Published: Friday, June 17, 2005
Monroe man's legal odyssey nearly over
Prosecutors reach a deal to credit him for time already served as a teenager.
Frank Chimenti Jr. once faced five years in prison for a crime he committed at age16. On Thursday, he learned he likely will only spend a few more weeks behind bars to put his legal problems in his past.
Under a deal reached with prosecutors, the Monroe man, 21, received a break during sentencing for his participation in the July 2000 burglary of a Snohomish-area home.
With credit for the 649 days Chimenti already has served - most of it as a teenager consigned to an adult prison - he likely will be free in less than a month, Everett attorney Pete Mazzone said.
Mazzone in 2002 found a legal way to free Chimenti, scrubbing his conviction. The man has since been free while prosecutors and judges wrestled with whether he should again face a five-year mandatory sentence.
Chimenti, who expects to become a father in October, told Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Linda Krese that he just wants to get on with his life.
"Not the life I had before, but the life I've made between," he said.
Friday's hearing marked what may be the final chapter in a legal odyssey that for some raised questions about the fairness of state laws designed to crack down on teen offenders and to heap extra punishment on people who commit crimes involving firearms.
Deputy prosecutor Ed Stemmler told the judge people in his office believe Chimenti's conduct five years ago warranted serious punishment.
"This is a case our office has struggled with on what the right thing to do is," he said.
Chimenti was in the company of a 20-year-old, five-time felon when the pair broke into a home and stole firearms. Prosecutors found the crime particularly disturbing because the homeowner surprised the burglars carting loot out of his garage. Nobody was injured during the confrontation.
Because of the seriousness of the offense, plus Chimenti's prior misdemeanor juvenile convictions for property crimes, the case was automatically sent to adult court.
He received a mandatory five-year sentence under the state's "hard time for armed crime" laws. Those punishments were approved by voters in the mid-1990s.
At the time of his crime, Chimenti was a teenager who had attended high school special-education classes.
His father, a gravel truck driver, hired Mazzone to see if there was anything that could be done to spare his son from a long prison term.
Under a deal reached with prosecutors, the Monroe man, 21, received a break during sentencing for his participation in the July 2000 burglary of a Snohomish-area home.
With credit for the 649 days Chimenti already has served - most of it as a teenager consigned to an adult prison - he likely will be free in less than a month, Everett attorney Pete Mazzone said.
Mazzone in 2002 found a legal way to free Chimenti, scrubbing his conviction. The man has since been free while prosecutors and judges wrestled with whether he should again face a five-year mandatory sentence.
Chimenti, who expects to become a father in October, told Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Linda Krese that he just wants to get on with his life.
"Not the life I had before, but the life I've made between," he said.
Friday's hearing marked what may be the final chapter in a legal odyssey that for some raised questions about the fairness of state laws designed to crack down on teen offenders and to heap extra punishment on people who commit crimes involving firearms.
Deputy prosecutor Ed Stemmler told the judge people in his office believe Chimenti's conduct five years ago warranted serious punishment.
"This is a case our office has struggled with on what the right thing to do is," he said.
Chimenti was in the company of a 20-year-old, five-time felon when the pair broke into a home and stole firearms. Prosecutors found the crime particularly disturbing because the homeowner surprised the burglars carting loot out of his garage. Nobody was injured during the confrontation.
Because of the seriousness of the offense, plus Chimenti's prior misdemeanor juvenile convictions for property crimes, the case was automatically sent to adult court.
He received a mandatory five-year sentence under the state's "hard time for armed crime" laws. Those punishments were approved by voters in the mid-1990s.
At the time of his crime, Chimenti was a teenager who had attended high school special-education classes.
His father, a gravel truck driver, hired Mazzone to see if there was anything that could be done to spare his son from a long prison term.
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