A Lithia Springs man was sentenced last Wednesday to two consecutive life sentences for raping and sodomizing his estranged girlfriend in 2014, authorities said.
Larry Jericho Dunbar, 54, was convicted of rape, aggravated sodomy, false imprisonment, battery (family violence) and two counts of aggravated assault, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
The incident, which took place at the Candlewood Suites hotel off Bob Arnold Boulevard, began Sept. 4, 2014 and lasted until the next day, prosecutors said.
Dunbar and his estranged girlfriend were attempting to “repair their relationship,” but that came to a halt once her ex-boyfriend called her phone, the release said. Dunbar became “enraged” and began to beat her.
He prevented her from leaving the hotel room, holding a knife and a pair of scissors to her throat, the release said. He then repeatedly raped her over the course of several hours.
When he finally allowed her to leave the hotel room, the woman got into her car and blew the horn several times to try to get help, the release said. Dunbar had stolen her phone so she could not call police.
Dunbar had previously pleaded guilty to aggravated sodomy in the case, but the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed the conviction after finding the sentence illegal, authorities said. After that, he chose to proceed with a jury trial rather than plead guilty again.
He was convicted Jan. 30 after a four-day trial. According to Georgia Department of Corrections records, Dunbar was taken to the Wheeler Correctional Facility to begin his consecutive life sentences.
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