Readers are undoubtedly wondering about the stark difference in the length of sentences handed down (by the same judge) to convicted child-rapists Larry L. Grubb and Joseph W. Giuliano.

I’ll do what I can to explain and clear up any confusion. Here’s the rundown:

Larry Grubb was originally charged with 8 counts of first degree child rape, which was alleged to have occurred over a two year period. The first-degree nature of the charge is because the child was younger than 12 years old, as state law determines. He was found guilty by a trial jury of seven of the eight counts.

At his sentencing, state guidelines put his standard sentencing range at 240 to 318 months. There is a reason for this, which I can explain, but I encourage readers to look up the offense score sheets at the State Sentencing Guideline Commission’s Web site. The address is http://www.sgc.wa.gov/PUBS/Adult_Manual/Manual_2008_Section_3.pdf.

Basically, the prosecutor has to calculate an offender score to determine the sentencing range. Each sex offense conviction is multiplied by three to calculate the score. (Other felony convictions would count toward the score as well, but Grubb only has prior gross misdemeanor and misdemeanor convictions.) Since legally he’s considered to have six prior sex offense convictions (six of the seven first-degree child rape convictions), multiply that by three and you get an offender score of 18. Scores of 9 or higher automatically get sentenced in the 240-318 month range. Grubb was thus sentenced to 280 months in prison.

Giuliano is a slightly (but importantly) different case. He was charged with three counts of third degree child rape (the third degree is based on the girl’s age, because she was between 14 and 16 years old during the abuse). Like Grubb, and every person convicted of a felony, the prosecutor has to calculate his offender score.

Similar to Grubb, each sex offense conviction is multiplied by three. Since he has two prior sex offense convictions (two of the three third-degree child rape convictions), his offender score is six. Offenders with a score of six face a standard range of 46 to 60 months in prison. Thus, Giuliano was sentenced to four years (48 months) in prison.

Now, you may be wondering why Giuliano was charged with only three counts versus Grubb’s eight. As Mac Setter, the prosecutor in Giuliano’s case, explains it, it is standard practice to charge fewer crimes if the length of the abuse was shorter, as Giuliano’s was. Grubb abused his granddaughter for two years and gets eight charges. Giuliano abuses his victim for six months and gets three charges.

Thus, the difference in sentences really comes down to the number of charges filed (and the resulting number of convictions) and the age of the victims. Once convicted, however, sentencing is largely determined by guidelines set by a state commission.

Hope this helps.

In another incident of car window smashing, the victim and police are looking for witnesses to step forward.

Apparently some people saw a person smash in car windows about 1 a.m. Saturday, June 20, on High Street near Indian Street. But they didn’t talk to police about what they saw.

The car owner says the culprit used a pool cue or its carrying case to do the damage. Afterward the vandal ran toward the Western Washington University campus. He was about 5-foot-10 with short brown hair and wearing a white or light-colored shirt and blue jeans.

Anyone with info is asked to call Bellingham police.

Reported: May 8 2009 5:03PM
Location: 500 BLK GRAND AV
Offense: MENTAL PROBLEM
Officer took report from female stating she is being harassed telepathically. Suspect has not successfully been determined to be an actual person.

Joseph W. Giuliano, the former Deputy Chief Patrol Agent with the U.S. Border Patrol’s Blaine sector, pleaded guilty to three counts of third-degree child rape last month and has his sentencing scheduled for June 25.

Until then, Giuliano will be serving his pre-sentence confinement on work release in custody of the Whatcom County Jail, according to filings in Whatcom County Superior Court. Giuliano has been in the jail’s custody since he pleaded guilty April 23, according to jail records.

Lanette E. Smith is set to be tried next week on eight counts of animal-abuse for allegedly abusing llamas she kept on her property on the 6000 block of Olson Road in March 2007.

Her case has been pending in Whatcom County Superior Court for two years but is ready for trial, according to court filings. Jury selection should begin May 18 or 19.

Apr 28 2009 9:45AM
Location: 4400 BLK MERIDIAN ST
Offense: TROUBLE WITH A PERSON

Management at Walmart reports a man yelling at employees and claiming to be invisible. The man was found to be quite visible and denied being disorderly. He was identified and sent on his way.

A man arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents on April 15 on suspicion of trying to smuggle 149 pounds of marijuana into the United States from Canada will be tried in Whatcom County Superior Court.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Craig Chambers charged Eddie C. Rivera-Sanchez, 27, with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, with intent to deliver.

According to Chambers’ probable cause affidavit:

The agents responded to activity along the U.S.-Canadian border north of Halverstick Road. Walking up a trail from Halverstick toward the border, the agents found three duffel bags containing the 149 pounds of marijuana.

Several hours later, the agents located Rivera-Sanchez 300 yards away from the trail. He was wearing socks over his shoes to mask his footprints and admitted that he was promised $500 to smuggle the drugs in to the United States. He told the agents he was with two other men who fled back into Canada.

Wesley N. Legere, 32, pleaded guilty in Whatcom County Superior Court April 16 to stabbing a Bellingham man over some beer the two had recently purchased.

Legere pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and Judge Steven Mura sentenced him to nine months in the Whatcom County Jail.

According a probable-cause affidavit from Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jim Hulbert, Legere and the other man, Brooks Winebarger, purchased a 12-pack of beer from the Haggen in Fairhaven.

They walked one block north to an empty box car, and Legere produced a knife and demanded that he be given the beer. Winebarger refused, the two began fighting and Legere stabbed him. Winebarger’s injuries required him to be transported to St. Joseph Hospital, Hulbert notes in his affidavit.

4/10 11:35 a.m. - Officer was contacted by a male juvenile who wanted police to assist him in retrieving an Xbox that his uncle loaned to a third person. He was having trouble getting the third person to return the game console. Officer assisted the young man in getting his property back.

4/10 7:40 p.m. - Blaine Police were notified of two suspicious subjects at a residence where the occupants were not home. Officers checked the area and found no apparent break in. Neighbors identified one of the young men as the son of the occupants. Officers found a open cold beer on the fence post. Officers cleared.

4/12 1:50 p.m. - Officers were dispatched to the Peace Arch POE for three out of state minors in possession of alcohol. Upon arrival officers found the juveniles not showing any signs of use. All three admitted to purchasing the expensive whiskey in Canada. They claimed they were unaware it was illegal to “just have it.” Officers gave the three the option of pouring the drink out or being arrested. They chose to pour and were sent on their way home to Oregon.

4/14 5:25 p.m. - Officers responded to a call of two “out of control” teenagers at a residence. The two had left the residence when officers arrived. Most of the argument was verbal, although one teenager had a can of cola poured over her head and the other had a cup containing tobacco spit thrown at her. Officers left the area to look for the two teens.
Before the first call had been resolved, officers received a second call of a fight involving one of the teens. It turned out that the two adults involved in the first call had been driving on their way to the Pipeline fields, when they saw one of the teens walking down the street. The teen apparently spit at the car, so the female driver stopped the car while the male passenger exited the car and grabbed the girl by the arms.
After they both spit on each other and yelled a lot, the fight was broken up by neighbors. All information was sent to the prosecutors office for review.

4/14 10:32 p.m. - 911 advised Blaine Police of an open 911 line from a local business. Officers found the business to be secure, closed and no emergent situation to exist. However, a portable phone from inside the business had been left outside on a small wall by business staff. Either a passerby called 911 and left the phone line open as a prank, or the phone called for help gettingin out of the cold. The poor thing was either abused or abandoned, so it was impounded for safekeeping.

The new chief of Whatcom County Fire District No. 18, Scott Crowe, will be able to use the department chief’s truck 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - so long as he stays within a 30 mile response-radius of the district.

The District 18 board of commissioners voted to give Crowe this authority at its regular meeting Wednesday, April 15. Crowe has been the district’s fire chief on a part-time basis since March.

Hung Dihn Tran, a Ferndale man convicted of dealing marijuana to undercover agents working with the Northwest Regional Drug Task Force, is set to be sentenced on Monday, April 20 in Judge Steven Mura’s courtroom.

A Whatcom County Superior Court jury has found a Ferndale man guilty of dealing marijuana to undercover agents with the Northwest Regional Drug Task Force.

After a two-day trial, the jury found Hung Dihn Tran guilty of one count of dealing marijuana on April 8. His sentencing date has yet to be set.

The agents arrested Tran in January after purchasing the marijuana from him. Tran had driven to a home on the 3600 of West Rusley Drive in Bellingham to get the drugs, which he then sold to the agents, according to a probable cause affidavit from Whatcom County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Craig Chambers.

The agents then obtained a warrant to search the home and found 47 pounds of processed marijuana and equipment used in a growing operation, according to Chambers’ affidavit. They arrested the resident, Tin Trung Tran, on suspicion of possesing and dealing marijuana.

Tin Tran had allegedly sold to undercover agents working with the task force in November and December of 2008. His trial date is set for June 30.

Whatcom County’s recent rash of Ecstasy-related incidents continued Thursday, April 9, as detectives working with the Northwest Regional Drug Task Force arrested a Blaine man who allegedly sold them 167 Ecstasy pills over the last two months.

The detectives, working undercover, arranged to purchase 10 pounds of marijuana, worth an estimated $32,000, from the man near downtown Bellingham Thursday, according to Task Force Commander Rick Sucee. The detectives arrested him without incident after completing the deal, according to Sucee.

This arrests follows several large Ecstasy seizures along the U.S.-Canadian border in the last three weeks. The U.S. Border Patrol found $5 million worth of the drug abandoned on smuggling routes east of Sumas.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents found another $1 million in Ecstasy pills stashed in the gutted spare tire of a Canadian man as he attempted to cross the border at the Pacific Highway Crossing in Blaine.

Sucee said the investigation into this arrest will continue, but he added that more arrests are unlikely.

Washington State Patrol troopers and detectives from the Bellingham Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit and the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office’s Criminal Interdiction Unit assisted in this investigation, according to Sucee.

After allegedly robbing the Coffee Cabin on the 2000 block of Grandview Road at gunpoint on Feb. 8, Damian L. Johnston escaped apprehension for more than a month.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested him March 27. According to charging documents filed in Whatcom County Superior Court, Johnston’s big mouth may have been his undoing.

According to a probable cause affidavit from Senior Deputy Prosecutor Anna Gigliotti, deputies were able to connect Johnston to the robbery because he boasted of robbing the coffee stand to other people.

When interviewed by detectives, Johnston also admitted to the robbery.

According to Gigliotti’s affidavit, Johnston kicked in the coffee stand’s door wearing a ski mask, carrying an airsoft gun and demanded money. He made off with more than $500 in the heist, Gigliotti’s affidavit alleges.

As if you needed another reason to look forward to summer (when will this winter end, geez!), “Project Runway” will finally make the move from Bravo to Lifetime.

Season six of the fashionable reality show will air this summer after a lengthy lawsuit that I’ll let Women’s Wear Daily explain.

I can’t wait for the drama, the divas and most important, the designs!

If you’re downtown for the Art Walk this Friday, head over to Swell, the newish basics shop in the Gateway building.

Local artist Taira Anderson will be showing her work, called “A collection of questions.”

Here’s a taste:

Other spots to hit up during the art walk are: The Paperdoll, 312 W. Champion, where Slow Loris will show a collection of screen prints and drawings. At Digs on Holly, the April artist is Mackenzie Boetes.

Wednesdays always go faster when you spend them planning your Fridays!

Frank James is celebrating its third anniversary this month, but the gifts are going to you.

Starting this month, the Railroad Avenue boutique will include menswear in its lineup, making it that much easier for ladies to get their boyfriends shopping local. FJ also has new girly spring pieces on the racks as well.

Check it out Friday evening, April 3, as the store features three local artists, 10 percent off and refreshers.

Good times.

Now if only it would come to my state!

Topshop on Oxford Street has been at the top of my shopping list on my last two trips to London, and now the huge, hip, quirky clothes store has made its debut in New York.

I love H&M and all, but Topshop would totally win in an awesomeness fight (they have those, right?). It’s spendier, yes, but there are deals to be had, glorious deals on amazing clothes, accessories and shoes.

I want to go to there.

If you’re not familiar with Topshop, check out this Women’s Wear Daily article about its New York outpost.

Now who’s up for a weekend shopping trip to NYC?

With the first quarter coming to an end, here’s an update on the Whatcom County businesses that have either announced they are closing or have already shut down in 2009. There are no official closure listings; this is something I compile on my own.

I have 25 closures, putting us on pace for 100. Last year’s total was 83, while the 2007 total was 35. In an upcoming post I’ll compile business openings of the first quarter.

Here’s the list. If there are closures I’ve missed or have wrong information, please let me know:

Le Rendez Vous Gift Art, Del’s Feed & Farm Supply, Play it Again Sports, Gamma’s Sports Cards, Emerald Bay Events, United Auto Electric, Kowloon Garden, Circut City, The Workshop, Instant Replays, BB Lumber, Daiso Japan, Greene’s Corner, Cameo Shoes, True Blue Boutique, Results Bellingham, Sir Rats, UPS Warehouse (Blaine), Select Comfort, Horizon Bank’s Alabama branch, Uncle’s Games, Carquest (Bellingham), Yak Magic, Boater’s World and Chispa.

One of my favorite pasttimes is predicting the trends from the runways that will actually stick, either in magazines or real life.

For fall, there’s been so much crazy sci-fi ’80s stuff, platform shoes and draped fabric on the runways that I could easily pluck them out as trends.

Here are the AP’s picks for fall fashion trends:

Copyright 2009, The Associated Press This March 10, 2009 file photo shows a model presenting a creation by Italian fashion designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli for Valentino’s fashion house Fall-Winter 2009-2010 ready-to-wear collection in Paris. The ’80s were a celebration of bold fashion with nothing somber in sight, and that’s what we want to see again, fashion markets director at Saks Fifth Avenue Colleen Sherin says. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, FILE)

Copyright 2009, The Associated Press This Feb. 19, 2009 file photo shows a model wearing fall 2009 fashion by Zac Posen during Fashion Week in New York. Metallics have become a constant presence on the runways as women have learned to incorporate shine as part of their day-to-day dressing. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, FILE)

Copyright 2009, The Associated Press This Feb. 13, 2009 file photo shows the fall 2009 collection of BCBG Max Azria modeled during Fashion Week in Bryant Park in New York. Fashion’s future could look like science fiction’s past, with designers seemingly using Mad Max and Star Wars as inspiration. The space-age touches included stiff fabrics, often with extra padding on the shoulders or hips, Lurex fabrics flecked with shine, and moon-and-star prints. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano, FILE)

Copyright 2009, The Associated Press This Feb. 18, 2009 file photo shows a model wearing fall 2009 fashion by Anna Sui during Fashion Week in New York. The favorite tough girl has enough tools in her toolbox _ or closet _ to make her practically invincible. She’s got motorcycle jackets, breast plates, utility boots, grommets and chain hardware. The fall marks the end of stones as embellishment, women’s editor of trend reporting firm Stylesight Jamie Thomas says, with the attention going to metal details such as zippers, chains and studs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, FILE)

Any fall trends that you’ve distilled from the catwalks?