Man Enters Guilty Plea
By LINDA L. HULLA Belmont County Jail inmate appeared in court Monday in an orange jumpsuit, handcuffs, leg shackles and with a black eye.
Common Pleas Judge Jennifer Sargus asked Brandon Lee Billingsley, 25, where he got his black eye. She was told he received it during an "assault" in the jail.
Billingsley's attorney, public defender Frank Pierce, told Sargus the jail "administration was taking care of the problem."
Billingsley appeared before the judge on a plea to a bill of information. He pleaded guilty to failure to comply with a signal of a police officer and could receive a maximum sentence of five years in the penitentiary, a $10,000 fine and an operator's license suspension.
The recommendation was that he be sentenced to two years in prison to run concurrent with a three-year sentence out of Jefferson County.
Sargus asked Billingsley why he ran from officers in Belmont County, and he admitted he was violating his probation after his release from the East Ohio Correctional Center in Wintersville about a year before.
He told Sargus that when the officers came upon him, he decided to run.
Although he told Sargus he had no substance abuse problem, he admitted he was "driving under suspension and using drugs" at the time of his arrest.
He will appear once more in front of Sargus. He is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. July 7.
Meanwhile, James Beavers Jr., 22, of 705 Walnut St., Martins Ferry, did not appear in court; instead, he asked the judge, through his attorney Jim Nichelson, to expunge his record.
Assistant Prosecutor Helen Yonak told Sargus the state was opposed to the expungement because Beavers wasn't complying with his after treatment program.
She said she believes Beavers should be serving his original sentence as a result.
Sargus ruled Beavers was to be picked up by law enforcement and given a urine test.
A warrant was issued for his arrest.
