STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. DAVONNE HORTON(15-07-1006, HUDSON COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-4462-15T3

Defendant Davonne Horton was indicted on robbery (1st), aggravated assault (2nd), burglary (3rd), and kidnapping (4th) arising from an incident in which he punched the victim.
In December 2015 Horton pled guilty to an amended third-degree aggravated assault charge (attempting to cause significant bodily injury); the State agreed to dismiss remaining counts and recommend non-custodial probation.
Horton applied for Pretrial Intervention (PTI); the Hudson County prosecutor denied admission, citing the violent nature of the charges and lack of extraordinary mitigating background.
Horton appealed the PTI denial to the trial court, which remanded for clarification whether certain factors (inability to pay fines, municipal contacts, marijuana use) were considered; the prosecutor confirmed those factors were not relied upon.
The trial court found no patent and gross abuse of discretion in the prosecutor’s denial; Horton was sentenced to three years probation and appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Horton)	Held
Whether the prosecutor’s denial of PTI was a patent and gross abuse of discretion	Prosecutor: Denial proper given the violent/assaultive nature of the charges and the facts developed in investigation; PTI presumption applies	Horton: Prosecutor relied on unproven facts, dismissed charges, and victim’s account rather than his plea, making the denial improper	Court: Affirmed — prosecutor did not commit a patent and gross abuse of discretion; violent nature and defendant’s plea supported denial

State v. Roseman, 221 N.J. 611 (2015) (standards governing judicial review of prosecutor PTI decisions)
State v. Wallace, 146 N.J. 576 (1996) (prosecutorial charging functions and deference to PTI decisions)
State v. Leonardis, 73 N.J. 360 (1977) (deference to prosecutor in charging and diversion decisions)
State v. K.S., 220 N.J. 190 (2015) (presumption against PTI for assaultive or violent offenses and requirement for compelling reasons to overcome it)
State v. Nwobu, 139 N.J. 236 (1995) (grounds for finding patent and gross abuse of discretion in PTI denials)
State v. Brooks, 175 N.J. 215 (2002) (limits on inferring guilt from charges dismissed)
State v. Baynes, 148 N.J. 434 (1997) (categories of offenses typically disqualifying for PTI)