At the age of 16, Mark Wahlberg, now known as an A-list Hollywood movie star and formerly as a model and singer, stole alcohol from a convenience store and brutally attacked the store’s owner, who tried to intervene. The assault left the store owner bloody and got Wahlberg arrested and convicted on several serious charges. More to the point, it resulted in Mark being tried as an adult and thus became part of his permanent record. Now, 26 years later, Mark Wahlberg wants to erase that incident completely and has petitioned the Massachusetts Parole Board for pardon.
The sixteen-page petition, filed earlier this week, became public on Thursday. Mark Wahlberg has made no bones about his criminal youth and the 1988 incident in which he beat store owner Thanh Lam with a five-foot stick in order to steal two cases of beer. The Boston Globe recalls the incident in which Wahlberg, then 16, was “ looking for trouble .”
Mark is a native of the Boston area and grew up with a checkered childhood — he was often in trouble with police. The incident in question, however, was his worst and saw the 16-year-old tried as an adult and given a 90-day sentence in the Deer Island House of Correction. He served 45 days of that before release and it was his last run-in with authorities, a turning point for the soon-to-be hip hop singer and eventual Hollywood star.
Mark Wahlberg says in his petition that he’s dedicated himself to being a better person and a role model. He mentions his charitable works, the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation, and his daily attendance to church.
“[A pardon] would be formal recognition that someone like me can receive official public redemption if he devotes himself to personal improvement and a life of good works.”
Mark Wahlberg’s charges were assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a Class D controlled substance (marijuana), reports My Fox Boston . The petition filing is the first step in a six-step clemency process, the news outlet reports.
Wahlberg is well known as a Hollywood actor whose latest film, The Gambler , is in production now, reports the Inquisitr . The restaurant chain Mark co-owns with brother Donny is also the center of a reality television series .
Although Mark Wahlberg is a celebrity and his petition for pardon has made headlines, the Boston Herald notes that the backlog for pardon and commutation of sentence in Massachusetts is large, so it may be some time before any updates to Wahlberg’s petition are had.