Host of teen shooting back in jail

Tue, 05/29/2007 - 5:03pm
By: John Munford

A Peachtree City man who hosted a party in June 2006 that ended with the fatal shooting of a teenaged guest has had his probation revoked a second time.

Christopher Canderozzi, 19, of 415 Constitution Circle on Peachtree City’s west side, was remanded to jail April 17 after Fayette County State Court Judge Fletcher Sams revoked his probation based in part on his admission that he hung around with people who were smoking marijuana and failing to complete a substance abuse evaluation.

In October Canderozzi was sentenced to 24 months probation when he pled no contest to reckless conduct and possession of marijuana (less than one ounce), both charges stemming from the ill-fated party. Canderozzi was also ordered to pay a $1,400 fine by Judge Sams.

The gunshot — fired by another partygoer — ultimately caused the death of Peachtree City 17-year-old Dallas Crenshaw Jr., police said. The person who was holding the gun at the time, Kevin Johnston of Hilo Park Drive, Sharpsburg, pled guilty in March to one count of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the incident and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Canderozzi’s probation officer testified at a recent court hearing that Canderozzi also has failed to complete a court-ordered drug and substance abuse evaluation that had been ordered by the court when Canderozzi entered the no-contest plea. Canderozzi challenged that assertion, saying the professional who evaluated him didn’t recommend any further visits than the initial evaluation, which Canderozzi insists he completed.

The probation officer also testified that Canderozzi recently told her he wanted to sue his father after getting in a physical altercation with him.

Canderozzi contended in court that he was the one who first informed his probation officer that he may have accidentally violated his probation by smoking a hand-rolled cigarette which he later was told contained marijuana.

Canderozzi, who chose to represent himself during the hearing, told the court that his brother had given him the cigarette and later told him that the cigarette contained marijuana, according to a transcript of the hearing. Canderozzi testified that after he reported the incident to his probation officer, his brother admitted it was just a joke and that there was no marijuana in the cigarette.

Canderozzi said the officer performed a drug test on him that came back clean and did not test positive for marijuana.

This is the second time that Canderozzi has been jailed for violating the conditions of his probation, according to court records. He was jailed for 15 days in December because he failed to get a court-required substance abuse evaluation and prove that he attended a moral recognition therapy (MRT) program, according to court records.

When Canderozzi was released from jail after that occasion, Judge Sams ordered him to live with his parents as a condition of him remaining on probation.

At the April hearing, Sams ordered Canderozzi to remain in jail until he completes a psychiatric evaluation.

Police alleged that Canderozzi knew a party guest had brought the gun into the house and was playing with the weapon yet Canderozzi did nothing to mitigate the danger.

Police said the teens at the party consumed a significant amount of alcohol and some drugs including marijuana judging by the debris left at the scene. Canderozzi’s parents were out of town at the time of the unsupervised party, police said.

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Submitted by skyspy on Tue, 05/29/2007 - 5:52pm.

A fine young man like this has violated his probation again???

I'm shocked!

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