Ex-Gregg County DA gets deferred adjudication for cocaine possession

[TexasTowelie]

A former Gregg County district attorney was fingerprinted Friday in the 188th District Court in Longview after pleading guilty to cocaine possession and revealing he was struggling with addiction when he was arrested in February 2015.

Longview attorney Rob Foster, 71, will not see the inside of a prison if he adheres to conditions of a 10-year probation.

He also can prevent a finding of guilt from ever being declared by a judge — and escape the lifelong label of “felon” — after defense attorneys David Moore and Kent Phillips persuaded Visiting Judge Paul Banner to sentence Foster under a deferred adjudication model.

The deferred sentence, however, works both ways. Failing to follow terms of the conditions would expose Foster to the full range of punishment for the first-degree felony to which he pleaded guilty, which is up to life in prison.

Read more: https://www.news-journal.com/news/2016/oct/28/ex-gregg-county-da-gets-deferred-adjudication-drug/

[Grins]

1. So I guess....

So; 10-years probation and will never see the inside of a prison vs. life imprisonment.

I'm guessing he's not black...?

Snark and race aside aside, drug addiction is a health problem that prisons can NEVER cure, and fail to cure at a huge expense. Texas, and other states that think, "Lock 'em up!", solves everything, need to change its laws.