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The judge was too lenient on this human garbage.
New Haven teen gets 18 years in home invasion
Friday, March 1, 2013
By Randall Beach
rbeach@nhregister.com / Twitter: @rbeachnhr
NEW HAVEN — After a defense attorney asked Superior Court Judge Patrick Clifford to impose a lesser sentence for a home invasion, Clifford said he had to incarcerate 17-year-old Lee Ray Elias for 18 years because his crime was so “savage” and “sadistic.”
Clifford said it didn’t matter that Elias was high on drugs at the time. “I don’t know what type of drug would cause somebody to do this,” he remarked.
Clifford imposed a 30-year sentence, to be suspended after 18 years, after hearing emotional statements from two of the three adult male victims whose New Haven residence was invaded and their lives shattered.
Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Pepper said Elias and another man broke into the home on Nov. 21, 2011. The co-defendant, Jeremiah Marion, is awaiting trial.
“The defendant threatened them, pistol-whipped them and forced them to commit sexual acts on each other,” Pepper said. Then they were robbed.
According to Pepper, when Elias was interviewed by detectives, he joked and laughed throughout the session. “He showed no remorse whatsoever.”
“The defendant is a predator,” Pepper told Clifford.
The first victim to read a statement Friday said he had endured “two and a half hours of a nightmare.”
He said the torture included “being hit on the head with a gun, being humiliated and degraded, ordered to do sexual acts at gunpoint.”
The victim said whenever he hesitated about complying with the demands, Elias asked him, “Do you want to die?”
“I was permanently scarred, emotionally as well as physically,” the victim said.
He added he suffers from nightmares and high anxiety and sustained a traumatic brain injury. “My left eye is just about useless.”
Referring to the plea agreement, in which Elias pleaded guilty in exchange for a sentence of no more than 18 years to serve, the victim said, “He’s been given a gift.”
But he concluded his statement by saying: “I’ve waited a year and-a-half for this moment.”
The second victim to speak told Clifford he had been “traumatized” and that he too experiences nightmares and flashbacks.
“I struggle every day,” he said. “I wonder: how could someone treat a human being like that?”
He asked Clifford to impose the maximum sentence.
Pepper noted Elias had two convictions as a juvenile. Calling Elias “a menace” to society, he too asked for 18 years.
But Senior Assistant Public Defender Beth A. Merkin told Clifford that Elias was born with a medical condition that “takes an emotional toll” and his mother was a drug abuser who “died in his presence” when he was a young boy.
“He understands how serious the charges are,” she said. “He does have remorse.”
Although Elias, who sat quietly in court with his head bowed, declined to make a statement, his father, Francisco Elias, did issue an appeal to Clifford.
Speaking through an interpreter, he said,
“I’m very sorry for the acts committed. I understand they were very hurt by him.”
“I know my son is not a bad kid,” he added.
“He committed these acts because he was under the influence of some kind of stimulant. It’s not something normal in our family. We’ve always respected the law.”
He asked the judge to consider a sentence less than the maximum.
But Clifford said those who commit such violent acts “deserve to be warehoused for a long period.” He noted,
“To the victims, this is not enough time.”
Clifford noted Elias will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life and on probation for 10 years after his release.
He imposed a sentence of 15 years, suspended after 10 years, for home invasion; and 15 years, suspended after eight years, for first-degree aggravated sexual assault, to run consecutively.
He added 15 years for first-degree robbery and 10 years for conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary, both of those to run concurrently with the first two sentences.
New Haven teen gets 18 years in home invasion
Friday, March 1, 2013
By Randall Beach
rbeach@nhregister.com / Twitter: @rbeachnhr
NEW HAVEN — After a defense attorney asked Superior Court Judge Patrick Clifford to impose a lesser sentence for a home invasion, Clifford said he had to incarcerate 17-year-old Lee Ray Elias for 18 years because his crime was so “savage” and “sadistic.”
Clifford said it didn’t matter that Elias was high on drugs at the time. “I don’t know what type of drug would cause somebody to do this,” he remarked.
Clifford imposed a 30-year sentence, to be suspended after 18 years, after hearing emotional statements from two of the three adult male victims whose New Haven residence was invaded and their lives shattered.
Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Pepper said Elias and another man broke into the home on Nov. 21, 2011. The co-defendant, Jeremiah Marion, is awaiting trial.
“The defendant threatened them, pistol-whipped them and forced them to commit sexual acts on each other,” Pepper said. Then they were robbed.
According to Pepper, when Elias was interviewed by detectives, he joked and laughed throughout the session. “He showed no remorse whatsoever.”
“The defendant is a predator,” Pepper told Clifford.
The first victim to read a statement Friday said he had endured “two and a half hours of a nightmare.”
He said the torture included “being hit on the head with a gun, being humiliated and degraded, ordered to do sexual acts at gunpoint.”
The victim said whenever he hesitated about complying with the demands, Elias asked him, “Do you want to die?”
“I was permanently scarred, emotionally as well as physically,” the victim said.
He added he suffers from nightmares and high anxiety and sustained a traumatic brain injury. “My left eye is just about useless.”
Referring to the plea agreement, in which Elias pleaded guilty in exchange for a sentence of no more than 18 years to serve, the victim said, “He’s been given a gift.”
But he concluded his statement by saying: “I’ve waited a year and-a-half for this moment.”
The second victim to speak told Clifford he had been “traumatized” and that he too experiences nightmares and flashbacks.
“I struggle every day,” he said. “I wonder: how could someone treat a human being like that?”
He asked Clifford to impose the maximum sentence.
Pepper noted Elias had two convictions as a juvenile. Calling Elias “a menace” to society, he too asked for 18 years.
But Senior Assistant Public Defender Beth A. Merkin told Clifford that Elias was born with a medical condition that “takes an emotional toll” and his mother was a drug abuser who “died in his presence” when he was a young boy.
“He understands how serious the charges are,” she said. “He does have remorse.”
Although Elias, who sat quietly in court with his head bowed, declined to make a statement, his father, Francisco Elias, did issue an appeal to Clifford.
Speaking through an interpreter, he said,
“I’m very sorry for the acts committed. I understand they were very hurt by him.”
“I know my son is not a bad kid,” he added.
“He committed these acts because he was under the influence of some kind of stimulant. It’s not something normal in our family. We’ve always respected the law.”
He asked the judge to consider a sentence less than the maximum.
But Clifford said those who commit such violent acts “deserve to be warehoused for a long period.” He noted,
“To the victims, this is not enough time.”
Clifford noted Elias will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life and on probation for 10 years after his release.
He imposed a sentence of 15 years, suspended after 10 years, for home invasion; and 15 years, suspended after eight years, for first-degree aggravated sexual assault, to run consecutively.
He added 15 years for first-degree robbery and 10 years for conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary, both of those to run concurrently with the first two sentences.
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