Currently in Georgia, 3,526 offenders are serving minimum mandatory sentences of at least 10 years without parole for armed robbery.
The question from lawyers, judges and others is whether all armed robbers should be treated the same, whether they shove a handgun against a terrified victim’s temple or drive a getaway car.
Even state Corrections Commissioner Brian Owens believes laws need to be “tweaked.” Violent offenders need to serve time, he said, but, “I will say ... there needs to be discretion in decision-making. When you go to zero tolerance, no tolerance, I’m not so sure that’s the best policy. There ought to be discretion.”
Four armed robbery cases:
Jerome LeMon, age 44
Punishment: 10 years in prison, no parole
Cost: $180,000*
LeMon had been in Atlanta about a week when his new boss, Philip Kamp, asked him to tag along to a pool party in Cobb County on a hot Easter Sunday in 2006.
At the party, LeMon got drunk and, according to witnesses, invaded the comfort zones of a number of women with his hand-held video camera. LeMon was told to leave. Kamp, with friend Mark Carroll in the backseat, drove LeMon home.
En route, LeMon became enraged. He pulled out a pocket knife and threatened Carroll when he started to call 911. Carroll handed over his cellphone, which LeMon threw on the floor of the car. LeMon threw Kamp’s cellphone on the floor as well. After Carroll punched LeMon in the mouth and the car pulled over to the shoulder of I-75, police arrived.
LeMon, who had no prior record, was convicted at trial of the armed robbery of the two cellphones.
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Sarah Dukes, age 23
Punishment: 10 years in prison, no parole
Cost: $180,000*
Dukes, a Sutton Middle School star student who excelled in poetry and music, became addicted to heroin and cocaine as a teenager. She began stealing to support her habit and in May 2007 held up Cafe Solstice, where she once worked, and a nearby store, taking a few hundred dollars.
Brian Scott, who managed the cafe, wrote the court that incident was “frightening and dangerous,” but Dukes is an addict who needs rehabilitation. “To simply lock her in jail for years will not, in my opinion, help anyone and will only insure that Ms. Dukes revert to drug addiction upon her release.”
After a plea deal to a lesser charge fell through, Dukes pleaded guilty to armed robbery in 2008. The Fulton County jail’s GED instructor spoke out on her behalf at sentencing, saying it was the first time in 15 years he had done so. Dukes, he said, had been “a tremendous force” helping inmates with their education.
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Andre Von Eden, age 30
Punishment: 10 years in prison, no parole
Cost: $180,000*
With his parents in Texas, Christopher Jones, 24, found a prostitute on the Internet and arranged for her to come to his parents’ Newton County home on Aug. 3, 2007.
Andre Von Eden and Chauncey Belle drove 17-year-old Marjori “Diamond” Dixon to the residence and waited outside. After Jones and Dixon had sex, Dixon said she couldn’t find the $100 Jones had given her and accused him of taking it out of her purse. She called her friends, and Von Eden and Belle burst into the home.
Belle, holding an ax, demanded Jones pay. Jones insisted he had paid but, in fear for his life, gave Belle a $100 bill. After the trio left, Jones called police, who soon arrested them.
Police found a $100 bill in Dixon’s purse and another $100 bill in Belle’s pocket. Belle and Dixon pleaded guilty to robbery by force, received seven-year prison terms and will be eligible for parole. A jury convicted Von Eden of armed robbery and burglary. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison without parole.
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Todd McGordon, age 27
Punishment: 12 years in prison, no parole
Cost: $215,000*
On July 3, 2006, Todd’s younger brother, Trabis, told him he planned to commit an armed robbery. For most of that day, Todd tried to talk Trabis out of it and even enlisted the help of Todd’s best friend.
Todd, who had a prior theft by taking conviction, warned his brother about the consequences and said he wanted no part in it, according to testimony at his trial. It didn’t work. Todd and Trabis drove to an Ingles in Newton County, and Trabis told Todd to drive his car to the apartment complex next door.
Trabis, armed with a handgun, entered the Ingles and stole $12,700 in a trash bag from a terrified employee, then fled to his red Monte Carlo and his brother. Police arrived almost simultaneously and arrested the brothers.
Trabis McGordon, who pleaded guilty, received a 10-year prison term. Todd was convicted at trial and sentenced to 12 years without the possibility of parole.
*Estimated cost of imprisonment for the duration of the sentence.
