Opinion ID: 705170
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: 2 On October 28, 1993, the day of the crime, Bobby was nineteen years old and Jarmal was almost eighteen years old. Jarmal had recently enlisted in the Navy, and after spending the evening at a liquor house, the two brothers came upon the idea of visiting some of Jarmal's friends before Jarmal entered the Navy. They decided to steal a car, and proceeded to a gas station in Raleigh, North Carolina to await a victim. 3 Meanwhile, twenty-three-year-old LBK left her nearby home in a Mazda GLC with her dog to buy cigarettes and gas. At approximately 11:00 p.m., she stopped at the gas station in Raleigh at which Jarmal and Bobby were waiting, and sat in her car to count the seven dollars and change that she had with her. 4 While Jarmal pretended to use the telephone at the station, Bobby headed for the victim's car. Jarmal then followed. They arrived at the car before LBK had gotten out, pointed a gun at her, and ordered her into the back seat. The defendants got into the front seat of the car, and as they drove out of the station, took LBK's seven dollars from her. They drove on back roads to the north Raleigh area. 5 Shortly after they began driving, Bobby got into the back seat to have sex with the victim. He ordered her to put the puppy in the trunk area of the car and to pull up her dress. When she refused, the brothers told her that they would kill her puppy if she did not comply. Bobby then vaginally raped LBK in the back seat while Jarmal drove. Bobby held the gun to the side of LBK's head while raping her. Jarmal then stopped the car and also raped LBK in the back seat with the gun against her head. 6 When the car subsequently stalled and the defendants were unable to restart it, Bobby became angry and fired his gun, although not aiming it at anyone. Eventually, Bobby and Jarmal abandoned the car and forced the victim to accompany them on foot. After walking for some time, they entered a wooded area, ordered the victim to lie down on the ground, and each defendant again took his turn raping the victim while the other held the gun. 7 After the rapes, Bobby began to choke LBK and twisted her neck until her collar bone popped. Jarmal watched and when he heard the sound of a bone breaking, thought that Bobby had broken LBK's neck. At that point, Jarmal began to hit the victim in the head with the gun. When asked later whether they were trying to kill the victim, Jarmal said that he panicked and that many things were going through his head. 8 The defendants dragged LBK into the woods and left her. LBK managed to crawl to a nearby residence and scratch on the door for help. She was taken to a neuro-intensive care ward at a nearby hospital, and suffered permanent damage to her right eye, depressed skull fractures, and some loss of vision. 9 After the defendants left LBK in the woods, they went to get a drink and smoke cigarettes. Jarmal had given Bobby his wallet earlier in the day, and the brothers realized that Bobby might have left the wallet in LBK's car. They decided that they would report the wallet as stolen, and then used the victim's seven dollars to take a taxi home. Jarmal and Bobby separated at that point, and while Bobby sold the gun, Jarmal attempted to use LBK's ATM card at several bank teller machines. Jarmal later changed out of the clothes that he had been wearing that evening. Bobby's bloody clothes were eventually recovered from his home. 10 On October 29, 1993, the day after the crime occurred, Jarmal went to the police to file a false report that his wallet had been stolen. The police, who had already focussed on Jarmal as a possible perpetrator of the crime based on information from LBK and an investigation, later contacted Jarmal, and charged and arrested him. Jarmal was interviewed on October 30, 1993, and with his help, the police apprehended Bobby on October 31, 1993. 11 Bobby and Jarmal were charged with criminal offenses in both state and federal court. Their state cases were resolved on January 11, 1994. Both men pled guilty in state court to first degree kidnapping, two counts of first degree rape, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. Bobby received two life sentences plus 40 years, all to be served consecutively. Under state law, he must serve a minimum of 47 years before he is eligible for parole. Jarmal received two consecutive life sentences and must serve 40 years before he is eligible for parole. 12 On November 8, 1993, the prosecution in the federal criminal case against Bobby and Jarmal made a motion in court to try Jarmal, who was a juvenile at the time of his offense, as an adult. At Jarmal's juvenile transfer hearing, held two days later, Jarmal's counsel made a motion for a continuance, arguing that she had not had adequate time to prepare for the hearing. The district court denied the motion and at the end of the hearing, ordered that Jarmal's case be transferred out of juvenile jurisdiction and that he be tried as an adult. 13 Bobby and Jarmal were indicted in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina and charged with carjacking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2119, and use of a firearm to facilitate a violent crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 924(c); Bobby was also charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922(g). Jarmal had no prior criminal record. Both men pled guilty to all charges and received the statutory maximum sentence on each count; Bobby received a sentence of 480 months, and Jarmal received a 360-month sentence. The district court imposed each sentence to run consecutively to the previously-imposed state sentences. 14 Both defendants appeal. They challenge the district court's denial of sentencing credit for acceptance of responsibility, the court's decision to depart upward from the United States Sentencing Guidelines (U.S.S.G.) range, and the court's imposition of federal sentences to run consecutively to their state sentences. In addition, Jarmal challenges the district court's refusal to grant him a continuance of his juvenile transfer hearing.