Maybe life isn’t so unfair after all – at least from Peter Nicholas Lewis’ viewpoint.
Lewis, the thief who broke into Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman’s home in November, was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison.
He had complained that police went after him with too much zeal because of who the victim was. But Lewis got the benefit of the doubt this time, despite his earlier doubts about how he had been treated.
Denver District Judge Christina Habas, a tough, no-nonsense judge, said she wanted to work with Lewis and recommended that his initial prison time be spent in boot camp. If he does well there, she said, she will reconsider his sentence in December, about the time he should graduate from the camp.
“I have faith in you,” she told Lewis, who could have been sentenced to a maximum of 12 years. “You are an impressive young man. You are bright.”
Lewis, 21, broke into Whitman’s home on Nov. 8. Stolen were a .38-caliber pistol in Whitman’s lockbox, two electric guitars, a laptop computer, a cellular phone and about $200 in coins.
Lewis apologized Tuesday to his family and the community.
“I know I have done wrong. I did wrong, I did the wrong thing,” Lewis said.
“I’m not a bad person,” he said. “I’m a loving father. I can prove I’m a good man. I can show I can do things that are right.”
Last month, in an interview with The Denver Post, Lewis complained about the manpower that had been used to track him down.
He said a large number of police investigated his case and then tracked him to Des Moines, Iowa, where about two dozen officers, including SWAT team members, arrested him.
Once he was back in Colorado, his bail was set at $35,000, which was high enough that his mother and his girlfriend couldn’t afford to get him out, he said.
Habas and prosecutor Tom Clinton said the fact that it was Whitman’s home that was burglarized didn’t enter into their decisions. Lewis was treated like anyone else in the same situation, they said.
Clinton, in fact, left the sentencing completely up to Habas. Habas said she was aware who the victim was but said “that means nothing to me.”
Lewis had been in legal trouble as a juvenile. He was also accused of an August burglary in Denver in addition to the Whitman burglary.
However, in return for Lewis’ pleading guilty to a count of felony burglary in the Whitman break-in, the Denver District Attorney’s Office dropped the second burglary case.
During sentencing, Lewis did a couple of things that impressed the judge. Besides apologizing, he showed her some of his artwork.
Lewis, who once attended the Denver School of Art for three months, brought some of his art to the courtroom to show the judge what he can do.
When Habas told him he was very talented, Lewis softly responded, “Thank you.”
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
