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Man seeking "justice" from unfair sentence Date published: 10/30/2008
BY KEITH EPPS No one disputes that Larry K. Moorman was by far the least culpable of the four men convicted this year of bilking Stafford County residents out of money under the pretense of helping law enforcement. But while the other three are serving sentences ranging from six to 10 months, Moorman, 46, was ordered to serve four years. Moorman's attorney, Terence Patton, has filed a motion in Stafford Circuit Court seeking to address the discrepancy. Patton is asking Judge J. Martin Bass to reconsider the sentence "in the interest of justice." Even prosecutor Jim Peterson agrees that a reduction in sentence would be fair. He said Moorman's role in the organization was clearly far less than the others. "In this case, I feel it would be appropriate," Peterson said yesterday of a possible reduction. Unfortunately for Moorman, state law does not appear to be on his side. The sentencing judge loses jurisdiction over defendants once they are transferred to the state Department of Corrections, as is the case with Moorman. Bass yesterday did not grant the motion, but agreed to reconsider it on Nov. 17. Patton has until then to come up with case law granting Bass the necessary authority. Patton said he is confident he will be able to do just that. Moorman's situation is largely his own fault. Before trial, he rejected a prosecution offer in which he would have pleaded guilty to a single felony and gotten no prison time. Patton had urged Moorman to take the deal. Instead, Moorman took his case to a jury and was convicted of 17 charges. The other defendants pleaded guilty and got substantially less time to serve. According to the evidence, Moorman and others were in Clearview Heights subdivision in southern Stafford on Feb. 27 of last year collecting funds. They said they were representing the National Organization of Deputy Sheriffs. The door-to-door solicitors claimed that their organization supports the families of officers killed in the line of duty and supports police by providing such things as bulletproof vests. Prosecutors Mark McDonald and Peterson put on evidence showing that while NODS has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in Stafford and elsewhere, almost none of it went it to law-enforcement agencies. Moorman was living in a homeless shelter in Northern Virginia when he saw a NODS flier and applied for a job. He was given a uniform and a badge and was allowed to keep some of the money he collected, according to testimony. Court records show that NODS was not licensed to solicit in Virginia. Keith Epps: 540/374-5404
Relatively speaking he should get less time, but he did cost the taxpayer more money too. Can he pay that back? He decided to gamble at being able to beat charges against his laywers advise. It is his fault that he got the longer sentence. But in the interest of fairness and because I'm such an easy going person I would cut his sentence in half to two years...
If he truly and honestly thought it was a legit job opportunity (while wearing a uniform and a badge?? Does he have common sense? If not, this is an entirely different scenario.) then this is definitely an injustice. But I have a hard time buying that. Obviously, so did the jury.
At least the guy will have a home and be fed and off the streets for the next four years, right?
From the article it sounds like he wasn't aware of the scam that was going on. He thought he was working for a business. Obviously the commonwealth didn't think they had a huge case against him if they put no jail time in the deal. I've only seen that happen where they think they're going to lose. Sounds like this jury let the power go to their heads and put a man who was only trying to find a job in jail for years. These Stafford jurys are seriously messed up. There needs to be a check.
(notso)ObservantOne, he scammed people out of money under false pretenses, and you think the jury 'sold him down the river'. Moron. Why don't you go donate some money for a competent lawyer for him. Really, though, I wonder why they've locked up the people collecting the money, yet the bs scamming NODS company is still allowed to conduct business and collect money under the guise that they help law enforcement. That kinda bothers me.
It's unfortunate for this guy because initially it sounds like he was seeking honest employment then settled for a shady operation.
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