Why didn't an illegal immigrant get more jail time for brutally assaulting a deputy?

LAKE WALES, Fla. - Marcelino Jimenez-Cruz broke a Polk County Sheriff's Office deputy's hand and choked his K-9.

But the deputy he attacked never responded to a victim outreach letter, which is a major factor in whether Jimenez-Cruz received prison time, the State Attorney's Office said.

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Here's how the letter factors into prison sentencing:

• Florida uses a Criminal Punishment Code Score Sheet to determine whether an individual is at risk for going to prison and, if so, for how long.
• The prosecutor calculates the charges, then the score sheet is given to the defense attorney for review.
• The score sheet was put in place by the state to maintain fair sentencing across the board.

THE POINT SYSTEM

Under 22 Points

• A person can expect to spend time in county jail

More than 22 points, but less than 44 points

• The judge has the option to impose a prison sentence.
• A person within this point range is eligible for a non-state prison sanction, including probation, county jail time, house arrest or time served with a fine.

44 Points and Above

• This requires a prison sentence served within the Florida Department of Corrections prison system.

Jimenez-Cruz scored a 33.6 on his scorecard.

His primary offense in the 2017 incident was resisting an officer with violence. It's a Level 5 offense, which added 28 points to his score sheet.

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Jimenez- Cruz also had additional charges, which included resisting an officer without violence and battery of a law enforcement officer.

That gave him another 4 points.

His prior record, mostly misdemeanors, added 1.6 more points.

But Jimenez-Cruz scored a zero in the victim injury category.

If the deputy responded to the victim outreach letter, it could have raised his score.

Since it was a charge against a deputy, Jimenez-Cruz could've received a moderate charge, which represents 18 points, Tampa attorney T.J. Fitzgerald said.

So instead of Jimenez- Cruz having 33.6 points, he would've had 51.6 points, which would've resulted in prison time.

Judges often see records like the one Jimenez-Cruz had in 2017 and view it as one of the "better" records because he was never convicted of a felony, Fitzgerald said.

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