Chad Austin, a 25-year-old from Barnstead, N.H., faced a Superior Court jury and was found guilty on Oct. 21 of 14 of 16 charges stemming from a Feb. 11 high-speed chase through the North Shore of Massachusetts. Citing his lack of remorse for a daylong crime spree in which she said it was a miracle no one was killed, Essex County Superior Court Judge Nancy Merrick sentenced Chad Austin to 30 to 40 years in prison.
The chase ended with a hostage standoff at the Salem home of Essex County Deputy Sheriff Paul Hardy. Austin was charged with robbing the Granite Bank in Portsmouth before fleeing to Massachusetts.
The Sentencing
Amid a courtroom crowded with victims, spectators, and reporters, Merrick told Austin, "You obviously have a lot of problems with authority, I can't do anything about that. One thing I can do is make sure you don't take out that anger on the citizens of Essex County."
Austin was sentenced to 30-40-year prison terms, to be served concurrently, on three counts of armed home invasion. Austin was also sentenced to concurrent 8-10-year terms on three kidnapping convictions, and 4-5-year prison terms on assault with a dangerous weapon and a firearms charge. Five charges of simple assault stemming from Austin's assaults on police officers during the high-speed chase were filed, without specific sentences being imposed.
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A Plea for Mercy
The sole voice pleading for mercy in a crowd begging for justice and a harsh sentence was that of the man Austin rejected as his advocate. Public defender Lawrence McGuire, who was appointed standby counsel after Austin chose to represent himself, urged the court to have mercy on a young man who made mistakes after being abandoned by those closest to him.
"Chad Austin trusts no one because everyone who should have cared did not," McGuire said, his story falling on a hushed courtroom. "Everyone he should have trusted let him down."
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Austin's Reaction
If Austin were disappointed by the sentence, he didn't show it. Throughout the hearing, Austin flashed the grin that became his trademark throughout his trial. Austin continued to portray himself as a victim down to his final words to the judge before she imposed her sentence. In a rambling statement that sharply contrasted an eloquent plea for mercy from his standby legal counsel, Austin continued to take aim at police officers, calling them malicious and referring to them as "vigilantes."
Austin, 25, showed neither remorse nor anxiety when he was led from his holding cell in the courthouse to a car waiting to transport him to the prison. Austin emerged from the back door of the courthouse dressed in dark blue sweats and chains rather than the olive-colored double-breasted suit he wore throughout his trial and at sentencing. He said little, flashed a smile and mumbled something about being upset as he was escorted to the waiting car.
As he was driven away, Austin's expression was more like that of a newlywed leaving the church after his wedding than a convicted felon leaving the courthouse after sentencing. As the sheriff's department car drove off to prison, Austin turned around in the back seat to look toward a crowd of waiting television cameras, and smiled.
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Judge Merrick's Statement
Merrick expressed sympathy with Austin's turbulent upbringing, but said his criminal history and the circumstances of the current case were troubling. Merrick said Austin's decision to bring along a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun with an extra clip of ammunition as he set out for the day on Feb.
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