Judge Imposes 128 Year Sentence On Man Convicted Of Violent Home Invasions
By Tony Hanson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Calling the crimes "beyond the pale", and saying he hasn't seen anything like this in 25 years on the bench, Federal Judge Legrome Davis imposes a sentence of 128 years in prison on a 30-year-old man convicted of a series of vicious assaults, torture, home invasions and robberies.
Defendant Lamar Staten and others were convicted of crimes, including an abduction in which two victims were beaten and tortured. One man, described as a former drug dealer who was no longer in the business but was working at a fast food restaurant, was stabbed and burned repeatedly.
Prosecutor Arlene Fisk says Staten was also involved in a series of related armed home invasions in which victims, including women and children, were threatened. Fisk says the crimes were mean, vicious, ugly and Staten has earned his sentence.
"And there is nothing about the nature of these crimes or the background that in any way causes the government to be at all alarmed that he is never getting out of jail again. That is frankly comforting."
The judge added Staten has forsaken his right to live among civilized people.
Two co-defendants are scheduled to be sentenced tomorrow and they face even longer mandatory minimum sentences.
