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Monday, November 22, 2010

CHARLESTON, W.Va, U.S. Army service lessens Pagan's gun sentence

OFF THE WIRE

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club convicted of possessing a gun while he was a user of cocaine was sentenced Thursday to spend five months on home confinement.

In August, a federal jury convicted Eric W. "Fritz" Wolfe, 43, of St. Albans, following a two-day trial. Wolfe conceded that he owned a gun -- which he and his wife pawned in May 2009 -- and that he used cocaine around that time.

Wolfe said Thursday that he didn't believe he used cocaine often enough to fit the legal definition of an illegal user, but that he accepted the jury's verdict.

"I stand before this court to take responsibility for my actions," he said. "I should have never used cocaine. It was just inherently wrong."

U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Johnston gave Wolfe a reduced sentence because of his 20-year military career, citing a new revision to the federal sentencing guidelines that went into effect on Nov. 1. The change states that military service "may be relevant in determining whether a departure is warranted, if the military service, individually or in combination with other offender characteristics, is present to an unusual degree and distinguishes the case from the typical cases covered by the guidelines."

Wolfe spent two decades in the West Virginia National Guard, including almost 10 years on active duty. He retired as a first lieutenant in 2005, said John Carr, one of Wolfe's lawyers.

Wolfe began his military career as an enlisted man, and rose in rank to become an officer, Carr said. In 2005, at a time when the war in Iraq was violent and unpopular, Wolfe volunteered to serve abroad again, he said.

"He did convoy duty, under fire, in Iraq as an officer," Carr said.

Johnston said he was surprised to learn from Wolfe's pre-sentence report about his distinguished military career, which included multiple medals, ribbons and accolades.

Carr said Wolfe, who wears a handlebar mustache and a ponytail that reaches between his shoulder blades, had earned an Audie Murphy Award for exemplary bravery under fire.

"We have people who have made extraordinary sacrifices for their country, but it's not something they wear on their sleeves," he said.

According to the Pentagon, the Sgt. Audie Murphy certificate is a reward for noncommissioned officers whose leadership achievements and performance merit special recognition.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Loew said that while the government respects and appreciates military service, he did not think that Wolfe, who wounded himself in the hand when he accidentally discharged a 9mm handgun in Iraq, automatically qualified for a reduced sentence.

"I don't think [Wolfe] gets a [downward] departure because he was a saint," Johnson replied. "He gets a departure because he was a soldier."

The judge quoted from a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court opinion, which noted, "our nation has a long tradition of according leniency to veterans in recognition of their service, especially for those who fought on the front lines."

In addition to his military record, Wolfe has a strong work history and minimal criminal history, the judge said.

"Your membership in the Pagans and your drug use was your downfall," he said. "I am left to wonder if you got involved with the Pagans because you missed the camaraderie you had in the military."

The sentencing guidelines recommended a sentence of 10 to 16 months in prison, but allowed for an alternative sentence.

Noting that Wolfe had spent almost five months in jail while his case was pending, Johnston sentenced him to three years of supervised release, with the first five months to be spent on home confinement.

Earlier this month, Johnston sentenced a Pagan who admitted that he'd helped transport a fragmentation grenade and military-grade C4 explosives to time he had already served.

In October, Richard Howard Lacy Smith, 59, of Roanoke, Va., pleaded guilty, saying that another Pagan in Virginia gave him the explosives, which he then delivered to a Pagan in Princeton, W.Va.

Smith, whose biker nickname is "Reverse," didn't know that the Pagan to whom he gave the explosives, Ron "Pagan Ronnie" Howerton, was a confidential informant working for the FBI.

Wolfe and Smith are the latest defendants convicted as part of a 44-count racketeering indictment against members and associates of the Pagans to be sentenced.

Although Wolfe and another defendant were convicted at trial, a Pagan from Kentucky was acquitted by a jury on a gun charge. Most defendants entered into plea deals to vastly reduced charges, a handful entered into agreements where their charges will be dismissed if they stay out of trouble for a year, and a few had all charges against them dropped.

http://wvgazette.com/News/201011181260