SUPERIOR COURT
The theft of a television set resulted in a 15-year sentence for a defendant with a long history of felony convictions.
Marlon Jamel Hoskins entered a guilty plea in Jones County Superior Court May 18 to a crime that took place May 5, 2022. He was on parole for a June 2, 2017, theft by taking conviction at the time of his arrest.
Hoskins was sentenced to 15 years for the offense of burglary in the first degree with credit for time served from his 2022 arrest.
According to the Georgia Department of Corrections website, his first incarceration was Feb. 20, 1985, for a Jones County burglary.
Hoskins’ most recent arrest resulted from the complaint of a stolen television that took place at a residence that shared a rear entrance with his girlfriend. The victim reported the theft, and Jones County Sheriff Office Deputy John Humphries responded to the call.
Humphries’ report said the victim left home at 7 a.m. May 4, 2022, to go to work and discovered the television missing when she returned at 6 p.m. The deputy said the front door was locked, but the rear door had been left ajar for the cat.
Humphries said officers had responded about 4 p.m. to a call from the girlfriend about someone in her apartment. That turned out to be Hoskins, who had spent the night. He said officers left after confirming that the suspect had permission to be there.
However, after it was confirmed that Hoskins was wanted for violation of his parole, officers returned and took him into custody.
Humphries said he felt it was a good possibility the missing television could be in the girlfriend’s apartment without her knowledge. He said he called her and explained what was going on. The deputy said he also assured her she was not a suspect.
A supplemental report by JCSO Deputy Christopher Wimberly stated that he responded to a call from the girlfriend the following day. She told him she found her neighbor’s stolen television under the bed in a spare bedroom.
Wimberly said the neighbor identified the television as hers. The girlfriend also had video footage of Hoskins carrying the television from the neighbor’s residence and into the back door of her residence.
A warrant was subsequently secured for charges of burglary and theft by taken against Hoskins.
