Original Article Court rules black man singled out in burglary By Gary Grado, Tribune August 16, 2005 The Maricopa County Attorneys Office singled out a poor, black Mesa man for prosecution in a Paradise Valley home invasion but ignored others involved in the crime who were white or affluent, a judge has found. In a ruling issued Friday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Warren Granville said the county attorneys "craven exercise of its discretion" in prosecuting 20-year-old Patrick Ivey made his mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison "excessive and unfair." State sentencing guidelines require a minimum seven-year sentence. But the judge invoked a special provision of Arizona law that will allow Ivey to petition the state Board of Clemency for a lighter sentence after 90 days in prison. "In this instance, the state chose to not prosecute the affluent individuals, and prosecute or threaten to prosecute the black, indigent individuals," Granville wrote in the ruling. Barnett Lotstein, a county attorney spokesman, defended his agencys action and said Granville is displaying "judicial activism at its worst." "The judge obviously disagrees with the harshness of the sentence," Lotstein said Monday. "But we dont believe his comments were predicated on any facts and we will be taking exception to his ruling." Lotstein said his office is "absolutely colorblind." Paradise Valley police arrested Ivey in October after town resident Michael Lawson identified him as one of two men who forced their way into his guest house at gunpoint, bound him with duct tape and stole several items, according to court documents. The second man was never charged. Lawson, who is white and was granted immunity from prosecution, told police Ivey and his accomplice came over so Lawson could take them to a drug dealers house. Lawsons testimony revealed that a number of Brophy Preparatory Academy graduates "bought, used and exchanged drugs with one another," Granville wrote. One of the the graduates, who Granville says is "white and wealthy," hired a lawyer and received a promise from prosecutor Jennifer Linn that she wouldnt elicit testimony that would implicate him in the crime. That young man, who also was never charged, was the drug dealer Lawson was supposed to take Ivey and his accomplice to see. Granville didnt know the race of two other Brophy graduates involved in the crime, but he said "they had the means to attend private school." One of them was a top basketball player for the school in 2002, according to a Web site that tracks top high school basketball players. The state, however, threatened to prosecute one of Iveys black friends if he were to make self-incriminating statements while testifying on Iveys behalf. The friend decided against testifying. "(Ivey) is being the only one held to answer for criminal conduct that the state had reason to believe involved several others," Granville wrote. Lotstein said the approach to the case was appropriate because it involved the use of a weapon. "This was a dangerous thing and we felt it deserved serious prosecution," Lotstein said. Lotstein said he had no comment as to why the others involved were not prosecuted. A jury acquitted Ivey on May 26 of armed robbery and kidnapping charges, but convicted him on a charge of first-degree burglary and found that it was a "dangerous" offense because he used a gun. The dangerous offense finding required Granville to sentence Ivey to prison for at least seven years. Arizona instituted mandatory sentencing and truth-insentencing laws in 1994 for certain crimes so there would be consistency in sentencing. Granville tried to convince Linn in June to drop the dangerous designation and agree to a sentence of less than seven years, but she declined. Ivey will now be able to petition the Board of Clemency, which will hear the case and make a recommendation to the governor, who has final say on whether his sentence should be commuted. Contact Gary Grado by email, or phone (602) 258-1746