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Moorman |
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
Email: kepps@freelancestar.com
