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A last-minute resolution was reached Friday in the case of a 70-year-old Orem woman who was arrested in a dispute over her brown lawn.
Betty Perry pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly conduct, an infraction that is a lesser offense than the two misdemeanors she had been charged with. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop the charges of resisting arrest and zoning violation.
Perry must pay a $100 fine and spend six-months on court probation, meaning she will simply have to keep the court apprised of her address, break no laws and pay all ordered fines.
As part of the deal, Perry also waived all rights to a potential civil suit against Orem, which city prosecutor Andrew Peterson described as a secondary concern. The city was not worried about facing a civil suit, he said, because it felt it would have prevailed.
Peterson said attorneys have been discussing a possible plea deal for a while, but a breakthrough was reached on Wednesday when they decided that the resisting arrest charge could be replaced with disorderly conduct. Peterson said the deal helped the city maintain its goal, which was to secure a conviction from Perry's July arrest.
The plea deal cancels Perry's trial, which was to begin on Monday. It also keeps the city from facing off against Los Angeles-based attorney Gloria Allred, who was accredited on Monday to serve as part of Perry's defense team for the trial. Allred drew a great deal of attention in September when she lambasted the Orem Police Department in speech after Perry's arraignment at Orem's 4th District Court.
Perry was arrested in July after an officer from the Orem Police Department's Neighborhood Preservation Unit attempted to give her a ticket for not watering her dead, brown lawn. According to police, Perry refused to give her name to Officer Jim Flygare, and she resisted when he attempted to arrest her for it. During the altercation, Perry fell, suffering cuts and bruises. |
