By Karen Hall

Editor

A Huntsville man found guilty by a jury earlier this spring was sentenced last week.

Walter Lee Hicks Jr., 53, received an effective sentence of 17 years, of which he must serve 35 percent before being eligible for a parole board hearing.

"This was a very serious case," said Circuit Court Judge Robert Crigler. "He's probably not going to get parole the first time around."

Hicks was sentenced to eight years for evading arrest in a motor vehicle, five years for giving false information to an officer, and four years for reckless endangerment, to run one after the other. He received shorter sentences for assault, speeding, and driving on a revoked license, but these are to be served at the same time as the other sentences.

Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Jon Judge stopped Hicks on Fayetteville Highway on Aug. 20 because he clocked Hicks at 80 mph in a 55 mph zone. Hicks gave Judge a false name and date of birth, and then tried to drive off, dragging Judge down the road. Judge fired his weapon, wounding Hicks in the arm, and managed to get free of the car. Hicks fled toward Fayetteville at speeds up to 92 mph and was arrested when he got to the Lincoln County seat.

Judge and the THP dispatcher who was assisting him have been named trooper and dispatcher of the year for the Lawrenceburg district because of their conduct during the incident with Hicks.

"This was a serious situation," said Assistant District Attorney Eddie Barnard. "When one of my officers gets treated like this, I take offense."

Hicks' prior record covers two pages of the pre-sentence report, and there was no question that he was not a Range II offender.

In his statement to Crystal Gray of the Board of Probation and Parole, Hicks called himself "a disabled veteran who made a poor decision." In the statement, Hicks said he was trying to better himself with self-help courses and church attendance, and asked for mercy and a short sentence.

"Jail is not where I want to spend the rest of my time on this planet," Hicks told Gray, but it's where he will be spending at least the next six years.

Frazer A. Drew, 49, of White Drive, will be in prison even longer.

Drew pleaded guilty last week to two counts of rape, and was sentenced to 11 years on each count. These sentences are to run at the same time, but 100 percent of them must be served. After Drew is released from prison, he will be on the Sex Offender Registry and subject to community supervision for the rest of his life.

Drew's victim was 27-year-old woman. She is reportedly "mentally challenged," but was able to speak enough to accuse Drew, and the DNA from the rape kit taken at Marshall Medical Center matched Drew's DNA.

According to the case file, Drew made no statement to law enforcement. Like Hicks, he was represented by the Public Defender's Office.