Deandre Somerville, a 21-year old who works for the city of West Palm Beach Parks and Recreation Department, is — by all accounts — a good person. He lives with his grandparents so he can help care for his grandfather, who recently had surgery. He has no prior criminal history and had never even been inside of a courtroom before being called to serve on a civil jury.
He was selected and told to appear the following day, but he overslept by several hours and missed court. That delayed the proceedings for about 45 minutes. For oversleeping and not calling the court, the judge, a former federal and state prosecutor, issued an arrest warrant and sentenced Deandre to 10 days in state jail following by a year of probation and 150 hours of community service.
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