THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 30, 1996 TAG: 9607300245
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 100 lines
Robert Winfield took lives and destroyed families as he ran the River Edge drug gang in Portsmouth. For that, he must pay by spending the rest of his life behind bars, a federal judge ruled Monday.
His only regret, Judge Robert E. Payne said, was that he could not sentence Winfield to death. After the parents and family of Winfield's victims begged for justice, Payne delivered it, unmoved by Winfield's last-minute plea that the feds had gotten the wrong man.
``It's fortunate for you that the government did not seek the death penalty,'' Payne told Winfield. ``If they had, it would have been imposed. The maximum penalty is appropriate because of your total disregard for human life in pursuit of economic gain. You have destroyed lives and have shown no remorse. . . .
``The defendant will never be released from prison. . . . May God have mercy on your soul, because you showed none to your victims.''
Judge Payne called the gang's stronghold a ``reign of terror'' as he handed down maximum life sentences for Winfield and two other gang members who were sentenced Monday. Two others received lesser sentences.
According to testimony at the March trial of the five gang members, they controlled the neighborhood surrounding River Edge Apartments. Winfield decided whosold crack and who didn't. Who would be beaten for not paying their crack bill. And who would live or die.
One former resident said the constant gunfire was ``like Vietnam.'' Dealers - sometimes as many as a dozen - stood in groups any time of day, rushing up to cars or bicycles or pedestrians who walked up to them. Two of those customers and one rival dealer were killed by the gang. Many others were shot and beaten, often over petty arguments.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Tayman said Monday she did not ask for the death penalty for the gang members. She said she was not at liberty to discuss the reasoning. But Tayman said she was pleased with the outcome.
``In federal court, life without parole means just that: Your natural life,'' Tayman said. ``They're not getting out. Ever.''
When U.S. marshals swiftly surrounded Winfield as his sentence was announced, a woman on one side of the courtroom, where victims' families sat, exclaimed, ``Thank you, Jesus.''
Wails and sobbing came from the other side, where about two dozen supporters of the defendants sat, stunned by the sentences. Among them was Winfield's fiance, who had gotten permission from the judge that morning to marry Winfield.
Earlier in the sentencing hearing, after hours of wrangling over how many kilograms of cocaine were sold in the streets around River Edge apartment complex, victims' family members pleaded with the judge for justice.
Prosecutors had to speak for the mother of murder victim Mark Martin, who still cannot utter her son's name without weeping, a year after his death. She says she will never recover from the image painted at trial of Winfield lifting a long-barreled .38-caliber revolver to shoulder height and shooting her 21-year-old son in the back of the head.
The father of William Bales, also 21 when he died, took the stand and spoke for all the victims, he said. As Winfield picked at his hands and looked away, the courtroom fell silent. Ward Bales spoke of his love and emptiness.
``People all over are depending on our courts for justice,'' Bales told the judge. ``These families, they've put in all this time. It took over two years to get these people here. It's up to you. I wanted to deal with this man after my son was murdered, but my family wanted to (go to court).
``There a lot of people in Portsmouth waiting to see if the courts will deal the maximum. They've been dealing the maximum punishment by shooting down people. When you do that, you don't just shoot down the person, you shoot down the person's family, and you shoot down the person's town.''
William Bales was killed during an argument over whether Robert Winfield had given him one rock of crack or two.
Martin's mother, Shirley Powers, spoke through tears after the sentencing.
``It's been a long time waiting, a long hard road sitting here in court thinking, it's been a year since my son was killed,'' Powers said. ``I'm just so glad it's over with. I don't have to worry about it anymore.''
The parents of Martin and Bales had befriended the widow of Reginald Cannon during the trial. All three sat near each other for support. Cannon was killed by John Cobbs because he was a rival dealer.
Of the gang members sentenced Monday, enforcer John Cobbs and Taubari Latson received the maximum life in prison without parole, plus 60 months.
Lorenzo Winfield and Demetrius Williams were both sentenced to 35 years and five months in prison.
Andre Branche and Lemuel Britt were sentenced earlier this year after pleading guilty. Branche received 105 months and Britt received 240 months.
Cobbs was responsible for one of the most ``egregious'' crimes committed by the gang, Payne said, the attempted murder of Darwin Eady, a key witness against Winfield.
Eady was cooperating with police and was prepared to testify that he saw Robert Winfield shoot Mark Martin. Before he could do that, Cobbs ``tracked him down and shot him six times,'' prosecutor Laura Tayman told the judge. ``The last time was to the head. Then, Cobbs put his foot on Eady's back, pushed him to the ground and told him to die.''
Cobbs' attorney argued that he had been neglected by an alcoholic mother and incarcerated father and that no one came to court to support him Monday.
The judge was unmoved. Had the sentencing guidelines not allowed him to sentence Cobbs to life, he would have done so anyway, he told Cobbs' attorney.
Payne summed up his feelings about the gang in sentencing Latson.
``I frankly believe what we have here is a conspiracy of very large proportions and very far-reaching in its scope,'' Payne said. ``It affected an entire community. It was perpreatrated by violence, force and terror.'' MEMO: Staff writer Marc Davis contributed to this report. by CNB