Pubdate: Thu, 07 Aug 2003
Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel (TN)
Copyright: 2003 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.
Contact:  http://www.knoxnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/226
Author: Jamie Satterfield

JUDGE URGES INMATE TO USE TIME WISELY

Crime may not pay, but getting caught does have its perks, a federal judge 
noted Tuesday.

U.S. District Court Senior Judge James Jarvis recited a list of benefits 
offered to crack cocaine dealer Victor Douglas "Little Vic" Hines since his 
arrest last year.

Hines got a hard-working attorney free of charge, Jarvis noted. He also got 
a wife, with Jarvis signing an order earlier this year allowing Hines to 
marry while behind bars.

Jarvis sentenced Hines on Tuesday to a seven-year prison term. While 
serving that sentence, Jarvis said, Hines will get even more opportunities.

He'll get a chance to earn a high school equivalency diploma, Jarvis said. 
He can learn a trade at the expense of the federal government, the judge 
said. Taxpayers also will be footing the bill for Hines to kick drug 
addiction, according to Jarvis.

Then, when Hines is finished serving his sentence, a federal probation 
officer will turn employment agent, helping the convicted felon find work, 
Jarvis said.

"I trust you want to work?" Jarvis asked Hines.

"Yes, sir," Hines responded.

"You got a break here," Jarvis said. "Don't get in trouble again."

Hines, 22, is no stranger to trouble. He faced dozens of charges as a 
teenager, ranging from curfew violations to selling crack cocaine near an 
elementary school. Police received so many complaints about Hines and his 
drug-dealing operation in Northwest Knoxville he was banned from the 
Western Heights housing project by the time he was 18.

Despite his frequent run-ins with authorities, Hines has never been 
convicted of a felony. His stints in jail were brief. But in June 2002, 
Hines was nabbed by the Knoxville Police Department with nearly 14 grams of 
crack cocaine and federal authorities stepped in, sending the case to U.S. 
District Court.

Hines pleaded guilty in April to possession of crack cocaine with the 
intent to sell, a felony conviction that could have put him in prison for 
as long as 40 years. Attorney Beth Ford, a federal public defender, told 
Jarvis that Hines deserved a sentencing break.

"This is his first felony conviction," she said. "Since being (arrested) 
he's done a lot of thinking."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugh B. Ward Jr. said his office was "agreeable" to 
a seven-year sentence, which is a two-year hike over the minimum penalty 
for Hines' crime. Jarvis approved the sentence and urged Hines to use what 
he termed the advantages of the federal prison system. "Get a vocation," he 
said. "They'll teach you how to weld (or other skills). You can get your 
GED there in prison. Don't waste that time, Mr. Hines."

Jamie Satterfield may be reached at 865-342-6308.
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