11 of 20 years suspended — five more if he locates gun
As Chester Brown stood before a Rappahannock County Circuit Court judge for sentencing Tuesday, he faced a possible 20 years in prison for his conviction of three firearm charges.
Instead, Judge William W. Sharp handed down what could be described as an unusual sentence. He sentenced Brown to four years in prison, and suspended 11 years of imprisonment. Five more years will be suspended, the judge said, if Brown leads law enforcement officials, within 30 days, to the missing revolver that was allegedly stolen from the home of Doris Critzer last August. If the gun isn’t located, Brown would serve nine years rather than four.
Critzer, 74, was found murdered in her home near the Town of Washington last August. The case was ruled a homicide and no one has been charged with her murder.
Brown, 63, who also lived in Washington, was convicted of grand larceny of a firearm, possession of a firearm while under a protective order and felony possession of a firearm.
Brown told the judge that if the main concern of the victim’s family is the gun’s whereabouts, he can show law enforcement where it is located. The judge took him up on the offer.
For grand larceny, the judge suspended nine of the 10 years; for possession of a firearm by a non-violent felon he suspended two of the five years; and for possession of a firearm while under a protective order, the judge suspended five years contingent on Brown helping authorities find the missing Smith & Wesson revolver. Brown said he could not give them exact verbal directions, but could show them the location.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Art Goff asked the judge how he would like to be notified if the gun is found, or if Brown sent them on a “wild goose chase and a bunch of hooey and it’s already on the streets of Baltimore.” The judge instructed Goff to notify the court about what is uncovered, and he would make the final ruling on the suspended sentence.
If Brown fails to lead law enforcement to the gun, he will face a total of nine unsuspended years in prison. Brown asked if he could go get the gun that day, but Sharp declined the request, saying that someone has to escort him there and law enforcement has up to 30 days to take him.
‘I didn’t kill nobody’
Brown at times seemed agitated, conferring with his attorney and pointing over and over to a piece of paper he held in his hand, one time abruptly dropping his eyeglasses on the table. When he spoke to the judge before he was sentenced, he said he felt his arrest and interrogation were mishandled.
“I don’t got nobody on my side…I didn’t kill nobody, that’s my friend, I lost,” Brown said. “They came to a house for a murder, homicide, and don’t even dust for fingerprints? They keep zooming in on me, holding this murder over my head…when have you ever heard of such a thing?”
Brown also told the judge: “I know where the firearm is. The gun’s in a hiding place, not too far. I can eliminate that if that’s the main concern…I told them it was loaned to me.”
Brown said he feels that he is being railroaded for the crime which he maintains he did not commit. He said he lied initially about having the gun because Doris Critzer did not want the family to know he had it. The gun’s absence was discovered as part of the ongoing investigation into Critzer’s murder.
Goff offered a rebuttal to Brown’s claims, and said that the totality of the facts and evidence in the larceny case paints “a very frightening picture.” He said the impact the theft has had on the family has been “devastating” and that Brown, from the beginning, admitted to lying to the police, and concealed the whereabouts of the gun claiming that it was his only bargaining chip.
“I believe Mr. Brown has demonstrated he is a danger to the community,” Goff said.
Brown’s attorney, Joseph Pricone stated that the murder is not part of these charges, and the court “is only here today for larceny of the gun, not murder.” He said his client’s main concerns are asking for a “guideline sentence” since outside of the murder, which is not part of these court proceedings, the facts of the case are “pretty routine.”
Before Brown was sentenced, the prosecution called three witnesses–all of which were family members of Critzer–who wished to testify and make victim impact statements detailing the effect the theft had on them. Brown spoke out in court before Pricone officially objected, and claimed that he did not understand why the impact statements from the family would be considered in the sentencing for these charges, since none of them were victims of the theft.
“If [the gun] is there or not there had no impact on them,” Brown said.
“I suspect [the statements] to be more geared toward her death than this case,” Pricone said.
Critzer’s daughter, Robbie Critzer, presented a written statement to the court, and testified that her main concern is that the gun could be used to cause harm to someone else in the community.
Esther Critzer, the daughter-in-law of Doris, was ready to testify, but the judge sustained an objection by the defense not allowing her testimony to be admitted since she is not a child and the statute “does not mention in-law relationships.” Bruce Critzer, the ex-spouse of Doris Critzer, was also present, but since he testified during Brown’s jury trial, the judge ruled that he did not need to testify further. He did not provide a written statement.
Sharp left the courtroom for about 15 minutes to review his notes on the case, and returned to deliver the sentencing. Before he did so, Sharp said that although the theft of the gun and the murder investigation are intertwined, he did not consider the facts of the murder in his sentencing decisions.
“Clearly, what hangs over this case is the death of Mrs. Critzer and the ongoing investigation,” Sharp said. “[There is] no question that the investigation into that murder is what led to the charges against Mr. Brown…but to take it into account is to say that…he is involved in some way in her murder.”
At the end of the court proceedings, Pricone said that if Brown were to pursue an appeal within the 30 day timetable, he would ask the court to appoint alternate counsel for him.
“I feel like this case needs fresh eyes on it,” Pricone said.
Sharp granted this request.
Brown asked the judge if currency investigators took from his home could be returned to him, and if his attorney could have access to his cellphone to retrieve contacts.
The judge asked Goff and the prosecutor said he should be able to get that information for Brown.
“Good luck, Mr. Brown,” Sharp said.
This story has been updated.
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