Millville man sentenced for domestic violence

By Shauna Leavitt

March 18, 2005 | LOGAN -- DJ Varner of Millville was sentenced to 30 days in prison with a work release and a $2,500 fine for crimes committed Oct. 14, 2004.

Varner had been charged with five class A misdemeanors and one class B misdemeanor. These crimes included threat of dangerous weapon in fight, domestic violence in presence of a child, illegal possession/use of controlled substance and smple assault.

Before the sentence was issued, Judge Gordon J. Low allowed the victim, Elizabeth Varner, to address the court. "This is the first fight in 12 years that we have been physical. I know what we did was wrong. (In) the last few months we have tried to right what we did. If we had DJ taken away, we will fall apart as a family unit and as individuals. I ask the court to be lenient," she said.

"I have done everything I could possibly do to right the situation," said DJ Varner. Since the crime occurred, Varner has participated in several rehabilitation programs to help with his anger and drug problems.

The original proposed sentence was one year in prison with no work release or probation. After Elizabeth Varner addressed the court, defense attorney Bryan P. Galloway proposed the revised sentence.

"Physical violence is not something we will tolerate, but [Varner] is a probation candidate," said Judge Low. Low and prosecuting attorney Donald Linton agreed to the revised sentence with the stipulations that DJ Varner would receive drug and alcohol counseling, anger counseling, and that there would be no guns in the Varner home.

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