Georgia Man Sentenced to Three More Years in Prison After Convicted of Probation Violation

A man who is a convicted gang member in DeKalb County has recently been sentenced to eight more years in prison after committing a new offense while on probation, and thus violating that probation.

Enrique Fuentes was allegedly found sitting in a restaurant with a handgun and a paper bag. It was reported that he had at least a dozen small bags of methamphetamine on his person. Fuentes at the time was serving on probation for 2016 felony drug charges. According to authorities, Fuentes is a known member of the 18th Street Gang.

As a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I would like to clear up some misconceptions about probation in today's post. I will also outline the particular violation of probation that Fuentes has been convicted of committing.

Probation Violation in Georgia

Many people are confuse about what probation means. The reality is that if you have been sentenced to probation, you are very much serving a jail sentence outside of custody. If you violate your probation, your punishment might be to serve the remainder of your sentence in jail.

There are many reasons why an individual can be put on probation in Georgia. These reasons include being convicted of a DUI in Georgia. Sometimes the probation period lasts for 6 months, but other times an individual may have to deal with probation for several years.

There are many drawbacks to being sentenced to probation - although people tend to rejoice when offered probation over jail time. Probation includes monthly supervision fees along with strict requirements such as random drug screenings. Keeping up with probation conditions are very difficult. Moreover, violating probation in Georgia is serious business.

As exemplified in the story above, probation violation in Georgia for new offenses are often treated more harshly than probation violations than any other type of violation. This means that even if an individual is complying with the conditions of his or her probation rules, if he or she commits a new crime during his or her probation period, there will be a violation.

If you commit a misdemeanor, you could face a penalty of 2 years of the probation term being revoked and having to serve those years in jail. If you commit a felony during your probation period, you will have to serve the rest of your probation term in jail.

Your probation officer has the discretion to request a warrant for your arrest if they believe you are not complying with the probation terms.

Practice Note

If you or a loved one has been arrested for violating probation, contact our attorneys today. We can defend your case. We handled everything related to DUI - include violation of probation in Georgia.