Conasauga Judicial Circuit Judge Jim Wilbanks did not hide his concern — and displeasure — when three codefendants pled guilty to a litany of drug-related offenses in Whitfield Superior Court on Friday, March 1.
“This whole thing doesn’t seem right, it’s probably clear that I am not happy,” he stated from the bench. ”Do your neighbors know what’s going on in your home, down on Old Dug Gap Road?”
Blake Steed Hilley, Brody Steed Hilley and Tiffany Ann Hilley each pled guilty to various charges, including the felony offense of possession of psilocyn — a psychotropic controlled substance known to produce effects comparable to drugs such as LSD.
Defense Attorney Richard K. Murray informed that the defendants weren’t just related — they were mother, father and son.
“I believe the evidence will show that there was some distribution going on,” he told the court.
Blake Steed Hilley pled guilty to one count of possession of psilocyn, possession of zolpidem and two misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct.
He received a sentence of five years, with the first 90 days to be served on house arrest and the remainder on probation, for the psilocyn possession charge. The zolpidem possession charge produced a concurrent three-year probation sentence — with the first 90 days to be served on house arrest — with a pair of concurrent 12-month probation sentences for the reckless conduct charges.
Zolpidem, a sedative-hypnotic drug, is a schedule 4 controlled substance.
Per a bill of indictment, the reckless conduct charges stem from “endangering the bodily safety” of two other inhabitants of the residence “by consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk that their possessing controlled substances and drug-related objects in common spaces within the home.”
Wilbanks noted that the defendant faced a maximum sentence of 20 years for the combined offenses. He said that the defendant would be able to commute to his place of business — which the defendant stated was about six miles away from his residence — during the home arrest portion of his sentence.
Wilbanks agreed to sentence the defendant under Georgia’s First Offender Act, a provision that would allow the defendant to petition a court to expunge the convictions from his record pending he is able to complete the probationary period of his sentence without any further violations.
Brody Steed Hilley pled guilty to one count of possession of psilocyn with intent to distribute, one count of possession of more than an ounce of marijuana and possession of tools for the commission of a crime — all felonies.
The psiloycn charge carried a sentence of 10 years, with the defendant ordered to serve no more than 200 days awaiting entry into a probation detention center “for no less than 90 nor more than 120 days” — with the balance to be served on probation.
The marijuana charge produced a concurrent 10-year probation sentence while the possession of tools for the commission of a crime charge resulted in a concurrent four-year probation sentence.
Conasauga Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney Christina Antalis said the defendant faced a maximum sentence of 44 years for the combined offenses.
Wilbanks likewise agreed to sentence that defendant under Georgia’s First Offender Act.
Tiffany Ann Hilley pled guilty to one count of possession of psilocyn, possession of zolpidem and two misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct.
She received a sentence comparable to the one received by Blake Steed Hilley.
She is also allowed to commute to her place of business — which she stated was “10 minutes” from her residence — while under the house arrest portion of her sentence.
She too was sentenced under Georgia’s First Offender Act.
“I don’t think I’ve ever done this before, where I have two people in the same house under house arrest,” Wilbanks said. “There’s just something about that that just doesn’t seem right, as far as punishment goes.”
Following their initial arrests, Murray told the court the codefendants have participated in drug treatment and attended parenting classes.
“They’ve realized the error of their ways,” he said, “and they’ve gone to great lengths to prove to the court that they are getting started on the right path.”
Wilbanks offered a stern warning to the codefendants before the final disposition.
“I’m all about second chances and third chances, so don’t misunderstand my frustration with the circumstances that I now have found out about going on in the community,” he said. “This is serious, serious stuff, you have consequences, you’re going to satisfy those consequences — you don’t want to see me again.”