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Tag: sentencing memorandum

  • Prosecutors seek life sentence for man who tried to shoot Trump at a Florida golf course

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    Federal prosecutors are set to ask that a man convicted of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump on a Florida golf course in 2024 be sentenced to life in prison at a hearing on Wednesday.Ryan Routh is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Fort Pierce. Her courtroom erupted into chaos in September shortly after jurors found Routh guilty on all counts, including attempting to kill a presidential candidate and several firearm-related charges. Routh tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen, and officers quickly dragged him out.Routh’s sentencing had initially been scheduled for December, but Cannon agreed to move the date back after Routh decided to use an attorney during the sentencing phase instead of representing himself as he did for most of the trial.Prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum filed last month that Routh has yet to accept any responsibility for his actions and that he should spend the rest of his life in prison, in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines.“Routh remains unrepentant for his crimes, never apologized for the lives he put at risk, and his life demonstrates near-total disregard for law,” the memo said.Routh’s new defense attorney, Martin L. Roth, is asking the judge for a variance from sentencing guidelines: 20 years in prison on top of a seven-year, mandatory sentence for one of the gun convictions.“The defendant is two weeks short of being sixty years old,” Roth wrote in a filing. “A just punishment would provide a sentence long enough to impose sufficient but not excessive punishment, and to allow defendant to experience freedom again as opposed to dying in prison.”Prosecutors said Routh spent weeks plotting to kill Trump before aiming a rifle through shrubbery as the then-Republican presidential candidate played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach country club.At Routh’s trial, a Secret Service agent helping protect Trump on the golf course testified that he spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and run away without firing a shot.In the motion requesting an attorney, Routh offered to trade his life in a prisoner swap with people unjustly held in other countries and said an offer still stood for Trump to “take out his frustrations on my face.”“Just a quarter of an inch further back and we all would not have to deal with all of this mess forwards, but I always fail at everything (par for the course),” Routh wrote.In her decision granting Routh an attorney, Cannon chastised the “disrespectful charade” of Routh’s motion, saying it made a mockery of the proceedings. But the judge, nominated by Trump in 2020, said she wanted to err on the side of legal representation.Cannon signed off last summer on Routh’s request to represent himself following two hearings. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that criminal defendants have the right to represent themselves in court proceedings, as long as they can show a judge they are competent to waive their right to be defended by an attorney.Routh’s former federal public defenders served as standby counsel and were present during the trial.

    FORT PIERCE, Fla. —

    Federal prosecutors are set to ask that a man convicted of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump on a Florida golf course in 2024 be sentenced to life in prison at a hearing on Wednesday.

    Ryan Routh is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Fort Pierce. Her courtroom erupted into chaos in September shortly after jurors found Routh guilty on all counts, including attempting to kill a presidential candidate and several firearm-related charges. Routh tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen, and officers quickly dragged him out.

    Routh’s sentencing had initially been scheduled for December, but Cannon agreed to move the date back after Routh decided to use an attorney during the sentencing phase instead of representing himself as he did for most of the trial.

    Prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum filed last month that Routh has yet to accept any responsibility for his actions and that he should spend the rest of his life in prison, in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines.

    “Routh remains unrepentant for his crimes, never apologized for the lives he put at risk, and his life demonstrates near-total disregard for law,” the memo said.

    Routh’s new defense attorney, Martin L. Roth, is asking the judge for a variance from sentencing guidelines: 20 years in prison on top of a seven-year, mandatory sentence for one of the gun convictions.

    “The defendant is two weeks short of being sixty years old,” Roth wrote in a filing. “A just punishment would provide a sentence long enough to impose sufficient but not excessive punishment, and to allow defendant to experience freedom again as opposed to dying in prison.”

    Prosecutors said Routh spent weeks plotting to kill Trump before aiming a rifle through shrubbery as the then-Republican presidential candidate played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach country club.

    At Routh’s trial, a Secret Service agent helping protect Trump on the golf course testified that he spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and run away without firing a shot.

    In the motion requesting an attorney, Routh offered to trade his life in a prisoner swap with people unjustly held in other countries and said an offer still stood for Trump to “take out his frustrations on my face.”

    “Just a quarter of an inch further back and we all would not have to deal with all of this mess forwards, but I always fail at everything (par for the course),” Routh wrote.

    In her decision granting Routh an attorney, Cannon chastised the “disrespectful charade” of Routh’s motion, saying it made a mockery of the proceedings. But the judge, nominated by Trump in 2020, said she wanted to err on the side of legal representation.

    Cannon signed off last summer on Routh’s request to represent himself following two hearings. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that criminal defendants have the right to represent themselves in court proceedings, as long as they can show a judge they are competent to waive their right to be defended by an attorney.

    Routh’s former federal public defenders served as standby counsel and were present during the trial.

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  • Ex-CHP captain who drunkenly exposed himself on flight, twice, avoids jail sentence

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    A former California Highway Patrol captain will not serve jail time after admitting to exposing himself and sexually touching flight attendants aboard a JetBlue flight last year.

    Dennis Woodbury, 50, will instead receive three years of probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count of simple assault on an aircraft. U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson ordered Woodbury to complete 100 hours of community service and undergo mental health and substance abuse treatment and testing, according to court records.

    “That the defendant was once in a position of public trust and committed these acts is disturbing and should be taken seriously,” Assistant U.S. Atty. Brenda Galvan wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

    Woodbury had previously been dismissed from the CHP after serving in the San Gabriel Valley, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a news release.

    He was initially arrested on a more serious felony charge of abusive sexual contact within federal jurisdiction but was allowed to plead to a lesser charge of simple assault under a plea agreement accepted by the court in October.

    The U.S. attorney’s office argued that a sentence of 90 days in custody “reflects the seriousness of the offense given the defendant’s history,” according to the memorandum.

    The victims, two male flight attendants, testified that Woodbury’s actions left them fearful for their safety and disrupted their ability to do their jobs during a cross-country flight in April 2025, according to prosecutors.

    On the flight, Woodbury downed a bottle of Prosecco and showed one flight attendant a pornographic picture, according to court records.

    Woodbury then suggested the two men go on a cruise together.

    “When [the attendant] demonstrated how the plane’s oxygen masks worked, he saw Woodbury looking at him and [making] a hand-pumping motion,” the criminal complaint states.

    Shortly after, he slapped an attendant’s butt and yelled, “I love you.” The incident prompted flight staff to swap sections on the plane, but Woodbury’s behavior persisted.

    He walked to the plane’s front galley, pulled down his pants and exposed himself to the second flight attendant. After he was urged to take his seat, Woodbury circled back to the front of the plane, demanded wine and exposed himself again.

    The government said the incident compromised the attendants’ ability to perform safety-critical duties during the flight. In a victim impact statement, one flight attendant said Woodbury’s conduct caused “significant emotional, professional and reputational” harm.

    “No one should have to feel threatened merely for doing their job,” prosecutors wrote.

    Despite those arguments, the court declined to impose a jail sentence.

    Anderson also waived a $2,000 fine proposed by prosecutors, citing Woodbury’s financial circumstances, and ordered him to pay a mandatory $10 special assessment, according to the judgment.

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    Gavin J. Quinton

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