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Fine Imposed for Brown Lawn02-12-08 | News

Fine Imposed for Brown Lawn




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An unwatered lawn catapulted a 70-year-old woman into the media spotlight as she was charged with violating a nuisance-abatement ordinance and disorderly conduct. The case has been resolved with a plea agreement between the woman and local prosecutors.


Betty Perry, a 70-year-old Orem, Utah woman whose brown lawn and a scuffle with a police officer last summer catapulted her into the headlines and caught the attention of a well-known Los Angeles defense attorney, has settled her case with the city.

Perry today entered a no-contest plea in absentia – to avoid media attention – to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct, according to Orem City Prosecutor Andrew Peterson. In addition, the city dismissed the zoning violation for not watering her lawn.

She will pay a fine of $100 and be on unsupervised probation for six months, Peterson said.

The L.A. attorney, Gloria Allred, was not on hand for this week’s negotiations. Perry, who was scheduled for a three-day trial beginning Monday, was represented by M. Paige Benjamin, who was not immediately available for comment.

Perry was charged with violating the city’s nuisance-abatement ordinance, a class C misdemeanor, and interference with an arrest, a class B misdemeanor. Class B misdemeanors are punishable by up to six months in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000.

The charges stemmed from a July incident when Officer James Flygare attempted to cite Perry for not watering her lawn. Perry refused to give Flygare her name and, when she tried to go inside her house, Flygare grabbed her. Perry’s nose was injured in the scuffle.

The city initially apologized for arresting Perry, but prosecutors pressed charges after a Utah Department of Public Safety investigation cleared Flygare of wrongdoing.

Source: Salt Lake Tribune

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