
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 15, 1994                   TAG: 9407150082
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

EX-CON GOES BACK TO PRISON FOR 56 YEARS

A former convict who had been out of prison for six months when he robbed and shot a Roanoke man has been sentenced to 56 years behind bars.

Troy F. Cartwright, who has blamed his record of violent crime on an addiction to crack cocaine, received the sentence from Roanoke Circuit Judge Clifford Weckstein.

In June, Cartwright pleaded guilty to the robbery and malicious wounding of Robert Divers, a tow truck driver he approached outside a Northeast Roanoke garage Dec. 31.

Earlier evidence has shown that Cartwright asked Divers how much money he had in his wallet before opening fire, wounding him in the abdomen. Cartwright then fled with the wallet and led police on a chase that ended when he wrecked his car.

Cartwright, 29, said he was high on crack cocaine at the time of the offense. "I just flipped out," he testified.

As Cartwright described how he has battled a drug problem while coming within 32 credit hours of a college degree, he cried and became so distraught that Weckstein recessed court for several minutes so he could compose himself.

Although Cartwright blamed drugs and a troubled childhood for his problems, that didn't stop Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Gerald Teaster from seeking a maximum sentence of life plus 43 years.

"You've got to end the proximate cause of crime instead of always blaming someone else," Teaster said.

Assistant Public Defender Steve Milani responded that "if we're ever going to solve the crime problem, we need to figure out why we have criminals and where they come from" instead of just imposing tough sentences after the fact.

Milani had asked that Cartwright receive a 20-year prison sentence to be followed by an intensive drug treatment program - something that Cartwright had pleaded for when he was in court earlier.

In June 1993, Cartwright was released from a Massachusetts prison after serving about nine years for armed robbery, abduction and assault. In addition to being sentenced to 20 years each on the robbery and malicious wounding charges Wednesday, Cartwright received 16 years for firearm offenses that carry mandatory sentences.

by CNB