STATE STRUGGLES TO DEAL WITH HABITUAL NONVIOLENT OFFENDERS

PORTSMOUTH -- He has been convicted of credit-card theft and grand
larceny.

Burglary. Forgery. Embezzlement.

Possessing cocaine. Possessing heroin. And illegally possessing a
firearm.

Over two decades, Glenn O. Turner has amassed 55 felony convictions
and nine probation violations -- a distinction that puts him in an
"elite" group of criminals, according to one local commonwealth's
attorney.

Turner has stolen televisions and pawned someone else's power drill,
but he has never killed or maimed anyone.

If his cases had been in Vermont, he could have been eligible for a
life sentence on his fourth conviction. But that's not possible in
Virginia, where his two decades of nonviolent crimes do not qualify
for the state's "three-strikes-and-you're-out" law.

Instead, Turner has bounced between prison and freedom, work and
probation, drug use and rehab. Now, at 47, he is back in jail, fresh
off his latest sentencing in early April.

Hampton Roads prosecutors said they have seen other criminals rack up
many felony convictions for property crimes or drug charges. Few have
records as extensive as Turner's.

His case is an example of how the state struggles to deal with
habitual nonviolent offenders.

"The punishment has to fit the crime -- at least that's the goal,"
said Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney Earle C. Mobley. "But at some
point, you have to draw the line and say, 'You don't get any more breaks.' "

Virginia has no laws for criminals like Glenn Turner.

The state's "three-strikes" provision allows prosecutors to pursue
life sentences only for violent "career criminals." The law has been
used rarely since parole was abolished in 1995.

Nonviolent habitual offenders usually do not face the same stiff
sentences as their violent counterparts. The rationale: Prison cells
are for those who most threaten public safety.

At least one state, Vermont, allows prosecutors to seek penalties up
to life in prison for people convicted of any four felonies. The law
is used infrequently for property or drug charges, though, said
Matthew Levine, an assistant attorney general in Vermont.

But people who commit property crimes are the most likely to repeat
the offenses, according to a recent study by the Virginia Department
of Corrections.

That leaves lawmakers, judges and prosecutors to weigh practical and
theoretical questions, said Rick Kern, director of the Virginia
Criminal Sentencing Commission.

"How do you punish people in a way that satisfies people's sense of
justice being served?" Kern said. "What are the costs to society for
them to be on the street?"

As one alternative, the state created "detention" and "diversion"
centers in 1994. The centers focus on rehabilitating nonviolent
offenders through community service, education, substance-abuse
treatment and military-style discipline.

A year in the detention program costs about $10,189 per inmate,
compared with $19,793 for a year in prison, according to the
Department of Corrections.

Success is not guaranteed. A study of 286 detention program graduates
showed that 45 percent were convicted and sentenced to serve prison
time within five years of completing the program.

That was the case with Turner, who completed the program in 2001 and
was convicted of another felony a year later.

In general, prosecutors fall back on sentencing guidelines, a range of
punishments calculated for a specific person and crime. Usually,
recommended punishments for nonviolent habitual offenders are harsher
than for people with no record.

A criminal record can mean the difference between probation and a
prison sentence,though not always.

After Turner pleaded guilty to his 52nd felony -- a heroin possession
charge in 2000 -- a Portsmouth judge gave him a suspended prison
sentence and 18 months of supervised probation. He also was ordered
into treatment and a detention center. The same day, he was found
guilty of probation violations on six charges, and a judge resuspended
his prison sentence and ordered new probation on each count.

Sometimes prosecuting one person dozens of times is unavoidable, said
Roger D. Groot, who teaches criminal law and criminal procedure at
Washington and Lee University School of Law.

"You pay your dues. You do it again, you pay your dues again," Groot
said. "Even if he gets out and steals a lawn mower, that might not be
the end of the world."

Friends say Turner is the kind of man who does not raise his voice,
has ideas of his own and knows how to work hard.

He once dug trenches in the mornings and worked at a McDonald's
restaurant in the evenings. His boss said he was well-spoken and
usually did a good job.

Things changed when Turner ran with a bad crowd, friends said. It
frustrated him that he had to walk to work when other people drove. He
didn't like that others had nice things and didn't have to juggle two
jobs.

Turner now is in the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth. He
declined to be interviewed.

He was 27 when he was caught stealing for the first
time.

It was the summer of 1983. He was married with two daughters and
worked for Norfolk Southern. He had been in the Army and attended
college for two years, according to court records.

Turner told police that he took an extra key that a neighbor had given
his family and let himself into their house. He left with a
television, two watches and $25 in coins, records show.

He sold the TV set, but his father paid the neighbor for it, he told
police. Turner was convicted of statutory burglary and grand larceny.

Days after the first burglary, Turner stole and sold two more
televisions. That led to another conviction, but he was sentenced to
serve just one year for the first two crimes.

In a 1984 letter from jail, Turner asked a judge to suspend the rest
of his sentence. He wanted drug counseling and to go back to work.

"I will do anything to keep my family together," he wrote. "Sir,
please give me that chance."

After his release later that year, he got a job at a Portsmouth
restaurant. He was fired in less than a month. He started working for
an electrical company, then quit.

Meanwhile, a probation and parole officer told him to go to the
Portsmouth Methadone Clinic. He never did, records show.

Instead, he went on a crime spree that included forging checks from
his former boss, stealing a woman's purse and taking jewelry and
computer software from someone's home.

In 1985, he pleaded guilty to more than 30 felonies and was sentenced
to more than 30 years in prison. He would serve five years.

Three years after his parole, he stole and cashed paychecks from his
employer, Radva Corp., a packaging and container company.

"If it weren't for the drugs," he told police, "I wouldn't have
done none of this."

He went back to prison and was released in 1997. After that, he
received treatment for his drug addiction, but he repeatedly failed
drug tests.

"Turner was given several opportunities to clean himself up during
the past 14 months," a probation and parole officer wrote in 2000.
"However, he has continued with the same illegal, untruthful, and
manipulative behaviors."

In March 2002, after Turner graduated from the state detention
program, Chesapeake police caught him stealing 41 boxes of Preparation
H Cream from a Kmart. Narcotics officers said people sometimes take
pharmaceuticals from discount stores to resell for drug money.

During a two-year period ending that month, Turner visited pawn shops
26 times, according to Portsmouth police. He dropped off a range of
items, from gospel CDs to gold rings, and pawned a $2,500 drill for
$30.

Turner's former employer at a Portsmouth trench-digging company
eventually tracked down the drill. Turner was charged with
embezzlement in August 2002.

From jail, he wrote to Steve T. Miller, general manager of Atlantic
Cable and Trench. He begged Miller to drop the charge. He said he
wanted to be with his family. He said he had changed.

"I had a drug problem and didn't understand how to stop," he wrote.
"Everyone is trying to help so I hope you will."

A few weeks later, another probation and parole officer wrote that
Turner had failed to take advantage of help offered to him.

Miller also said Turner squandered a chance to turn his life
around.

"I had a lot of faith in Glenn," he said. "I'm sorry it came down
that way."

At his April sentencing, Turner apologized for stealing the drill.
Then he asked Circuit Judge Dean W. Sword Jr. not to add to the prison
time he was already serving.

Sentencing guidelines called for up to 3 1/2 years. The judge
sentenced Turner to five years, with one year suspended. He now must
serve a combined 12 years -- more than he has ever served at once.

Turner tells people he wants a good life for himself and his family.
But his brushes with the law have taken their toll. His wife, who
worked as a bank teller, is no longer in the picture. There was a
fiancee, but that relationship might not work out.

Miller said he wishes the best for Turner. He described him as a quiet
employee who inexplicably disappeared.

"Would I hire Glenn back? No," Miller said. "Do I want Glenn to
spend the rest of his life in jail? No way."