THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 18, 1994 TAG: 9410180332
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
A judge ignored sentencing guidelines Monday to give a harsher sentence to a 16-year-old who shot a pizza deliveryman in the heart because he took too long to hand over his wallet during a robbery last October.
Curtis Brandon - dubbed ``the most dangerous man in Virginia Beach'' by a prosecutor because of the cold-blooded nature of the crime - got 53 years for shooting James Murray. The sentence was nearly 12 years more than the maximum recommended in the guidelines.
``Some people are just born bad,'' said prosecutor Shep Wainger, reciting a litany of troubles that began when Brandon tried to burn his mother's bedroom as a pre-schooler. ``Some people are not fit to live in human society.''
Brandon, who says he is innocent, pleaded for mercy.
``Just give me a chance,'' he asked. ``I'm not a bad person. I understand how he (Murray) feels. I've been robbed myself. I'm working on my GED. I'm trying to change. Give me a chance.''
Brandon's mother, Cynthia Conyers, wept on the stand as she begged the judge to help her son rather than punish him. ``We've been asking for years for help,'' Conyers pleaded. ``This is our last chance. Please help us.''
Judge Thomas S. Shadrick told Conyers he wished he had the power to order her son cured of the mental disorders that have left him aggressive, angry and incapable of feeling compassion for others. Then he pronounced sentence.
``You are an extremely dangerous individual,'' Shadrick told Brandon. ``The fact you don't realize it makes you all the more dangerous. Psychiatric reports show that you will do whatever you feel necessary to get what you want and that you have a marked lack of empathy for others. That truly reflects these circumstances.''
After Brandon shot Murray Oct.30 at Regency Apartments, he and two friends picked up the pepperoni pizza Murray was delivering, took it to a nearby apartment and ate it while they watched from a window as rescue workers struggled to save Murray's life.
Murray's heart stopped during surgery at Virginia Beach General Hospital, but physicians were able to restart it.
``I died on the operating table,'' Murray testified. ``I still suffer a burning sensation from the entrance wound and pain under my chest.'' The set off metal detectors in the courthouse before the hearing Monday.
``My life will never be normal again,'' Murray testified. ``I'll always live with this scar. I'll always be cautious. My wife is afraid to go out at night. We're all afraid. I know justice is being served today, and that's the best thing.''
Brandon will be sentenced today for the armed robbery of another pizza deliveryman and will also stand trial today for the armed robbery of a third pizza deliveryman. Charges are pending against him in juvenile court for the alleged armed robbery of a cab driver.
Brandon's troubles started early in his life, according to psychiatric reports made public Monday. His mother told the judge that Brandon spent the first week of his life in intensive care diagnosed as ``a depressed baby.'' As a pre-schooler, he heard voices and ``talked to people who weren't there,'' his mother said.
His first-grade report showed he was aggressive, had trouble listening to directions and couldn't get along with others. He ``tends to be inattentive, aggressive, generally disruptive,'' his teacher wrote his mother. ``Nothing changes no matter how I try to handle his behavior. I hope you've started to get some outside help.''
Brandon was first hospitalized in Tidewater Psychiatric Institute at age 8 and spent the next two years in and out of psychiatric programs. He was diagnosed as having a conduct disorder, narcissistic personality traits and aggressive attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, Wainger said.
``This is a man with deep psychological problems,'' said Brandon's attorney, Theresa B. Berry.
By the time Brandon was sent to Hanover Learning Center for attempted robbery when he was 14, he had a juvenile record for assault, curse and abuse and violation of probation.
Wainger said Monday that Brandon is unwilling to help himself. ``He's manipulative with no need or desire to accept responsibility,'' Wainger said of his psychiatric reports. ``He has no internal control. He shows no remorse. He shows no regrets.''
Shadrick gave Brandon the maximum 20 years for malicious wounding and 3 years for use of a firearm. He gave him 30 years for robbery, with all three sentences running consecutively.
Murray stood outside the courtroom, thanking the trauma team at Virginia Beach General Hospital for saving his life. Of the three men who robbed him, two have now been convicted. He must testify at one more trial.
``I'm very fortunate to be alive today,'' he said. ``The Lord had to have been with me.'' ILLUSTRATION: Pizza deliveryman's shooter gets no mercy
CHARLIE MEADS
Curtis Brandon will be sentenced today, his 17th birthday, for the
armed robbery of another deliveryman.
His mother:
Cynthia Conyers
His victim:
James Murray
KEYWORDS: SENTENCING SHOOTING ROBBERY by CNB