PTI rejected in part for FTA State v. Pojawa
Defendant appealed her conviction and rejection of her application for PTI. Defendant was charged with third-degree theft by unlawful taking in 2011 and failed to appear for her arraignment. She was picked up on a bench warrant two years later, appeared for a status conference and then failed to appear again and another bench warrant issued. She was picked up on the second warrant in 2018 and applied for PTI. She failed to appear again and third bench warrant issued. The PTI director recommended accepting defendant's application but the prosecutor objected. Defendant pled guilty and was sentenced to probation and fines. Defendant argued she was denied PTI on the basis of her inability to pay full restitution upfront. Court noted that defendant's conduct showed she was a poor candidate for PTI and prosecutor's decision was not an abuse of process. Prosecutor found factors two, seven, eight and fourteen, and gave weight to the fact that defendant took advantage of victim's kindness and defendant's failure to appear four times. source https://www.law.com/njlawjournal/almID/1612901192NJA480818/
