Jessica DeWire, a former chef and restaurant owner charged with third-degree assault last year, has pled guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to 240 hours of community service.

DeWire pled guilty to obstructing an officer earlier this month and last week was sentenced in King County Superior Court. Should she complete her community service work within a year and is not convicted of a crime during that period, the charges against her will be dismissed, said Steve Mueller, DeWire’s lawyer.

DeWire, former co-owner of Gusto Girls, was arrested and charged with a felony after she allegedly scratched an officer during a melee in Vashon town almost exactly one year ago. 

Police officers say she was trying to interfere in an arrest of a drunken patron at the Sportsman’s Inn when she came at an officer and scratched him. She denied the charge, saying she scratched the officer only after he took her down; several eyewitnesses supported her claim.

Mueller said DeWire was happy with the plea agreement, a move that puts the incident to rest and means she won’t have to stand trial. Had she been convicted of assaulting an officer, she could have faced up to three months in jail.

“The whole idea of a trial where she’d risk a felony conviction ... was an unacceptable risk,” Mueller said.

Prosecutors initially suggested that DeWire plead guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge, an offer she declined, Mueller said. This outcome, however, made sense to her, he said.

“The charge of obstructing a police officer is incredibly easy to commit,” Mueller said, adding, “She’s very pleased to have it done.”

 

Contact Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber Editor Leslie Brown at editor@vashonbeachcomber.com or 1-206-463-9195.

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