I was going to request drug court or an in patient drug rehabilitation facility for Dominic (Harriman)."

Schonfeld said in the interim Harriman's family will be working to find him "a bed in an inpatient drug program."

Harriman was arrested on Feb. 23 in Pahrump and charged with possessing stolen property and drugs, according to police. Harriman, who also allegedly had a handgun with him when he was arrested, is scheduled to appear in Pahrump Justice Court on April 25 to face those charges.

Schonfeld said he was confident he would get Harriman's Pahrump case dismissed due to the fact the stolen property in question was actually a car owned by Harriman. Schonfeld said the car was mistakenly reported stolen.