Pittsburg Boxer James Page, a Former Champ, Sentenced for Bank Robbery

Starting in the mid-1990s, James "The Mighty Quinn" Page fought near or at the top of the professional boxing world's welterweight division. He "hit like a mule," according to one assessment of his career. He was rated highly for his stamina and ability to take a punch.

But Page, who grew up in what his most recent lawyer describes as a violent and drug-ridden household in Pittsburg, is arguably better known now for how he spent his time outside the ring. As Page began to find success in the ring, he also started amassing what became a long criminal rap sheet, including felony drug possession, drug trafficking, robbery, and theft, in addition to a long list of misdemeanor convictions.

After he lost his title once and for all in 2001, he committed several unarmed bank robberies in Georgia. He was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison, got out in 2012 and, at the age of 41, returned to the East Bay. He later told a neuropsychologist retained to examine him that when he came home "he had no idea how to earn a living. He could not get a job. He did try one fight. ..."

That bout was part of a card in Sacramento in November 2012. Here's how Boxing.com describes the proceedings:

James Page made his short-lived comeback in November 2012 against ultra-limited Rahman Mustafa “Genghis Khan” Yusubov, a native of Azerbaijan. After a decent first round, Page lost by second round KO via a left hook-right cross combo that put him away. This was Genghis’s only win in his last ten bouts. Fortunately, Page wasn’t seriously injured in the bout—one that arguably should never have been sanctioned.

The aftermath? Page unsuccessfully tried to find work as a trainer. Then, a few months later, still under supervised release from his earlier conviction, he launched another series of unarmed bank robberies. His modus operandi was to hand tellers a note demanding cash, and since he wore collared shirts in an apparent attempt to conceal a tattoo on his neck, he was called the Button-Down Bandit. Between early March and mid-June of last year, Page hit eight banks and netted a total of about $17,000. He pleaded guilty to six of the heists, and Tuesday he was sentenced to seven years and three months in federal prison.

Page's public defender, Ellen Leonida, had argued for a lighter sentence — five years and three months. She cited a series of extenuating circumstances, including neglect Page suffered as a child and the fact he committed his bank jobs without resorting to violence. But most of her argument turns on the physical effects of Page's chosen profession.

"Over the course of his boxing career, thousands of blows were inflicted to James Page’s head, ultimately causing severe, permanent damage to his brain," Leonida wrote in a sentencing memorandum."

Howard Friedman, a Walnut Creek neuropsychologist who examined the boxer to help determine whether he was competent to stand trial, found Page suffering from a wide range of cognitive problems and "severely impaired" memory. He speculated on the probable cause:

The difficulties that [Page] has with aspects of his cognitive function are consistent with his reported history. He had a number of concussions related to having been a professional boxer. His boxing career had been associated with the number of times that he was knocked out or dazed, which would qualify as traumatic brain injury. Although an individual might recover from a single traumatic brain injury, multiple injuries have been described as producing chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Another way brain trauma from boxing has been characterized is dementia pugilistic, that is, a dementia induced by boxing which produces blows to the head. Dementia is defined as impairment in memory and at least one other cognitive domain. There are many possible causes of dementia. The most well-known is Alzheimer’s. However, traumatic brain injury is another cause and boxing particularly has been identified as one with the above mentioned name of dementia pugilistic. That is clearly the case with Mr. Page as he does have impairment with memory and impairment with concept formation and executive functioning.

Bay Area News Group reporter David DeBolt recounted most of this history in a nicely done piece published last week. He concluded by speaking to Page's wife, Marquita, with whom he has a 7-month-old daughter:

This month, Marquita Page took a drive from her home in Oakley to Oakland, as she does twice a week, with her young daughter Jariah, to visit Page at the North County Jail. It was one of the last times she will see him there before he is moved to a federal facility, likely farther away. His mother, Pamela Page, was there too.

"I'm going to tell her the positive things about him," Marquita Page said of her daughter. "The saddest thing is when I take her, she stands up to the glass and wants to touch his face but she can't.

"There's a deep sadness in his eyes."