White House shooter opposes terrorism enhancement
Feb 18, 2014, 8:58 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) – Lawyers for an Idaho man who pleaded guilty to firing at the White House in 2011 don’t want a “terrorism enhancement” to apply to his case.
Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez’ lawyers wrote in court filings Monday that the application of a “terrorism enhancement” is unconstitutional, though he accepted it as part of September his guilty plea. An enhancement increases the penalty for a charge in terrorism cases.
Lawyers also asked that Ortega-Hernandez be allowed to speak with the judge privately before his sentencing in March.
Federal sentencing guidelines recommend Ortega-Hernandez spend 24 to 27 1/2 years behind bars. But his lawyers compared his case to that of Joseph Reel, recently sentenced to nearly three years for rigging his Jeep to crash into a White House Secret Service guard booth.
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