20-Day Term for Attack on Teen Who Lost Teeth

The first of two Fairfax County teenagers accused of punching out the teeth of another teen last Christmas Eve was sentenced yesterday to 20 days in juvenile detention.

Fairfax prosecutors pursued charges of aggravated malicious wounding against two juveniles after the beating of 14-year-old Cody Gibbons and tried both defendants as adults. Cody had just finished seven years of orthodontic work and faces several years of oral surgery and orthodontia to repair the damage.

James Clarke, now 16, went to trial first. Evidence showed that four boys, all about 14 years old, were walking down Westmoreland Street in McLean while skateboarding when two older boys climbed out of a sport-utility vehicle and started fighting with Cody.

After testimony showed that Cody was hit in the mouth by only one punch, apparently thrown not by Clarke but by Anthony Nelli, now 17, Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Stanley P. Klein reduced the felony charge to misdemeanor assault and battery. Bare fists are not a deadly weapon under Virginia law. A jury then found Clarke guilty of the misdemeanor. Nelli's trial is set for later this month.

Under Virginia juvenile law, a misdemeanor conviction carries a maximum of 30 days in jail, compared with the one-year maximum sentence for an adult. Fairfax's probation and parole office recommended that Clarke, who has been expelled from McLean High School and banned from all Fairfax school facilities, spend no time in jail.

In addition to jail time for Clarke, Cody's family sought $169,000 in restitution for current and future dental and associated costs for Cody's treatment. In a letter to Klein, Cody's parents wrote that insurance would not cover treatment of Cody's injuries. But Klein said he did not want to make a ruling that might affect any potential civil suit filed by the Gibbonses, so he did not order restitution in the criminal case.

James Clarke and his mother, Jacqueline Clarke, offered tearful apologies to the Gibbons family. "We know what you've been through has been horrible," Jacqueline Clarke said. "And we are so, so sorry." She noted that her son's life "is ruined. He's lost weight. He's been chucked out of school. He lost all his friends. It has been the most dreadful time."

James Clarke, who did not testify at the trial, said: "I'm sorry to Cody and his family, and I wish I could change everything from that day. I'm so sorry to my parents for putting them through this."

Klein acknowledged that Clarke had been well-behaved since the incident. "But there's another message that needs to be delivered," the judge said. "When you're walking down the streets of Fairfax County, minding your own business, you shouldn't have to worry that two other individuals are going to get out of a car, come up to you, and you're going to be cold-cocked in the face and have your teeth knocked out. . . . There has to be a price to pay, and the price to pay for violence, to some extent, is a loss of freedom."

Klein imposed the maximum 30-day sentence, suspended 10 days and placed Clarke on probation until he turns 18.

Afterward, Terri Gibbons, Cody's mother, said: "I think the judge was fair. He said, 'We'll start with the maximum and go from there.' There are consequences. It shows the system does work."