Aristotle Marr quietly pleads guilty
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Aristotle Marr quietly pleads guilty
Family still maintains his innocence in bank robbery; others close to the
case are glad it's finally at an end
Saturday, March 2, 2002
By TRACY JOHNSON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Aristotle Marr's guilty plea yesterday wasn't much different from his
surprise surrender last year after spending months as an international
fugitive.
He said very little, his family accused Seattle police of railroading him,
and those who found themselves ensnared in his June 2000 crime spree
expressed relief that the uncertainty was over.
Officer Wesley Buxton, shot by Marr's accomplice just minutes after the pair
robbed a North Seattle bank, was glad the 26-year-old will go to prison. He
only wishes it would be for longer.
"The crimes he committed were for nothing but personal greed," said Buxton,
47, who spent a year recovering from bullet wounds to his right shoulder and
left arm.
Marr stood in his red jail uniform, quietly answering "guilty" to six felony
charges that could land him in prison for 17 1/2 to 23 years. He appeared
self-assured, flashing a grin to family and friends in the packed courtroom.
King County Superior Court Judge Donald Haley will sentence Marr on April
19.
Dan Kieling, vice president of security at Wells Fargo bank, said he hoped
it would bring closure for the bank workers who were left shaken by the
robbery.
But Marr's brother, Lorenzo, said Marr pleaded guilty only because he was
"caught between a rock and a hard place."
"We haven't been treated fairly by the media, the officers or the court,"
said the 28-year-old Seattle man, who is awaiting appeal on his own
conviction of witness intimidation and possessing stolen property.
Marr's sister, Loraine, 30, said, "I'm telling you, he's innocent."
She accused police detectives of tampering with DNA evidence to show that
Marr's blood was found at the crime scene, but police say Marr's guilty plea
speaks for itself.
The former straight-A student was a suspect in several other bank robberies,
and "those cases remain open" should more information surface, said Seattle
police Lt. Steve Brown. Detectives are not actively pursuing anyone who may
have helped Marr remain on the lam.
Marr now stands convicted of robbery, attempted robbery, assault, burglary
and two counts of unlawful imprisonment, after prosecutors amended the
original charges to reduce the approximately 40-year sentence Marr could
have faced if he risked a trial.
They say a 23-year sentence is appropriately severe for someone who didn't
shoot a police officer but was committing crimes with someone who did.
Deputy prosecutor Steve Fogg said the plea was "not much of a bargain for
Mr. Marr."
Marr's lawyer, Peter Connick, said his client -- the father of a 3-year-old
boy and baby girl -- wanted to take responsibility.
Marr admitted in writing he was one of two robbers who held up a Wells Fargo
branch on June 22, 2000. Daniel del Fierro exchanged gunfire with police in
the parking lot and was killed. Buxton was wounded.
Marr ran, tried to carjack a passer-by, then held hostage a couple in their
60s as he arranged a ride from their home.
Police and federal agents spent more than seven months trying to find him
and believed he was hiding in Jamaica, where his family owns property.