SCOGA to hear appeal of Hall Co. man's drug sentence

ATLANTA - A Hall County man will go before the Supreme Court of Georgia Tuesday to appeal a Georgia Court of Appeals decision that upholds a prison sentence he received as a repeat drug offender.

Jerry Von Thomas argues that he was not represented by an attorney when he pleaded guilty to a prior offense, so he should not have received a 12 year sentence with no chance of parole for a 2009 guilty plea to a cocaine possession charge. Thomas says in his argument that he does not quality as a recidivist, or repeat offender, so his sentence was too harsh.

The Supreme Court of Georgia provided the following information on THOMAS V. THE STATE (S13G0198):

FACTS:In May 2006, Jerry Von Thomas was charged in Hall County with one count of possession of methamphetamine. The state filed a notice of its intent to seek recidivist sentencing based on Thomas' prior felony convictions.

In August 2006, Thomas pleaded guilty to the charge, and the Hall County Superior Court judge sentenced him to 30 years, with the first 12 to be spent in prison and the remainder on probation. The trial court found this was Thomas' fourth felony conviction and therefore sentenced him as a repeat offender or recidivist.

Under Official Code of Georgia §17-10-7(c), any person who has been convicted of three prior felonies must, upon conviction for a fourth felony, "serve the maximum time provided in the sentence of the judge

http://accesswdun.com/article/2013/5/261128