Judge Ends Tribal Banishment, Orders Teens To Prison

The judge who turned two teenage Indian robbers over to a tribal court for banishment to remote Alaska islands ended the yearlong judicial rehabilitation experiment Tuesday and sentenced them to prison.

Snohomish County Superior Court Judge James Allendoerfer said he had seen dramatic changes for the better in Simon Roberts and Adrian Guthrie since they were banished in September 1994. He said for the most part, the experiment paid off.

But he added, “I find that this experiment has some flaws which unfortunately threaten its credibility and integrity.

“I have determined, therefore, that it is time to end this experiment, while it can still be ended on a positive note.”

Allendoerfer sentenced Roberts to 4 years and 7 months in prison, with credit for about a year already served in jail prior to the banishment, and Guthrie to 2 years and 7 months, also with credit for time served.

In giving them sentences at the low end of the state’s standard range, the judge said he took into consideration the teens’ improvement in attitude and demeanor in the time spent in banishment. Prosecutors had recommended prison terms of about 5-1/2 years for Roberts and about 3-1/2 years for Guthrie.

“I find that each of you has matured significantly,” Allendoerfer told the teens.

The judge also ordered them to jointly pay $35,779.52 restitution to Tim Whittlesey, the pizza delivery driver they robbed and severely beat in August 1993.

Roberts and Guthrie were 16 at the time of the robbery. Roberts got the longer term because he wielded the bat.

“I think the judge made a good decision,” a somber Roberts said after the hearing, adding that he had expected to serve prison time from the outset of the case.

Guthrie declined comment.

Deputy prosecutor Seth Fine, who opposed the banishment, said the prison sentence should have been imposed a year ago.

“Judge Allendoerfer thought this was a worthwhile experiment. I don’t believe in experimenting with public safety,” Fine said.

“I think public safety took a back seat here. Fortunately, it worked out all right here in that nobody else got hurt. But going into it, these were two dangerous, unremorseful offenders that presented a serious danger, and they were not under the kind of supervision needed to protect the public against them.”

Attorneys for both teens wanted Allendoerfer to allow the banishment to continue before sending the boys to prison.

Public defense attorney Al Kitching, who represented Guthrie, said he hopes other courts will consider such alternative rehabilitation programs.

“I don’t know how many judges are as courageous as Judge Allendoerfer, because it took a lot of courage to face up to the cynicism of the system as it normally proceeds.”

Guthrie “has come light years in his sensitivity and understanding of who he is and what he’s done,” Kitching said.

Both teens told the court they have benefited from their banishment.

Roberts told the judge that at first he thought the banishment would be “like a camping trip.” But as time went on and he learned to fend for himself in the pristine wilderness, he said he grew up “mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically.”

Turning to the Whittlesey, he said, “I’m very, very sorry, Timothy, for what I did.”

Guthrie likewise thanked Allendoerfer for allowing the cross-cultural experiment. He said it gave him a chance “to become that which I need to be - a man,” and steeled him for the time he will face behind bars.