CC cocaine cases land jail time
A Charles City woman, jailed after testing positive for cocaine when she first showed up for trial in county circuit court, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison with all but three months suspended for a cocaine possession charge stemming from the Operation Happy Holidays drug sweep.
Sylvia D. Johnson, 40, of 9431 Little Elam Road, had been scheduled to stand trial on March 3 for one count of crack cocaine distribution. Proceedings, however, were postponed after a urine screening revealed cocaine. The drug remains detectable in the human body for up to five days after use.
Judge Thomas B. Hoover revoked Johnson’s bond and ordered her held in jail pending a new trial date. Johnson had her rescheduled day in court on March 20.
Under terms of a plea agreement, Johnson pleaded guilty to an amended charge of cocaine possession. Hoover, meanwhile, followed the plea deal in imposing a three-month active sentence behind bars. The defendant gets credit for time already served.
Prosecutor Rob Tyler told the court an undercover informant traveled last July 17 to Danny C. Cotman’s house in Charles City seeking to make a crack buy. Johnson served as intermediary, exchanging $50 handed to her by the informant for drugs she picked up from inside Cotman’s house. Cotman, 54, has been previously convicted on drug charges.
Johnson, meanwhile, apologized to Hoover “for coming in dirty” for her initial trial appearance.
Also on March 20, Hoover sentenced Jarvis A. Barnes, another of the Happy Holidays defendants, to one year of active time in prison.
Barnes, 41, of 6020 Adkins Road in Charles City, entered an Alford plea of guilty to a pair of crack cocaine distribution counts in January. As part of a plea deal, a third count was dropped.
At sentencing, Barnes told Hoover that his drug and alcohol problem drove him to selling crack. He said he spent close to $100 a month on alcohol.
Barnes promised Hoover he would not return to court with future criminal charges. He said his plans are to stay clean with help from an ongoing treatment program he participates in while in jail and to help care for his father after he is released from confinement.
Tyler labeled Barnes as a minor player in the county’s drug trade.
“He’s not a terribly bad guy,” the prosecutor told the court, adding Barnes’ street name is “Nice Man.”
Hoover sentenced Barnes to 20 years in prison on each charge, suspending all but the one year for the next 20 years. Barnes will be given credit for time already served.