White Goldstein's Criminal Defense Blog
Barefoot Bandit to Face Federal Criminal Charges
As his 80,000+ Facebook fans wait anxiously to learn of the Barefoot Bandit’s fate, the Barefoot Bandit has been arrested and scheduled to appear in federal court to face federal criminal charges for alleged interstate transportation of stolen goods and possible additional charges. Unfortunately, for the ever-so-popular Barefoot Bandit, federal criminal law presents unique challenges for defendants such as the harshness of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines which must be considered and which significantly limit a Judge’s sentencing discretion. [Federal Sentencing] Undoubtedly, a zealous federal criminal defense attorney will argue and/or negotiate with the considerable mitigating factors which appear to be present in his case: his youth, lack of prior criminal history, troubled social, psychological, and emotional background beginning with him running away from a juvenile halfway-house, and a host of other relevant mitigating factors. Although the federal criminal charge of interstate transportation of stolen goods faces a maximum sentence of up to ten years in federal prison, it is unlikely that the Barefoot Bandit would be sentenced to the maximum given the unique facts of his case.
