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Man Gets Time For Crime Spree Despite Mental Illness Claim

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 23, 2009

Cheddie Lamar Griffin

TAMPA - A federal judge accused a 29-year-old Tampa man of faking mental problems, and then sentenced him today to life behind bars, plus 82 years, for his role in a crime spree in which a county firefighter was carjacked.

Cheddie Lamar Griffin insisted he was legally incompetent, and argued with U.S. District Judge Richard Lazzara. "I don't understand why we're here," he said. "You can't make me understand."

"You are a malingerer," the judge declared. "I watched you through the trial." Lazzara said Griffin interacted with his attorney and had no trouble understanding what was happening during his trial. Now that he is facing a potential life sentence, "now, all of a sudden, you don't understand."

Griffin responded: "The government that you work for pays me for being the way that I am." He said he has been diagnosed as being schizophrenic and bipolar. "I got the paperwork to prove it."

Griffin was convicted in June of nine federal charges, including carjacking, brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, kidnapping, robbery and armed robbery.

On Dec. 19, 2007, Griffin and three others carjacked and kidnapped a Hillsborough County firefighter, Kevin Andrew Taylor, at gunpoint. They drove the victim to Polk County where they forced him to withdraw several hundred dollars from an ATM, according to testimony at the trial.

After the money was withdrawn, the firefighter was released.

Kendrick Ivey, 22, and Charlie Joubert Taylor, 20, the two other men involved in the incident, pleaded guilty and testified during the four-day trial, prosecutors said. Ivey was later sentenced to 5 years and 10 months in prison, while Taylor received more than 29 years. A juvenile connected to the Dec. 19 incident will be prosecuted by the State Attorney's Office, prosecutors said.

Griffin was also convicted of a Jan. 10 robbery at an auto stereo business in Lakeland. Griffin was spotted after the robbery by law enforcement officers then arrested after a high-speed chase.

During the sentencing hearing, Griffin continued to protest, arguing that he didn't understand the proceedings.

"I've been like this since I was a child," he said. I've been like this all my life. This ain't malingering."

"You've been like this your entire life," the judge responded. "You've been a career criminal your entire life, and now you're trying to hide behind some mental illness."

Lazzara quoted from a state judge in Polk County who ruled that Griffin should be treated as an adult when he was 16. That judge said Griffin had an "increasingly violent juvenile record. His pattern of criminal behavior is increasing."

Lazzara said that while it was true that Griffin had "mental health issues in the past," the courts have taken "great care" to determine that he is legally competent.

"To deter future criminal conduct and to protect the public, a life sentence is required," the judge concluded.

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