Defendant’s statement leads judge to impose more time

Stephen S. Cotman II told a court probation officer he realized selling crack cocaine “made money and it came fast. I don’t have to do much to make the money.”

Those words prompted the judge in Cotman’s case in Charles City Circuit Court to hand the defendant an active term of three years, six months in prison despite impassioned pleas by the defense that Cotman is a good person who lacked parental guidance.

During sentencing last Friday, Judge Thomas B. Hoover imposed 20 years in prison on each of six crack cocaine distribution counts Cotman was convicted of following a January trial.

Cotman, 19, of 8701 Adkins Road in Charles City, is one of 23 defendants arrested last year during the Operation Happy Holidays drug sweep in the county. His mother, Jean B. Cotman, 51, was also arrested and convicted earlier.

Before sentence was imposed, defense attorney Todd Duval told the court his client suffers from kidney failure and had the unfortunate experience at age 12 of watching his father accidentally electrocuted. Cotman has no prior criminal record, is not an addict, and is not likely to go back to selling drugs, his attorney said.

Duval asked the judge to consider a light sentence, adding, “He’s already said ‘I’m guilty, I did it, I should be punished.’”

But Hoover noted that half of the original charges leveled against Cotman were dropped under terms of a plea agreement.

“He’s already been given consideration,” the judge responded.

Hoover followed a recommendation by Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Tyler to impose an active sentence near the high end of state guidelines which call for up to three years, 11 months. Tyler said close to half of the defendants arrested as part of the drug sweep had ties to Cotman.

In another, unrelated case last Friday, Hoover equated the matter of a Charles City man arrested for eluding police and driving under the influence after he ran a stop sign to an incident the day before in which Los Angeles Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others died when a drunk driver ran a red light and crashed into their car in Anaheim, Calif. Fortunately, in the case of Keith Reginald Cotman Jr., 25, of 12620 Green Oak Road, Providence Forge, no other vehicles were involved.

Cotman had his girlfriend in his car just after midnight last July 13 when a county deputy observed the vehicle run through a stop sign at Church Lane and Adkins Road, Tyler told the court. A chase ensued north on Adkins Road at speeds up to 100 miles per hour before Cotman apparently lost control and wrecked the car near the Lott Cary Road intersection.

When questioned by Hoover, Cotman said he drank about 12 beers before the incident.

“Why drink that much and then get out on the road?” the judge asked.

“I guess I made a bad decision,” Cotman replied.

As part of a plea deal, Cotman pleaded guilty to DUI and an amended charge of reckless driving. Hoover imposed a $1,000 fine on each charge along with six months in jail on each with all but two months suspended for the next five years. Cotman asked for a delay in reporting to jail, but Hoover refused.

“Mr. Cotman impresses me as someone who has a very cavalier attitude and thinks it’s no big deal, but it is a big deal and he goes to jail today,” the judge said.

Also last Friday, a Richmond woman, who landed in jail after testing positive for drugs during a March 3 court appearance, pleaded guilty to cocaine possession. The charge lodged against Danae Noelle Walker, 28, of 806 Georgianna Court, stemmed from residue in a crack pipe found in her purse last Aug. 10 after a county deputy stopped to investigate a suspicious vehicle parked near a church.

As part of a plea deal, Hoover placed Walker on first offender status and ordered her to perform 100 hours of community service. After a year, the charge could be dropped provided Walker adheres to terms of probation.

In another case, Darron Ronee’ Jones, 43, of 8540 Lewis Tyler Lane, Charles City, pleaded guilty to burglary stemming from a Dec. 28 break-in at the home of his aunt, Carol W. Jones, where his grandmother also resided. A plea deal in the matter dropped a charge of petty larceny.

Tyler told the court the aunt arrived home after visiting the grandmother in a local hospital to find the defendant inside. A back door had been forced open and items inside the house and a garage were found to be out of place or missing. One missing item was a case of beer that investigators found the defendant consuming when they arrived at his home to make an arrest, the prosecutor said.

Defense attorney Scott Renick said his client has a drinking problem. Jones, meanwhile, told Hoover he resented the court making it appear he was robbing his grandmother. The defendant’s attitude failed to score points with the judge.

“He breaks into a relative’s house while he knows his grandmother is in the hospital. That’s still pretty common,” the judge said.

“I don’t care how bad an alcoholic you are. [The aunt] has the right to defend her property while in her own home,” Hoover added.

“Apparently, Mr. Jones hasn’t figured out how serious this is, but I’m going to help him figure it out,” the judge said before pronouncing sentence.

Hoover sentenced Jones to 10 years in prison with all but three months suspended for the next 10 years.

In another case, Wayne Anthony Jones, 50, of 9015 Adkins Road, Charles City, pleaded guilty to one count of failure to register as a sex offender. Under terms of a plea deal, two similar counts were dropped.

All three offenses stemmed from Jones failing to file paperwork on time, Tyler told the court. Under state law, convicted sex offenders must register on a monthly basis. Jones had been convicted of aggravated sexual battery in 1991, the prosecutor said.

Hoover sentenced Jones to five years in prison with all but 10 days suspended for the next 10 years.