By LAMECH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
ljohnson@tribunemedia.net
A MAN who made a plea deal with Crown prosecutors in separate rape and armed robbery cases was sentenced to seven years in prison yesterday.
Former wanted suspect 20-year-old Travis Cooper appeared before Supreme Court Justice Vera Watkins where he was to stand trial for the gunpoint holdup of Lauren Etienne for her gold charm chain on May 7, 2014.
The gold charm was valued at $1,500.
Though he had pleaded not guilty when formally arraigned in the Supreme Court in the summer of 2014, Cooper and his lawyer Stanley Rolle entered into discussions with prosecutor Patrick Sweeting.
Cooper pleaded guilty to the crime and was given a seven year prison sentence.
Cooper also was to stand trial in January 2017 concerning the rape of a woman on July 2013.
He pleaded guilty to the sexual assault as well and received seven years.
However, the sentences were not ordered to run consecutively and they begin from the date of sentencing.
Comments
DonAnthony 8 years, 2 months ago
Is it just me or do others also feel that the sentences judges have been handing down in this country are far too lenient? I understand that there was a plea in this case, so that would lessen the sentence but why are these two convictions for very serious crimes running concurrently?
We have to face the reality that to get a grip on crime in this country we need to incarcerate habitual criminals for far longer periods of time. A police officer in Oklahoma recently was found guilty of several rapes and received a sentence of 235 years! Until judges hand down longer and more appropriate sentences crime can not abate in this country. We have our police commissioner bemoaning the fact that they catch these habitual criminals who are terrorizing our citizens only to see them released by the courts and on the streets the following week. Something has to change and it needs to be begin with our judges.
TruePeople 8 years, 2 months ago
Yeah, i thought that was light sentencing as well. Armed robbery and rapes? he gets 14 years in total, but will be out after 7? every year in jail counts as two years of his sentence?
This tells me i could do whatever, and don't worry ma, i gone be home soon even if they catch me and don't let me off the prison bus!!!
albdarn 8 years, 2 months ago
The article says the sentences won't be served concurrently so he has to serve 7 then another 7 hence 14 in total.
DEDDIE 8 years, 2 months ago
A day in fox hill is equivalent to 10 regular prison days
TruePeople 8 years, 2 months ago
But Fox Hill is our regular prison....
Sickened 8 years, 2 months ago
Running concurrently is absolute bullshit! Again I say, this court system ENCOURAGES criminals to do as much crime as possible because each individual crime doesn't add years to your term. For example, when a criminal commits armed robbery in a home he will get 7 years if he's caught. But, while holding up the family he notices that the gal in the house is pretty good looking so he thinks... what if I rape her, will I do more time??? The answer is NO, he will still only serve 7 years. So what do you think the scumbag is going to do? He's going to rape the damn girl!!!!
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