Wednesday, July 30, 1997
Man sentenced to 20 years for delivery of cocaine
A man imprisoned three times in the past 21 years was sentenced
again Tuesday after being photographed dealing drugs last fall
in a police sting operation.
Jurors swiftly sentenced Allen Lane Hickman to 20 years in
prison - the maximum allowable - for delivery of cocaine.
He has six felony convictions on his record, dating back to
1976, for such crimes as possession of heroin, bond-jumping, engaging
in organized criminal activity and theft.
"Six times we haven't gotten his attention," District
Attorney James Eidson told jurors. "I'm just sorry 20 years
is all we can give him."
Driving a specially outfitted unmarked vehicle, an undercover
Abilene police officer videotaped Hickman during a transaction
in the North 13th and Treadaway area last Oct. 22.
He was one of about 40 drug suspects netted in the three-month
undercover operation last fall in that neighborhood. Residents
of the area were a driving force behind the effort, police said.
Since the drug charges were in most cases state jail felonies,
which under current state law usually means automatic probation,
many of the defendants already have pleaded guilty, Eidson said.
Because of his long prior record, allowing for a tougher penalty,
Hickman was the first defendant from the sting to be be tried
by a jury.
Send a Letter to the Editor about This
Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address) of This Story
to A Friend:
Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
|
