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Letter to the editor

Man's plea may result in same sentence as white counterpart

By Times Staff Writer
Published January 11, 2008

LARGO - Joshua Cobb and Robert G. Walker Jr. were accused of the same crime in Pinellas County: firing a gun.

Walker got misdemeanor probation. Cobb faced 20 years in prison.

Walker, 60, is white, a former prosecutor and Clearwater's former city attorney. Cobb, 21, is an unemployed black man without connections.

In the end, both men may end up with the same sentence.

Cobb pleaded guilty Thursday to felony aggravated assault, avoiding a trial on the charge that could have brought him 20 years in prison. His was an open plea, meaning he received no guarantee from the judge.

When Pinellas-Pasco Judge Richard Luce sentences him on April 4, Cobb could get anything from probation to 10 years in prison - Luce said he would cap Cobb's potential time at 10 years.

But Cobb's lawyer, John Trevena, said he is confident that Cobb will get probation.

Cobb and Walker were the subject of a St. Petersburg Times story last year that compared the seemingly disparate treatment they got from Pinellas prosecutors.

Walker's lawyer and prosecutors denied any special treatment, noting the alleged victims in Walker's case didn't want him prosecuted, though Trevena argued the same on behalf of Cobb.

Prosecutors accused Cobb of firing a shot at two men after an argument. Walker, police said, was intoxicated and fired a shot during a dispute with neighbors over a loud Super Bowl party.

[Last modified January 11, 2008, 00:44:50]