Thursday, January 8, 2009

Once a symbol of juvenile crime, man is unable to shake trouble

The following article was emailed from a reader in response to our 10-20-Life topic. At what point does our judicial system say “enough is enough”. This particular case has had so much publicity over the years, the young man has had ample warnings and chances. It is time to give him proper punishment? Read on:

Emailed article from tampabay.com

TAMPA — When he was 12, Walter “JJ” Revear became the poster child for juvenile crime, charged with stealing a dozen cars and two armed robberies.

But a Hillsborough Circuit Court judge gave him chance at redemption, sentencing him to house arrest. His family, church and the community waited to see if he could turn his life around.

Then he made a mistake while helping out a friend of his foster family in 1999, and started a cycle of arrests and prison that he can’t seem to escape.

On Tuesday, Revear was back in jail, charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, third-degree grand theft and obstructing or opposing a police officer without violence. According to the Tampa police, he and three other men broke in and began stealing things from the home of Joyce Maxwell at 1501 E. Jean St.

A neighbor soon confronted the men and chased them out of the house after calling 911.

Police captured two suspects in the neighborhood and the other two in the parking garage at University Square Mall.

This is the second time Maxwell has been robbed in a month, after having her van and power wheelchair stolen and recovered on Dec. 5. Police are unsure if she is being targeted.

Revear knows the neighborhood. He was sentenced to serve one year of house arrest in 1996 at the Central Court Apartments — just 3 miles away.

Dee Ann Athan, a former public defender, said it’s sad to hear that one of her nicest clients is in trouble again.

Revear was released from prison on Oct. 9 after serving five years for cocaine possession.

He’s been arrested four times since 1996, the year the late Hills­borough Circuit Judge Diana Allen remanded him to the care of his grandmother, Helen Revear.

Athan said that after her diminutive client got the suspended sentence, he was picked up again on trespassing and car theft charges 1996, but acquitted.

After that, he stuck to his community supervision until he found himself back in front of Allen in 1997 for testing positive for marijuana at 15. His grandparents were ill and unable to handle him, Athan said.

“So she sentenced him to boot camp and he did really well,” she said.

Revear was free again in 1998, and Athan worked with friend to find him a foster family.

Robert and Brenda Frusters, a couple connected to the Without Walls Church, took Revear into their Carrollwood home and enrolled him in a private church school. But while helping a friend of the Frusters clean out his garage, Revear pocketed a derringer and when he realized he had it, he gave it to his sister, Athan said.

When the gun’s owner asked the Frusters about it, Revear confessed and the couple reported it to his probation officer.

That was the beginning of the end for him, Athan said.

Even though 50 members of the church and family came to testify about what a great kid Revear was, Judge Jack Espinoza Jr. sentenced him to two years in state prison.

“When he got out in 2002 he moved back to the projects and started to get into trouble more,” Athan said. “I believe if he had been allowed to finish the 11th grade, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

He is held at the Orient Road Jail with bail set at $10,000.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article960700.ece

Robbyn Mitchell, Times Staff Writer, Wed, Jan 7, 2009

Posted by Seminole Heights at 15:37:40 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Monday, December 29, 2008

10-20-Life. (The Beginning of a Series)

 This week, we will be covering the topic of the states 10-20-Life program. The program was implemented to get tough on criminals who decide to used guns and other destructive weapons while committing crimes. However, as one neighbor has found out, our judicial system has chosen to not use the 10-20-Life rule in their courtrooms. Over the next several days, we will be introducing you to a few players that have chosen to terrorize our neighborhood, the judges who let them walk and others involved in these calamity of errors. So that you better understand what the 10-20-Life program is, we will start here. Below is a brief outline of what and when the program is used.

Read On. Tomorrow we will introduce you to the first Criminal!

10-20-LIFE

10-20-LIFE has helped to drive down Florida’s violent-gun crime rates by 30%. The state’s 2004, “Index Crime” rate is now the lowest in 34 years, and the violent crime rate is the lowest in a quarter century.

Night time scene of 10-20-LIFE poster in front of closed store.
Order free posters
and bumper stickers

The 10-20-LIFE public information program continues. The Florida Department of Corrections, in conjunction with the Executive Office of the Governor, and the Florida Legislature continue to inform the public that Florida’s tolerance for crime is over. Staff from the Department of Corrections has provided several community presentations on gun violence, and distributed materials about 10-20-LIFE.

In 1998, criminals in Florida used guns to commit 31,643 violent felonies, including 13,937 armed robberies. That year, the mandatory punishment for using a gun to commit a violent felony was only three years in prison. During his campaign for Governor in 1998, Jeb Bush proposed the toughest gun-crime law in the nation: 10-20-LIFE. Under 10-20-LIFE, a felon who used a gun to commit a crime like armed robbery would face at least 10 years in state prison.

The 1999 Florida Legislature passed sweeping legislation that provides for enhanced minimum mandatory prison terms for offenders who commit crimes with guns.

10-20-LIFE

10-20-life poster
Poster is available in English and Spanish versions and can be ordered online.
  • Mandates a minimum 10 year prison term for certain felonies, or attempted felonies in which the offender possesses a firearm or destructive device
  • Mandates a minimum 20 year prison term when the firearm is discharged
  • Mandates a minimum 25 years to LIFE if someone is injured or killed
  • Mandates a minimum 3 year prison term for possession of a firearm by a felon
  • Mandates that the minimum prison term is to be served consecutively to any other term of imprisonment imposed

The Department of Corrections provides printed materials, such as: Bumper Stickers; Vinyl Window Clings; Posters in English, and Spanish; and Brochures in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole, to public and private schools, businesses, and other public areas for display.

The results under 10-20-LIFE are impressive. In only six years, from 1998-2004, 10-20-LIFE has helped drive down violent gun crime rates 30 percent statewide (see Firearm Involved Violent Crimes). During the 10-20-LIFE era, armed criminals robbed a total of 10,567 fewer people and killed a total 380 fewer than they would have if these crime numbers had remained at 1998 levels. These crime decreases occurred even as Florida’s population increased over 2.5 million (16.8 percent) between 1998 and 2004. Punishing criminals who use guns is making our state safer.

In addition to the Governor’s 10-20-LIFE initiative, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, working with local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors created innovative anti-crime strategies such as Operation T.H.U.G.S., (Taking Hoodlums Using Guns Seriously.) T.H.U.G.S targets felons who have existing violent-crime warrants and have a history of violence. Anyone can call the Florida Department of Law Enforcement at 1-800-704-0231 toll free to report these dangerous criminals. Operation T.H.U.G.S has resulted in 540 arrests and paid substantial rewards, contributing to our lower crime rates.

10-20-LIFE billboard at busy intersection.

Governor Bush and the Florida Legislature have worked together to adopt public-safety reforms such as 10-20-LIFE, the Three-Strike Violent Felony Offender Act, and the Habitual Juvenile Offender Accountability Act. In addition, the Governor and Legislature have invested in our state prisons to ensure that early release of prisoners is eliminated. Today, state prisoners serve over 85% of their sentences, compared with less than 50% in 1994. Tough-on-crime initiatives have successfully reversed the lenient and disastrous criminal-justice policies of the early 1990s in Florida that caused so much suffering. Thanks to the dedication of our state’s law enforcement officers, correctional officers and state prosecutors who enforce tough laws like 10-20-LIFE, Florida’s “Index Crime” rate was the lowest in 34 years and the violent crime rate is the lowest in a quarter century.

Posted by Seminole Heights at 17:09:49 | Permalink | Comments (2)