Bad decision upon bad decision by a Jones County defendant came perilously close to landing him in jail last week, but he ultimately got a two-month reprieve.
Andrew Robert Hall, 40, was in Jones County Superior Court March 27 expecting his trial to begin that afternoon. Hall was facing charges of felony fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, window tint violations and driving while license suspended.
Hall’s case was on the trial calendar and during a March 25 calendar call, he fired Tom O’Donnell, the public defender who was prepared to represent him. That left him with the option of hiring a private attorney or represent himself when his case was called for trial in two days.
Assistant District Attorney Cara Fiore prosecuted the case. She said Hall had been offered a negotiated plea of one year in confinement or a $3,500 fine, but he declined the offer.
A jury was selected for the trial March 25 and reported for duty at 1:30 March 27.
When Superior Court Judge Terry Massey called the case Wednesday, he asked Hall if he was prepared for trial. The defendant said he had not been able to hire an attorney.
The judge told Hall that firing his public defender made him ineligible for another.
Massey explained if Hall represented himself and was found guilty, the maximum sentence he was facing was seven years in confinement. He also had the option of paying a $5,000 fine.
Hall told the court he could get $2,000 that afternoon but could not come up with the rest.
Fiore said the original offer was no longer on the table. She said the defendant’s options were to represent himself at trial or enter a guilty plea. The offer now on the table was two years confinement for the felony charge or pay a $5,000 fine. The defendant was obviously distraught, and O’Donnell appeared to be trying to lobby on his behalf despite being fired. While this was going on in the courtroom, jury members were waiting in the other room for the trial to begin.
Fiore left the courtroom to have a discussion with District Attorney Wright Barksdale and returned with another option. She said if Hall entered a guilty plea that day to the felony charge of fleeing or attempting to elude, the two misdemeanor charges would be dismissed. The sentence would be two years in confinement or a $5,000 fine. The defendant would be required to return to court May 16 with the $5,000 or be prepared to enter confinement.
Fiore said the sentence had to be under the law at the time of the offense. She said that meant, if Hall was sentenced to confinement, it would be served in full.
After the negotiated plea was presented, the judge told the defendant that since he terminated this attorney Monday and he had been unable to secure another, the “ball was in his court to get it done.”
Hall eagerly agreed to the plea offer and said he would have no problem raising the money by May 16.
After the plea was entered, Massey brought jury members, who had been waiting since 1:30 p.m. into the courtroom at 3 p.m. He thanked the jurors for their patience.
“Without you, justice moves slow. Once you get here, it gets done,” he said.
Arrest
Hall was arrested Jan. 15, 2022, however the date the offenses occurred were actually May 17, 2020, according to an incident report by Jones County Sheriff Office Sgt. Kasey Carr.
Carr said he was monitoring traffic on Highway 49 near Griswoldville Road when he saw a silver Infinity with extremely tinted windows pass in front of him. He attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver made an abrupt turn and accelerated away from him.
Carr said he pursued the vehicle but backed off when the speeds through a residential neighborhood became excessive. The sergeant said he was leaving the area when he was flagged down by residents who told him the Infinity had turned down a dead-end street.
Carr located the car sitting at the end of the street and spoke to the passenger still inside. The passenger told him the driver ran into the woods and gave him the suspect’s name. He confirmed that information through papers found in the car.
A check of Hall through dispatch revealed the driver’s license was suspended. The driver was not located, but Carr secured a warrant for felony fleeing and attempting to elude and citations for the traffic violations.
