The phrase "a mere criminal" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to emphasize the insignificance or simplicity of someone's criminal actions or status, often in a dismissive manner.
Example: "He was not a mastermind; he was just a mere criminal caught in the act."
Alternatives: "just a criminal" or "simply a criminal".
Perhaps, more importantly, is the danger now of an existential variety, as opposed to mere criminal opportunism?
524, 529, was, in the words of Mr. Justice Bradley 'fresh in the memories of those who achieved our independence and established our form of government.' The Fourth Amendment thus has a much wider frame of reference than mere criminal prosecutions.
For help in this regard, they turn to Saul Goodman (J.D., University of American Samoa), no mere criminal lawyer, Pinkman points out, but a criminal lawyer.
Vilifying N.F.L. players simply for owning guns unfairly obliterates the line which separates responsible citizens from mere criminals and does a disservice to millions of honest Americans.
Security expert Matt Tait, a former British intelligence officer, said it was unclear whether the hackers were spies or mere criminals, though he suspected Marriott was a victim of a nation-state attack because the access lasted for so long without triggering suspicion.
On October 14th a FARC bomb killed a man and his three-year-old son.The FARC are often seen as mere criminals who have outgrown any genuine ideology.
That policy has helped foster a culture of blackmail: some tribal figures promote violence, whether through jihadists or mere criminals, and then offer to quell it in exchange for cash.
Some were grotesque, many mere criminals.
It considers the militants mere criminals to be crushed.
On the surface, they seem like the very worst kind of characters: not mere criminals but criminals without remorse.
