Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 16, 1994 TAG: 9407120067
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Seconds later he was arrested by another officer, who discovered Tinsley had a .22-caliber pistol tucked in the pocket of his jacket.
Because of that gun - which was never exposed to the officer who bought the crack - the $20 drug deal will cost the Northwest Roanoke man the next 24 years of his life.
A federal law aimed at decreasing violence by imposing stiff penalties for drug offenders who carry guns forced a federal judge to sentence Tinsley, age 25, to 291 months in prison.
"If it were not for the federal mandate, the sentence would have been much lighter," U.S. District Judge Samuel Wilson told Tinsley at his sentencing this week.
Kent Larsen, a spokesman for the Federal Sentencing Commission, said Congress amended a firearms law in 1987 to include mandatory sentences for drug crimes that involve guns.
Drug offenders caught with a pistol face a mandatory five years in prison for a first offense and an automatic 20 for a second offense. Dealers caught with a machine gun or any gun equipped with a silencer must serve a minimum of 30 years for a first offense and a life sentence for a second offense.
Federal authorities, who refer to the law simply as a "924(c)" - its section number in the federal code - say many drug dealers are starting to realize the severity of the penalties and leaving their guns home.
The law required a mandatory 20-year sentence for Tinsley because he was convicted of a similar offense in 1988. The additional four years and three months of his sentence stemmed from charges of crack distribution and marijuana distribution, both related to the February incident.
Tinsley, who was convicted by a jury in April, plans to appeal his case to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.
Minutes before the sentencing, Marc Small, Tinsley's lawyer, warned his client's family the penalty would be harsh.
"I don't have any good news," he told them. "They only give you a break once. ... It's not a law I agree with, but it's the law."
Small told Judge Wilson that he didn't believe Tinsley's case fit the scope of Congress' intent when it approved the stringent measure.
"It was established to prevent gun fights in the street," he said, pointing out that Tinsley's gun was never exposed, much less fired.
Punish violent criminals, he said, but "don't punish the mere possession of a gun."
Along with amending the firearms law in 1987, Congress approved the federal sentencing guidelines, which provide ranges within which judges must sentence defendants.
After the hearing, Small said that he dislikes all federal sentencing requirements because they take away a judge's authority.
"I think judges should have total discretion," he said.
And while some judges have also complained about the guidelines, Small said he thinks many judges like them because it means they don't have to make as many decisions. They can impose harsh sentences, blame it on the guidelines and not worry about accusations of being lenient on crime, he said.
Federal authorities agree that while some of the penalties - like the 20-year minimum applied to Tinsley - might seem harsh, they are a good deterrent.
"It certainly takes this person out for a while," Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruth Plagenhoef said.
Jim Silvey, resident agent in charge of Roanoke's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms office, said few dope dealers arrested during the recent Operation Roundball drug sweep had weapons.
Silvey said the drug suspects knew they would face lengthy prison terms if caught with a gun.
"That doesn't mean they don't have guns, just that they don't carry them when selling drugs," Silvey added.
by CNB