Ricky Eugene Bailey, Denver’s “Raspy Robber,” was defiant in court today, claiming prosecutors never proved he was the man with the raspy voice who held up and terrorized small business owners in recent years.
“You go ahead and do whatever you have to do,” Bailey ranted at Denver District Judge Morris Hoffman. “Not one fingerprint or witness said I did it! You give me 300 or 400 years, I don’t care!”
As Bailey – a 48-year-old, thickly built man, sporting a dense mustache – verged on going ballistic, five sheriff’s deputies closed in around him to prevent him from attacking anyone in the courtroom.
Hoffman told Bailey that during Bailey’s trial in early November, he had heard the victims and the evidence presented by investigators.
“I can’t remember a case that had more compelling evidence,” Hoffman said, alluding to Bailey’s confession, DNA evidence and a statement by a co-defendant.
Hoffman said he would never forget one victim, a convenience store clerk, who had a gun at her head who was having trouble getting a safe open.
The robber warned the woman that if she didn’t get the safe open quickly she’d be dead. “He started counting backward – ‘9, 8, 7…” said the judge.
During his crime spree, which was only the most recent in a criminal career dating back 25 years, Bailey held up a hair salon, liquor stores, restaurants and gas stations in Denver, Lakewood, Englewood and Sheridan, prosecutors said.
After he was arrested, Bailey confessed to committing around 20 robberies, prosecutor Doug Jackson said. The jury only heard that Bailey had confessed to having done “multiple robberies.”
Bailey could have received a maximum of 384 years had Hoffman seen fit. And the judge conceded that “The Rapsy Robber Gets 384 Years” would make a good headline.
But he said that he thought that 96 years was sufficient. The sentence of 96 years included five sentences of 64 years each to run concurrently for aggravated robbery and two sentences of 32 years each to run concurrently for attempted robbery.
However, Hoffman said the 64 years for robbery and the 32 years for the attempt would run consecutively for a maximum of 96.
Charles Garcia, Bailey’s lawyer, told the judge that such a sentence would make Bailey nearly 100 years old before he was eligible for parole. “I think that’s good enough,” Garcia said.
Jackson said that the sheer number of terrified victims, holdups, and Bailey’s life as a career criminal justified a 300-plus year sentence.
He said that during the trial, one of the store clerks broke down and cried on the witness stand. But he said others had broken down after they testified.
“The victims are literally carrying a life sentence,” Jackson said. “It was very emotional for them to live through the crime and come in here and re-live the crime.”
Bailey’s father, Harold E. Bailey, was a member of the Denver Police Department’s infamous 1960s ring of safecrackers and burglars – officers who were convicted of stealing more than $165,000 in 145 break-ins.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
