Hollywood A-lister Mark Wahlberg is seeking a pardon from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for crimes he committed in 1988 as a minor.
The star of the upcoming film The Gambler, filed an application regarding several incidents in his youth.
In his application to the Board of Pardons, Wahlberg describes what he calls “the essential facts” of his conviction.
“Rather than ignore or deny my troubled past, I have used the public spotlight to speak openly about the mistakes I made as a teenager so that others do not make those mistakes,” he wrote.
At 16 years-old, while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, Wahlberg attempted to steal two cases of alcohol from a Vietnamese man outside of a Boston-area convenience store.
A Suffolk Superior Court sentencing memorandum states that Wahlberg shouted racial slurs at the man, and another man he encountered during the incident.
He reportedly hit both men in the head with a wooden stick during his escape, reports Boston.com.
Wahlberg was eventually arrested with a small amount of marijuana in his pocket, convicted, and spent 45 days in jail.
He acknowledged the facts of the case in his application and stated, “the trial judge found me guilty of these two criminal contempt counts.”
He continued:
The charges were based on the fact that I violated a civil injunction that I agreed to have entered against me when I was 15 years old.
I have not engaged in philanthropic efforts in order to make people forget about my past
To the contrary, I want people to remember my past so that I can serve as an example of how lives can be turned around and how people can be redeemed.
In order for Wahlberg to receive a pardon, the Massachusetts Parole Board will have to review his case.
The board will make a recommendation to the governor, who will determine the outcome of the application.
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