Contributed Photo/Courtesy GCSO: Yancy Winans was sentenced to six months in jail to be followed by four years on probation.
By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – After having his sentencing postponed after violating pre-trial conditions, Yancy Winans, 27, spent more than a month in jail and had to have his case assigned to a different judge before sentencing could be completed.
Winans agreed to a plea deal Aug. 15 and pleaded guilty to an amended count of attempted sale of a narcotic drug – a Class-3 felony, and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia – Class-6 felonies. He was originally charged with possession of a dangerous drug, possession of marijuana, transportation of a narcotic drug for sale, possession of a narcotic drug, and three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.
At his scheduled sentencing date Oct. 2, however, Winans was found to have violated his release conditions and a warrant had been issued for his arrest in September. When he arrived for his sentencing Oct. 2, he was taken into custody and was held on a no-bond hold.
The charges against Winans stem from a Nov. 7, 2018 incident in which he sold nearly a gram of heroin to an undercover detective for $100 and a subsequent drug task force search of his residence Feb. 28, which turned up various drugs and paraphernalia. This is Winans’ first conviction.
On Wednesday, Winans appeared in front of Graham County Superior Court Judge Pro Tem Travis Ragland, who accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Winans to six months in jail to be followed by four years on probation. If Winans fails on probation, he faces the possibility of being sentenced to 8.75 years in prison.
In the original plea, probation was guaranteed with the possibility of up to a year in jail. The period of probation was left up to the discretion of the court and can be up to five years. Additionally, Winans was given a $7,320 fine and ordered to complete 1,080 hours of court-approved community work service.
