The mother wept. The father begged. Sending their frail, quadriplegic son to prison, the father told a federal judge Thursday, would be like sentencing him to death.
But after a hearing that lasted nearly two hours, that is what U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger did in a decision she called “agonizing.” Krieger sentenced Jeremiah Patrick to six months, to be served in a prison hospital.
Patrick, of Pueblo, had violated his probation on fraud charges by using the Internet in deceitful ways, Krieger said.
Prosecutors said even though Patrick, 27, was ordered to stay away from the Internet, he used it to sell fake Viagra. And he convinced a home health aide to drive him to a Kinko’s so he could electronically file a federal tax return, hoping to hide the fact he was going to get a tax return – money he’d have to give up to pay restitution.
Patrick originally pleaded guilty in 2003 to using the Internet to defraud people of $151,213 by auctioning computers but never delivering the goods.
Patrick, whose movement is limited to pushing buttons, sobbed and spoke in a muffled voice, suggesting the judge give him 151,213 hours of community service.
“That’s an hour for every dollar I took,” said Patrick, who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy and uses a ventilator.
His lawyer had argued that Patrick should stay with his family or receive a sentence of days rather than months. The threat of prison and his fear that he might die if he were cared for by people who weren’t familiar with his serious medical needs were punishment enough, said Robert Pepin, his attorney.
“I think the point has been made,” Pepin said.
Krieger said she had given Patrick one chance after another, originally giving him a vastly reduced sentence and cutting him a break on the first probation violation.
“I am sadly convinced Mr. Patrick lacks the ability to discipline himself in his choices,” Krieger said.
Patrick’s mother softly cried as Krieger imposed the sentence. Patrick will be sent to an evaluation facility in Rochester, Minn., which is run by the federal bureau of prisons.
Staff writer Alicia Caldwell can be reached at 303-820-1930 or acaldwell@denverpost.com.
