Pubdate: Thu, 04 Nov 2004 Source: Roanoke Times (VA) Copyright: 2004 Roanoke Times Contact: http://www.roanoke.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/368 Author: Jen McCaffery Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration) JUDGE LENIENT IN DRUG SENTENCES The Prosecutor Said That the Defendants Had Cooperated With Law Enforcement Authorities. Four more Franklin County residents were sentenced Wednesday for their roles in what federal authorities have described as a large powder cocaine distribution ring. All four defendants had pleaded guilty to being part of the drug-trafficking conspiracy. Eleven defendants have pleaded guilty to charges in the case, and many already have been sentenced. In addition to conspiracy, Grover Thomas Burgess Jr., 51, also had pleaded guilty to perjury. Federal Judge James Turk sentenced Burgess to 37 months on both the conspiracy and perjury charges, to be served concurrently. After Burgess is released from prison, Turk also ordered that he spend four years on supervised release. Turk found that Burgess could not afford to pay a fine. Turk also sentenced Bobby Joe Hood to about 3 1/2 years and then said that Hood should be placed on supervised release for an additional 42 months. Hood, 42, was not ordered to pay a fine. Turk sentenced Devin Shane Pendleton, 28, to four months of home confinement and ordered him to perform 50 hours of community service. Turk also ordered Pendleton, who had also pleaded guilty to a count of cocaine distribution, to pay a $1,500 fine. John William "Billy" Davis received a sentence of nearly three years on each count to which he had pleaded guilty, to be served concurrently. In addition to the conspiracy charge, Davis had pleaded guilty to four cocaine distribution charges. At the request of federal prosecutor Donald Wolthuis, Turk gave the defendants significantly lower sentences than the guidelines called for, because the defendants had cooperated with law enforcement authorities. - ---