Stupid, Thieving, Recidivist Pervert

Some of the stories from around here just defy description -

GLOUCESTER -- The judge congratulated John Wayne Brown on his "articulate argument" for a reduced prison sentence Tuesday - then followed a jury's recommendation that Brown serve nine years for grand larceny.

Reading from a statement in which he referred to himself as "the defendant," Brown, 44 - shackled and wearing orange jail-issued coveralls - pointed out that a nine-year sentence was "disproportionate with the guidelines" that courts may follow in determining sentences. Under the guidelines, Brown could have received a sentence of one to three years.

"I had been offered a plea bargain of 90 days," he told Circuit Judge William H. Shaw III. Brown said he opted instead for a jury trial because "I firmly believed I was going to beat the case."

In May, a jury found him guilty of stealing scrap copper from a local business, then recommended the nine-year sentence.

Shaw said he agreed with Brown that the sentence was excessive "looking at the case in a vacuum, without considering your prior record."

Brown's record includes convictions for carrying a concealed weapon, sexual battery, attempted rape of an 11-year-old girl, maiming a jailer and assaulting a prison guard.

After serving more than nine years in prison for the attempted rape, Brown wrote a letter to the court shortly before his scheduled release, requesting the names and addresses of the jurors who convicted him in 1989.

Earlier, he'd threatened to "get the folks that framed him immediately upon his release," according to a letter to Brown's prosecutor from the state Department of Corrections.

In arguing Tuesday for the nine-year sentence, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Monique Watson told the judge that nothing seemed to have any effect in turning Brown around. Watson said Brown even refused to cooperate with the probation officer who prepared his pre-sentencing report.

"He's a career criminal," she said of Brown. "He's not going to change."

Brown said he would appeal the case. Shaw appointed Richard Langhorne, who represented Brown in the trial and sentencing, to handle the appeal.

Gosh, so he's really surprised that after repeated convictions, and threatening jurors, they decide to lock him up? How many people did he think he'd need to hurt first?

The mug shot above is from his very own personal web page on the Virginia Sex Offender Registry. I have to wonder, since the registry page doesn't show an address for him, does that mean he missed his filing requirements, and so will be going back to the slam for that too, or has he been a guest at the local lock-up while awaiting trial? I guess we'll find out after his next compulsory check-in date, this Sunday.