Tulsa County felon receives shorter prison term upon resentencing after appeal
BY BILL BRAUN World Staff Writer
Thursday, November 22, 2012
11/22/12 at 5:10 AM
A drug felon whose trial convictions were overturned on appeal because he wasn't adequately warned of the dangers of representing himself was sentenced this week to 8 1/2 years in prison for drug and firearm offenses.
At his trial in 2010, a Tulsa County jury handed Ronald A. Dinkins, now 43, sentences totaling 82 years.
The jurors found Dinkins guilty of five felonies. He was sentenced to 15, 25 and 30 years, respectively, on three separate counts of possessing three drugs: marijuana, cocaine base and phencyclidine (PCP) - with an intent to distribute.
He received sentences of three and eight years, respectively, for possessing a firearm as a felon and failing to possess a drug tax stamp.
He also was found guilty of a misdemeanor, possessing drug paraphernalia, for which he incurred a one-year jail term.
Although those sentences totaled 82 years, Dinkins faced about half that time in prison because District Judge Carlos Chappelle ordered several sentences to run concurrently.
The charges stemmed from a Tulsa police search of a residence in the 500 block of East 56th Street North, where Dinkins was arrested Feb. 26, 2009, reports show.
Dinkins, who is not an attorney, had three previous felony drug offenses at the time of the 2010 trial, records show.
In an opinion issued in May, the state Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the trial convictions and sentences and ordered a new trial.
The appellate court determined that the record shows that Chappelle questioned Dinkins several times about his intent to handle his own defense at his trial, but Chappelle did not conduct an inquiry into whether Dinkins appreciated the dangers or disadvantages of self-representation.
The case was resolved without a retrial Tuesday when Dinkins pleaded guilty to the same six charges and was sentenced by District Judge Bill Musseman to eight years and six months in prison.
On that sentence, Dinkins receives credit for time he has already served in jail and prison.
Original Print Headline: Felon faces shorter term after appeal
Bill Braun 918-581-8455
bill.braun@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Ronald A. Dinkins: At his 2010 trial, he was handed sentences totaling 82 years in prison after he was found guilty of five felonies. His trial convictions were overturned on appeal because he wasn't adequately warned of the disadvantages of representing himself
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