JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A federal judge has granted a request to delay sentencing for former Jacksonville City Council members Katrina Brown and Reggie Brown.
The Browns, who are not related, were scheduled to be sentenced May 19 following their convictions in October on conspiracy, fraud and money laundering charges. The charges stem from a federally-backed loan and a city grant obtained by a barbecue sauce business owned by Katrina Brown’s family.
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Attorneys for the Browns asked a judge to push back the sentencing in light of the coronavirus outbreak, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office argued that the court should wait until the week of May 4 to make that decision.
The judge has decided to push back the sentencing to June 30 at 9:30 a.m.
Sentencing was originally set for Jan. 27, but the hearing was postponed after Katrina Brown got a new attorney. The hearing was then moved to March, but it was delayed once more until May 19 in response to defense motions.
In deciding to grant the previous request for a sentencing delay, the judge acknowledged the arguments made by prosecutors but said this case has been different from most in terms of the defendants’ representation: both initially had private attorneys, then asked the court to appoint their counsel. Katrina Brown chose to represent herself at trial, then hired an attorney for sentencing, followed by Reggie Brown’s latest hiring of an attorney.