Incarceration date for Mann put off a week

Sangeeta “Sue” Mann, a Pope County woman convicted of conspiring to obstruct a federal investigation and tampering with evidence, on Thursday was given an extra week to report to federal prison to begin serving a year-long sentence.

U.S. District Judge Brian S. Miller granted Mann’s request, filed Tuesday, to be allowed to self-report by Jan. 14 instead of by next Monday, as previously ordered, because federal prison officials hadn’t yet designated a specific institution to which she must report.

Without a specific prison to report to, Mann would be required to report to the U.S. Marshal’s Service in Little Rock on Monday for eventual transportation to the appropriate institution.

“Ms. Mann has significant orthopedic problems which would cause damage to her health if she is transported according to the usual methods of prisoner transport,” defense attorney Jeff Rosenzweig of Little Rock said in the motion. “Furthermore, she is dependent on several medications which must be taken at regular intervals. An extended period of transient jail incarceration will likely cause havoc to her medication schedule, with consequent peril to her health.”

In a 2010 jury trial, Mann was convicted alongside her husband, former Russellville physician Randeep Mann, of helping him thwart a federal investigation into a Feb. 4,2009, grenade explosion outside the West Memphis home of Dr. Trent Pierce, then 54, who was severely injured in the blast.

At the time of the explosion, Dr. Mann was under investigation by the state Medical Board, of which Pierce remains chairman. The jury convicted Dr. Mann on seven charges, finding that he orchestrated the explosion and then tried to cover up his actions.

He was sentenced to life in prison and was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine and more than $1 million in restitution to cover Pierce’s medical expenses and lost income during his recovery. But last month, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis ordered a new sentencing hearing for Randeep Mann, now 54.

While upholding the doctor’s convictions, the panel said Miller incorrectly calculated Mann’s penalty range under federal sentencing guidelines, by applying three enhancements that shouldn’t have been applied.

An earlier 8th Circuit panel had upheld Sue Mann’s convictions and sentence, which included a $50,000 fine. Sue Mann is now 51.

Randeep Mann’s resentencing hasn’t yet been scheduled. His attorney has said the recalculations ordered by the 8th Circuit could result in a term of years rather than a life sentence.