Erik
06-03-2009, 02:23 PM
TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) -- A man caught breaking into the Miller County
Jail last summer will soon leave his cell there for one in an Arkansas
prison. Bobby Finley, 20, was accused of planning to sell drugs and
tobacco inside the jail. Finley pleaded guilty Thursday to five felony
counts and was sentenced to a total of 19 years in prison. But the
sentences are to run consecutively and top out at five years.
Guards caught Finley using bolt cutters to get through the chain-link
fence that surrounds the jail. Prosecutors said Finley had cocaine and
marijuana in his possession.
"In 19 years of prosecuting you always encounter cases that make you
believe you've seen it all - until you see a case of this nature,"
Deputy Prosecutor Carlton Jones said. "It never ceases to amaze me."
Finley was found mentally competent to stand trial following a
psychological evaluation.
Finley will get credit for time served for the 316 days he spent in
jail since getting caught.
In his deal with prosecutors, Finley was sentenced to five years each
on two possession counts and three years each on three counts of
furnishing prohibited substances: cocaine, marijuana and tobacco.
When Finley was arrested last summer, Arkansas State Trooper Scott
Clark investigated and said Finley was a moment away from getting
inside the fence.
"This is the first one I've ever worked where somebody went to so much
trouble to remove an obstacle so they could bring contraband into the
jail," Clark said at the time. "It's definitely a first for me."
Jail last summer will soon leave his cell there for one in an Arkansas
prison. Bobby Finley, 20, was accused of planning to sell drugs and
tobacco inside the jail. Finley pleaded guilty Thursday to five felony
counts and was sentenced to a total of 19 years in prison. But the
sentences are to run consecutively and top out at five years.
Guards caught Finley using bolt cutters to get through the chain-link
fence that surrounds the jail. Prosecutors said Finley had cocaine and
marijuana in his possession.
"In 19 years of prosecuting you always encounter cases that make you
believe you've seen it all - until you see a case of this nature,"
Deputy Prosecutor Carlton Jones said. "It never ceases to amaze me."
Finley was found mentally competent to stand trial following a
psychological evaluation.
Finley will get credit for time served for the 316 days he spent in
jail since getting caught.
In his deal with prosecutors, Finley was sentenced to five years each
on two possession counts and three years each on three counts of
furnishing prohibited substances: cocaine, marijuana and tobacco.
When Finley was arrested last summer, Arkansas State Trooper Scott
Clark investigated and said Finley was a moment away from getting
inside the fence.
"This is the first one I've ever worked where somebody went to so much
trouble to remove an obstacle so they could bring contraband into the
jail," Clark said at the time. "It's definitely a first for me."