NEWPORT-During a three-day term of criminal court this week, Circuit Judge Ben W. Hooper II accepted guilty pleas from nine defendants, mostly in theft and drug cases.

The cases were all disposed of and removed from the criminal court docket as a result of negotiated plea agreements between the defendants and state prosecutors.

Twenty-eight-year-old Shane Barton, of Myers Circle, entered "best interest" pleas in three theft cases on Wednesday and received a net sentence of five years in jail. But under the terms of the plea-bargain, the sentence was reduced to time served in the Cocke County Jail, with the balance of the five-year sentence on supervised probation.

Barton will also be required to pay more than $30,000 in restitution to victims of the alleged thefts.

Barton first entered a plea to aggravated burglary and theft of property in a two-year-old case on Wednesday.

He and a co-defendant are accused of entering the residence of Paul Ballard at 303 Shawnee Drive on October 7, 2007, Assistant District Attorney General Tonya Thornton told the court.

The two are alleged to have taken motor vehicle engine parts, cash, prescription bottles, and other property in the break-in. The loss in this case is estimated at about $30,000, the prosecutor said.

Under the terms of the plea-bargain, Barton was sentenced to concurrent sentences of three years in jail on pleas to aggravated burglary and theft of property valued at more than $10,000.

 

Second Case

In the second case, Barton entered a guilty plea to theft of property in connection with the May 20, 2006, theft of a 1979 Ford belonging to Jim Phillips. In 2007, a co-defendant in the case told investigators he had purchased the vehicle from Barton and taken it to a vehicle crusher, Thornton told the court.

As part of the plea agreement, Barton received a concurrent 11-month, 29-day jail term on his plea to theft of property valued at less than $500.

 

Third Case

The third case involved the February 25, 2009, theft of property belonging to Brooks Sutton in Cosby. On March 4, Cocke County Sheriff's Department investigators recovered a four-wheeler, a winch, and a chainsaw from two co-defendants and learned of Barton's involvement in the theft, prosecutor Thornton said.

 

Last Case

In the last case, Barton received a consecutive sentence of two years in jail, giving him a net sentence of five years.

But the sentence was reduced to time served with the balance on supervised probation, under the terms of the plea-bargain. Barton was ordered to make restitution to the victims of the thefts, to maintain fulltime employment, and was restrained from being around any of the victims.

Under the "best interest" pleas, Barton did not admit guilt to the crimes, but agreed that because of the strength of the state's evidence against him, it is in his best interest to accept the negotiated plea.

 

Kyle pleads guilty

Parrottsville resident Mark L. Kyle, 36, pled guilty on Monday to misdemeanor charges of sale of less than a half-gram of cocaine and possession of marijuana in a four-year-old case.

Prosecutor Thornton said Kyle sold a small amount of cocaine to an undercover informant representing the Fourth Judicial District Drug Task Force on May 17, 2005, and a later search of his person revealed a small amount of marijuana.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, the defendant received concurrent sentences of 11 months, 29 days in jail, reduced to supervised probation, and was fined a total of $1,000 plus court costs.

Because of the age of the case, the parties agreed to a deferred plea, meaning he may request that his record be cleared after successfully completing the probationary period and paying the court-ordered fines and court costs.

 

Another drug case

Another drug task force case involved 23-year-old Brandon Miller, who pled guilty on Monday to a misdemeanor charge of casual exchange of marijuana.

The plea-bargain calls for Miller, who has been in jail since March on another charge and is scheduled to be released in December, to serve 30 days of an 11-month, 29-day jail sentence with the balance of the term on supervised probation. He was also fined $350 plus court costs and ordered to pay $220 in restitution to the drug task force.

Prosecutor Thornton said Miller is alleged to have sold an ounce of marijuana to a task force informant.

 

Judicial deferral

Thirty-one-year-old Gonald Dexton Wilds, of 203 Cork Way, Greeneville, was placed on judicial deferral after entering guilty pleas to five counts of burglary of a motor vehicle.

Assistant District Attorney General Brownlow Marsh told the court that Wilds entered motor vehicles belonging to Alex Williams, of 1651 Blue Mill Road, Del Rio; Benjamin Middleton, of 1651 Blue Mill Road, Del Rio; J.R. Whitson, of 2529 Highway 25/70; Tony Daniels, of 250 Cany Way, Del Rio; and David Burton, of 140 Stokely Cemetery Road, Del Rio, last December 26.

Under the terms of the plea-bargain, Wilds was sentenced to two years in jail on each count, all of which were ordered served on probation. During the first six months of probation, the defendant was ordered to pay restitution and court costs, and the remaining 18 months of probation will be unsupervised.

But entry of the plea was deferred by Judge Hooper, meaning it will not be entered on the defendant's record if he successfully completes the two years of probation, according to the plea agreement.

 

Forgery and theft

Thirty-one-year-old Lisa Lynn Shults entered guilty pleas on Monday to two counts of forgery and one count of theft. She was also found in violation of the Community Corrections Program as a result of a previous conviction, sentenced to time served, and returned to the program.

Shults pled guilty to two counts of forgery and theft of property valued at less than $500 on April 30 in connection with the theft of a checkbook belonging to Tracy Hill, of 345 Filbert Street, and the alleged forgery of checks totaling $275 on that account, prosecutor Thornton told the court.

The defendant was sentenced to two years in jail on each forgery count and a consecutive 11-month, 29-day jail sentence for theft. She was ordered to maintain employment during her probationary period, ordered to pay $1,031 in restitution plus court costs, and will be required to submit to random drug screens.

She was ordered by the court to report to either jail or a drug rehabilitation program by November 13.

Judge Hooper noted that a check of her criminal record shows that Shults has appeared at least 26 times before come criminal court.

"Something's bad wrong," Judge Hooper told the defendant. "But you need to know that if you appear before this court again, I will have no sympathy. You're going to get a break, but this is your last break."

 

Bribery of a witness

Doyle Everette Haney, 35, entered a guilty plea on Wednesday to a felony charge of bribery of a witness. As part of the negotiated plea agreement, a charge of possession of a controlled substance for sale and delivery were dismissed against Haney, who is already serving 30-year prison sentences on two cocaine convictions.

Prosecutor Marsh told the court that about 3 p.m. on July 9, 2007, Haney was being returned to his cell in the Cocke County Jail when he allegedly offered Corrections Officer Mark Henderson "an unspecified amount of money if he would help him get the charge dismissed."

In the plea-bargain, Haney was given a three-year sentence reduced to time served on the bribery charge.

 

Hall guilty plea

James Scott Hall, 34, pled guilty on Wednesday to theft of property valued at less than $500 and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Prosecutor Thornton said the first charge resulted from the theft of cologne, razors, and other merchandise from the Newport Wal-Mart on June 22 and the second charge stems from a traffic stop by the Cocke County Sheriff's department on September 13 in which a "crack" cocaine pipe was found on the defendant's person.

Hall was ordered to serve concurrent sentences of 11 months, 29 days in jail concurrently with a previously imposed three-year term and to pay a $150 fine and court costs.

 

Forgery of checks

John Keith Johnson, 25, of 664 Lamon Circle, entered guilty pleas on Wednesday to two counts of forgery of checks valued at less than $500 and one count of theft of property in connection with incidents last August.

In the plea-bargain, Johnson was ordered to serve 60 days of a two-year jail term, with the balance on supervised probation and was ordered to pay restitution and court costs. The parties agreed that the defendant may be placed on judicial deferral if he is determined to be legally eligible.

Hardy Franklin Allen, 49, of O'Neil Road, entered a "best interest" plea on Monday to second-offense driving under the influence and speeding. Under the terms of the plea-bargain, Allen will serve 15 days of an 11-month, 29-day jail term, with the balance on supervised probation.

Hardy's vehicle was stopped by the Cocke County Sheriff's Department on February 7 of this year after it was reportedly clocked traveling 61 miles per hour in a 45-mile-per-hour zone on Wilton Springs Road, prosecutor Marsh told the court.

Allen, who reportedly refused to submit to a breath/alcohol test, was also fined a total of $360 plus court costs in the plea agreement.