School assault nets sister two days

November 21, 2006

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman

PALMER -Twin sisters came to Palmer District Court Thursday to be sentenced for their part in an assault on a Wasilla student, but only one received a sentence when the judge rejected the other's plea deal.

Mary Bright, 36, convicted of fourth-degree assault and disorderly conduct in October, will serve two days in jail, with eight additional days suspended, pay a $500 fine, perform 40 hours of community work service, complete a state-approved parenting class, and be on probation for two years for the assault charge. Her sister now is scheduled for trial.

Bright went into Wasilla Middle School before classes started on March 30. With her twin sister, Martha Hunter, Bright encouraged Hunter's sixth-grade daughter to physically fight another classmate, according to a police report and testimony at trial.

After the fight broke up, Bright, Hunter and the daughter left the school, witnesses testified at trial. When they returned at the request of the principal, the women found out the girl's story of getting slapped was a lie, witnesses said.

&#8220If adults are part of trouble at school, they go to jail,” said Judge William Estelle. &#8220It's not just about you. It's mainly about others, in the future.”

Bright's sentencing had been postponed until after Hunter's Nov. 16 change-of-plea hearing and sentencing.

Jon-Marc Peterson, assistant district attorney, and Lyle Stohler, Hunter's appointed attorney, explained Hunter's plea agreement to Judge Estelle.

According to the plea agreement, Hunter, who was indicted as the most culpable, would have received three years probation and would have been required to take a parenting class. Hunter would have received no jail time, no fine and no court-ordered community work service, according to the agreement.

Calling it outrageous, Judge Estelle rejected the deal between the state and the defense team, and scheduled Hunter for trial Dec. 7. The judge said standard sentencing guidelines were absent in the plea agreement.

&#8220There's no deterrence,” he said. &#8220There's nothing to reaffirm that schools are important.”

Then Estelle sentenced Bright, with the victim's parents listening by phone.

Peterson recommended Bright be ordered to perform community work service, pay restitution and perhaps take a class, but he pointed out Bright wasn't the parent in this case.

James Wheeler, Bright's public defender, objected to restitution, saying there was no testimony about it at trial. Bright had a &#8220perfectly clean record” and was the least culpable, he said.

Just being charged was enough punishment for Bright, Wheeler said, and jail would be excessive.

The notion of restitution is not just for the victim, the judge said, but for anyone who incurred costs. What happened was every parent's nightmare, he said. The victim's parents both work in Anchorage, and trusted the school to keep her safe, he said.

&#8220The main take-home message is, if you engage in this conduct, you go to jail,” he said. &#8220They made no appointment to talk with anyone at school. They didn't check in at the office. It's amazing someone would be so out of touch with their duties in the middle of school, around other kids.”

When he ordered Bright to take parenting classes, Estelle said not all parenting is done by parents.

&#8220We all do it,” he said. &#8220And we all have advice to give. People look in the rear-view mirror when something bad happens and want to know why.”

The judge suspended half of the $1,000 fine he levied on Bright, and sentenced her to five days, all suspended, and an additional $500 suspended fine for the disorderly conduct charge.

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.