Opinion ID: 1826525
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: jeffrey bonds

Text: Jeffrey Bonds pled guilty to burglary charges in 1990 and was sentenced to serve seven years on April 3, 1990 by Judge Thomas J. Gardner, III. Bonds was placed in the RID program and after successful completion of that program was placed on probation on September 7, 1990. Approximately three (3) years later, on August 17, 1993, Judge Russell revoked Bonds' probation after Bonds was arrested and indicted on two additional counts of burglary. On January 10, 1994, Bonds pled guilty and was sentenced by Judge Russell to serve three years on each count. Judge Russell ordered that this time was to run consecutive to the original seven year sentence, resulting in a total sentence of ten years. On April 7, 1994, Judge Russell entered a nunc pro tunc order which purported to correct the January 10, 1994 order to reflect that Judge Russell was reserving judicial review for a period of 180 days. This language was not included in the original sentencing order. On that same day, Judge Russell entered an order vacating Bonds' sentences, including the original sentence on which Bonds had been sentenced by Judge Gardner. Bonds was then placed on probation by Judge Russell. Judge Russell testified that he released Bonds due to the recommendations of many individuals. Judge Russell testified that the Sheriff, Circuit Clerk and two Supervisors of Tishomingo County appealed to him on behalf of Bonds because Bonds, while a trustee at the jail, had performed extensive service for the county during the 1994 ice storm. Judge Russell instructed Bonds' attorney to prepare the paperwork. Again, Judge Russell testified that he acted pursuant to § 47-7-47. However, Bonds was ineligible for release under this statute because of his prior offenses. Richard Bowen, Bonds' attorney, gave deposition testimony which largely corroborated that of Judge Russell. Bowen testified that he did in fact prepare the orders as instructed by Judge Russell and on April 4, 1990, presented those orders to Judge Russell to be signed. Bowen further testified that no hearing took place, however he did make a special trip to Tupelo, Mississippi to present the orders to the judge. Johnny Nunley, the former Sheriff of Tishomingo County, testified that he approached Judge Russell about Bonds' early release due to the work Bonds performed for the county during the ice storm. In addition to Nunley, Mike LaRue testified that although he was never consulted about Bonds' release, he believed it was probably in the best interest of everyone involved. Lastly, Jim Pounds, an Assistant District Attorney who handled the Bonds matter, testified that he was not consulted about Bonds' release and was not aware of the order until it was completed.