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CRIMES
The Charge: Prison Breach
The Record: Last February, inmate Anthony Richardson was transferred from the D.C. Jail to a halfway house in Northeast. On May 4, 2007, Richardson was “granted permission to sign out of the extended house facility.” He was due to return back to the facility no later than 9 p.m. the same day. After he failed to return to the facility or contact his supervisors requesting an extension, he was placed on “escape status and dropped from the facility count.”
Convicted: 12/21/2007
PLEAS FOR MERCY
Lawyer: “[Richardson] knows he is going to have to pay the price,” says attorney Eleanor Frucci. But consider the circumstances, she says: “Someone in his neighborhood knew where he was in the halfway house. This individual caught up with [Richardson] and shot him in the shoulder. It’s not just a case of paranoia. There was a strong belief that someone was going to find him.” (According to other statements in the court, when he was shot, drugs and a gun with Richardson’s fingerprints were found in connection to the shooting.) Frucci says Richardson’s downfall is his neighborhood: “He agrees he’s never going back to 35th Street NE.”
Defendant: “I take responsibility,” says Richardson. “I did run from the halfway house—I did it for my own safety.”
PUNISHMENT
The Sentence: Six months in jail, followed by a one year period of supervised probation; $100 to Victims of Violent Crime Compensation Fund. “Then you’ll decide what kind of life you want to live when you get out,” says Judge Robert Richter.