Three Douglas County men have been sentenced to life in prison for stealing $210 after rejecting a plea deal for a much shorter sentence.
Judge William McClain sentenced Derek Renaldo Baugh Jr., 23, Roy Lee Chambers Jr., 21, and Darrell Lennell Myricks, 24, Monday after they were convicted of robbing a 20-year-old prostitute at gunpoint for $210, a cell phone and a pack of cigarettes , the Douglas County Sentinel reported.
The men will be eligible for parole in 30 years.
The prosecution could have sought a sentence of life without parole due to the previous criminal records of the three men, the newspaper reported.
The mothers of Myricks and Chambers had to be removed from the courtroom due to an outburst after the sentencing was announced.
"My conscience is clear that I gave you as fair a trial as possible from the bench," McClain was quoted as telling the defendants. "You had excellent representation, and your attorneys put up an outstanding defense. But the jury rejected it totally, completely and swiftly."
According to testimony during the trial, the men told the victim they were members of street gangs and a rap group called “The Mob Family” and that Chambers was the “CEO” of the crew, the Sentinel reported.
The newspaper said the three men rejected a plea offer of a 10-year sentence -- a deal that could have enabled Chambers to be out of jail in two months.
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