CHARLESTON, W.Va.—– A Kanawha County man will have to finish his GED in jail after originally being sentenced to six months to two years to a youth correctional facility before being released on supervised probation.
In April, Zachary Atkinson was sentenced to Anthony Correction Facility, after he pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding in February for attacking a women involving two pit bulls in September last year. At the center he was going to be able to work on getting his GED. However, in October he was kicked out of the facility because he was deemed “unfit.”
Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Carrie Webster said that the allegations Atkinson faced were not good, but didn’t go into detail on what they were.
“The court will note that the allegations were bad, and several others which seemed minor in nature,” Webster said.
She did say that Atkinson disputed the allegation that he was in possession of drugs while at the center.
Atkinson will have to finish his GED while located at South Central Regional Jail. He said at Monday’s hearing that he has already taken the practice exams, in which he passed them.
He said at the hearing that there wasn’t a timeline on when he would be done with those exams.
Upon completing the exams, Webster requested that whoever is in charge of the GED program at the jail will need to send a letter stating that he had completed all of the exams required for a GED.
“I just want to make sure that we get the letter from them,” Webster said. “I’ll hold any disposition in advance and upon successful completion of it, I’ll then place you on two years (supervised probation).”
And upon his release Webster said that he would be able to go back to living with his parents and the two dogs would have to be removed from the residents. And once he is released, he would have to find a job.
“Then of course you would need to search for a job, actively search for a job,” Webster said. “I would impose, three months after that, is impose a 10 dollar a month probation (fee) and a 10 dollar a month supervision (fee).”
Atkinson expressed that he would be looking to a job at either Go Mart, Dollar General or ParMar stores near his parents’ home.