Burglary suspect pleads guilty

Published 10:36 pm Thursday, March 29, 2007

MOULTRIE — Recently in Colquitt County Superior Court, one of two defendants in a gang-related burglary pleaded guilty.

Justin Downey, 17, Mark Lane, pleaded guilty to theft by taking. Downey will be sentenced April 17.

Assistant District Attorney April Senn said Downey was put up to breaking into a house on Clarence Norman Road Jan. 10 as part of his alleged involvement with local criminal gang Sangre Loco.

The resident, Lance Johnson, was at home at the time and called sheriff’s deputies to the scene. Johnson reported first hearing the front door bell ring, but no one was there. One of the suspects knocked on a window while another accessed the house through the back door, reports said.

The responding deputy saw Downey and co-defendant Jaziel Jiminez, 22, Clarence Norman Road, in the doorway of the house and arrested them on the spot, court documents said.

Jiminez will be arraigned on burglary charges and criminal gang activity next week, Senn said.

In a related case, Pedro Guitierres, 30, Old Adel Road, pleaded guilty to first offender criminal damage to property and was sentenced to five years probation, $2,000 fine, 40 hours community service and restitution.

Guitierres was caught spray painting gang initials “SL” for Sangre Loco on Glass Hardware on Highway 133 South, court records said.



Other recent guilty pleas

• Stephen Dale Burley, 18, 3071 Cool Springs Road, pleaded guilty to first offender manufacturing marijuana and was sentenced to five years probation, $2,000 fine, curfew, attend technical school without any unexcused absences and reimburse attorney fees to county.

In July, drug task force agents confiscated 32 marijuana plants with a street value of $76,800 from an area along Cool Springs Road.

Co-defendant Matthew Lee Brown, 17, 387 Cherokee Drive, pleaded guilty last month to first offender manufacturing marijuana and was sentenced to six years intensive probation, 300 to 330 days detention center suspended, $2,000 fine, curfew and must obtain high school general equivalency degree.

Charges against Lakin Reynolds, 18, also of 3071 Cool Springs Road, were dismissed.

• Ulysses Upshaw, 38, 621 Sam Sells Road, pleaded guilty to theft by taking and was sentenced to 10 years intensive probation, 180 to 210 days detention center, $2,000 fine, 120 hours community service, restitution to Destiny Industries, curfew and reimburse attorney fees to county.

Upshaw, a 20-year employee of Destiny, reportedly had stolen about $10,000 in tools over a two-year period, investigators have said.

• Stephen Gamble, 31, 1330 Ga. Highway 319 N., pleaded guilty to interference with government property and was sentenced to three years prison.

• Craig Gandy, 19, 1200 13th St. S.W., pleaded guilty to misdemeanor marijuana possession and was sentenced to one year in jail with credit for time served. Gandy was caught bringing marijuana into the county jail Dec. 13.

• Moses Mena, 25, WMTM Road, pleaded guilty to habitual violator and was sentenced to five years probation, $3,000 fine, curfew and 180 to 365 days detention center.

• Shalamaars Williams, 21, 1515 Fourth Ave. N.E., pleaded guilty to first offender theft by conversion, and was sentenced to five years probation, $2,000 fine, restitution of $1,943 to U-Haul, reimburse attorney fees to county.

• Christopher Florence, 21, 1836 Sardis Church Road, pleaded guilty to habitual violator and was sentenced to five years probation, $1,000 fine and restitution.

• Mary Amanda Barrett, Morven, pleaded guilty to first offender criminal attempt to possess cocaine and was sentenced to four years probation, $2,000 fine and reimburse attorney fees to county.

• Larayne H. Gay, 37, 1732 Fourth St. S.E., pleaded guilty to first offender obtaining prescription by forgery and was sentenced to five years probation, $2,000 fine and reimburse attorney fees to county.

• Kenneth Arthur Seay, 57, 808 10th St. N.W., pleaded guilty to theft by receiving stolen property and was sentenced to eight years probation, $3,000 fine, restitution and curfew. Seay was in possession Jan. 18 of six air conditioning coils with copper piping, total value of $700, property of Peacock Construction.

• Alvin Latron Gamble, 21, 120 Fifth St. S.W., pleaded guilty to first offender marijuana possession with intent to distribute at the intersection of North Main Street and Old Doerun Road and was sentenced to six years probation to run concurrent with another plea of obstruction for which he was sentenced to five years probation, 90 to 180 days detention center, $2,500 fine, 40 hours community service and reimburse attorney fees to county.

• Michael Cornelius Herrington, 48, 140 Cox Lane, pleaded guilty to theft by receiving and was sentenced to 10 years probation, substance abuse treatment center and upon completion detention center, total sentence length for both between 180 and 210 days, $1,500 fine, 120 hours community service and restitution.