RICHMOND -
A Richmond judge has handed a local drug dealer, with a history of selling drugs near a middle school, the stiff sentence the jury in the case recommended. But some say the punishment is too harsh.
Circuit Judge Beverly W. Snukals sentenced 29-year-old Edward Antaion Baker to 30 years in prison on Monday for possession of heroin with intent to distribute. He was arrested back in February near a store across the street from Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in the 1000 block of Mosby Street.
Baker had two prior convictions for less serious offenses. Sentencing guidelines for a third conviction suggest between five and forty years. Some attorneys say judges typically sentence on the lighter end of that scale. "This is completely unprecedented," said James Bullard, an attorney with knowledge of the case. "I've never, as a prosecutor or defense attorney, seen anybody in a state court get this much time for the amount of drugs he allegedly had."
Bullard said that Baker probably would not have faced such a stiff sentence if he hadn't requested a jury trial. He said the risk in jury cases is that the judge usually follows the sentence recommended by the jurors.
Baker's family and friends also say the punishment is excessive. His father told CBS 6 that he thinks that the courts were trying to make an example out of his son.
Baker's family says they are trying to come up with money to help him file an appeal.
Circuit Judge Beverly W. Snukals sentenced 29-year-old Edward Antaion Baker to 30 years in prison on Monday for possession of heroin with intent to distribute. He was arrested back in February near a store across the street from Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in the 1000 block of Mosby Street.
Baker had two prior convictions for less serious offenses. Sentencing guidelines for a third conviction suggest between five and forty years. Some attorneys say judges typically sentence on the lighter end of that scale. "This is completely unprecedented," said James Bullard, an attorney with knowledge of the case. "I've never, as a prosecutor or defense attorney, seen anybody in a state court get this much time for the amount of drugs he allegedly had."
Bullard said that Baker probably would not have faced such a stiff sentence if he hadn't requested a jury trial. He said the risk in jury cases is that the judge usually follows the sentence recommended by the jurors.
Baker's family and friends also say the punishment is excessive. His father told CBS 6 that he thinks that the courts were trying to make an example out of his son.
Baker's family says they are trying to come up with money to help him file an appeal.
