Court Opinion

ID: 9459620
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 21:26:16.708631+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:36:15.007086
License: Public Domain

ROBB, Circuit Judge,
dissenting in part:
I would affirm all three judgments and sentences. In my opinion the record fully supports the decision of the district judge, after due consideration, to sentence Warren as an adult.
On the evening of October 15, 1970 Warren was driving a Pontiac convertible when the police stopped the car for a traffic violation. The appellants Matthews and Ray and a third man, one Jones, were in the car with Warren. A valid search of the car disclosed a 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun, a 16-gauge sawed-off shotgun, and a .357 magnum pistol. The 12-gauge shotgun was under the rear of the front seat, the 16-gauge weapon was behind the back seat, where it was partially concealed by the “boot cover”, and the pistol was on the back seat. All the weapons were loaded. A .38 caliber cartridge was found in Warren’s pocket and five .38 caliber cartridges were in Matthews’ pocket. These cartridges could be fired in the .357 magnum pistol. A 12-gauge shotgun round was found on the driver’s side of the front seat. Under the front seat on the driver’s side was a pillow case in which two holes had been cut so it could be used as a mask. In the trunk were five men’s hats, six shirts, and four jackets. Also in the trunk was a butt plate that fit the 12-gauge shotgun, which did not have a plate. The contents of the trunk were accessible to the passengers by way of a “split” or slit in *1194the boot that opened directly into the trunk.
The obvious inference from the evidence is that Warren and his companions were a team of robbers, completely equipped with weapons, a mask, and clothing to be used in altering their appearances during a getaway. Warren’s testimony at trial, that he was not aware of the contents of the car, is preposterous.
The majority notes that in 1964 the Juvenile Court placed Warren on probation in two cases. It should be added that in each case the charge was statutory rape. Moreover, beginning in 1964 Warren was frequently in trouble with the police. In 1964 he was placed on probation for petit larceny; in 1965 he was arrested for robbery by force and violence; and in 1966 for assault with intent to commit rape; again in 1966 for robbery by force and violence; and in 1967 for grand larceny. In 1971, while free on bond in the case at bar, he was arrested twice, once for armed robbery and again for assault with a dangerous weapon and violation of the narcotics laws.
I cannot fault the District Court for noting deficiencies in the administration of the Youth Corrections Act. Such deficiencies bore upon the question whether the defendant would be benefited by treatment under the Act and I see no reason why the judge should have closed his eyes to them. In any event the judge’s concern in this regard was not the primary reason for his decision.
Considering the record as a whole I think the action of the district judge was a proper exercise of his discretion. He was justified in concluding as he did that Warren, although young, was a confirmed and hardened criminal who was not fit for treatment as a youth offender.
In my opinion the remand is an unwarranted intrusion into the sentencing process, an effort to substitute the judgment of this court for the judgment of the district judge whose business it was to impose sentence.
I respectfully dissent from the order remanding Warren’s case for resentencing.