Judge Hands Down Modified Sentence in Carter Case

DeKalb County Criminal Court Judge Leon Burns, Jr. handed down a modified sentence in the statutory rape case against Gary Carter Monday.
Carter will report to the county jail Tuesday to begin serving time on one count of statutory rape involving a female, who was 17 years old and only a few months shy of turning 18 when the incident allegedly occurred.
Under terms of the sentence, Carter will serve a straight 30 days beginning April 1st. He will then serve on weekends from May through December. Beginning January 1st, 2009, Carter will serve another 30 days straight. His case will then be placed back on the docket for further review.
Judge Burns, in September 2006, sentenced Carter to two years to be served in split confinement with nine months incarceration followed by four years probation, after Carter entered a guilty plea in the case.
Carter later appealed the sentence seeking full probation.
In a February decision, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the trial court’s denial of judicial diversion and full probation but ruled that “the trial court erred in the imposition of nine months of incarceration.”
According to the higher court, “The period of time ordered to be served in split confinement cannot exceed the defendant’s release eligibility date. The release eligibility date for a Range I standard offender receiving a two year sentence is 7.2 months less certain sentence credits. The case was remanded back to the trial court for re-sentencing.
Meanwhile, in other court news Monday, 40 year old Alton David Estes entered a no contest plea to burglary and three counts of theft under $500.
He received a three year sentence to serve 90 days in the burglary case and 11 months and 29 days to serve 90 days in each of the theft cases, all to run concurrently. Estes must pay restitution of $2,150 to one of the victims in the case and restitution to another victim in an amount to be determined later. He must also perform 100 hours of community service work. Estes will report to jail April 30th. He was given credit for 52 days of jail time already served.
32 year old Russell Allen Blackwell pleaded guilty to two counts of sale of a schedule II controlled substance. He received a four year sentence to serve six months in each case and then he will be on Department of Corrections Probation supervised by Community Corrections. The cases are to run concurrently with each other but consecutive to a violation of probation against him in another case.
Blackwell must make restitution of $210, pay a $2,000 fine, and perform 100 hours of community service work. He was given credit for 28 days of jail time served.
33 year old Jason Douglas Campbell pleaded guilty to sale of a schedule III controlled substance and received a three year sentence, suspended to time served and probation. He must pay a $2,000 fine and make restitution of $50. Campbell must also perform 100 hours of community service work. He was given credit for 31 days of jail time served.
26 year old Jason Wayne Judd pleaded guilty to theft under $500 and received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days, all suspended to supervised probation. The sentence is to run concurrent with a White County case against him. Judd must make restitution of $828.30 and perform 50 hours of community service work.
60 year old Harold Gene Blackwell pleaded guilty to two counts of sale of a schedule II controlled substance and received a four year sentence to serve four months in each case and then be on TDOC probation. Fines were waived but he must make $210 restitution. The cases are to run concurrently with each other but consecutive to any General Sessions court case against him. Blackwell is to report to jail April 4th.