A Mocksville man who was accused of assaulting his grandfather and failing to tell his probation officer his new address will spend the next 100 days in jail.

Joshua Andrew Cleary, 25, has been charged twice with assaulting his grandfather, with whom he lived on Hobson Drive. The first charge was on May 1, 2014, and part of his sentence included probation. One of the requirements of his probation was to get pre-authorization from his probation officer, Brad Anderson, if he changed residences.

On Jan. 20, Cleary was again charged with assaulting his grandfather. His attorney, Lori Hamilton, told Judge Mary Covington Cleary was “forced to leave” his grandfather’s home immediately after being charged.

“He had no time to give the probation officer a heads-up ahead of time,” that he was moving, Hamilton said.

Cleary moved in with his mother, and at some point between Jan. 20 and Feb. 8, he called Anderson to tell him he had moved. Hamilton said she knew that was the case because Anderson paid Cleary a visit Feb. 8, and Anderson would not have known where to find Cleary if he hadn’t called him with his new address.

But it was too late. Anderson filed a violation report Feb. 10, and Cleary was arrested.

Anderson told Covington Cleary was over $600 in arrears on the monetary requirement of his probation, and because part of his first sentence was that he not assault, threaten or harass his grandfather, and he was charged with that a second time, that was also a violation of his probation.

Hamilton reminded Covington because Cleary had not yet been tried in court on the second charge, it was only “an allegation.”

Covington said, “What I have is a gap in time where the probation officer didn’t know his client’s whereabouts, and that’s the same as absconding.”

She found Cleary in violation, and activated his 150-day sentence, giving him credit for the 50 days he had been in jail awaiting his court date.

After a brief consultation with his attorney, Cleary pleaded no contest to the second assault charge, and Covington sentenced him to 60 days, to run concurrent with his previous sentence. Attorney and jail fees are civil judgments.