Cook Seeks Plea Deal, Drug Treatment

DAYTON -- Billy Joe Cook Jr., 24, has been of- fered a plea bargain that could put him behind bars for about five years.

Cook was arrested on May 21 for a series of crimes starting with the April 3 burglary.

His plea agreement with the state will require him to plead guilty to burglary in the second degree, theft in the second degree, posses- sion of stolen property in the second degree and malicious mischief in the third degree.

These charges are related to alleged crimes committed April 3, April 23 and May 9 that included breaking into a garage and stealing weed eater and a chainsaw on Third Street. Later, it is alleged Cook caused physi- cal damage to a padlock at another residence on Fourth Street and stole a bike. Fi- nally, he allegedly broke into the same home on Fourth Street and stole electronics with a value exceeding $750.

Julie Karl, legal assistant for the Columbia County Prosecutor's Office said the charges are class B, two class C and one gross misdemeanor and Cook will still be required to pay restitution.

The offer will be for 64 months in prison and Cook and his attorney are request- ing a Drug Offender Sen- tencing Alternative (DOSA) sentence. This sentence would allow Cook to serve half of his sentence in prison and half in intensive drug treatment. The maxi- mum penalty for residential burglary is 10 years and $20,000.

Until he is sentenced, Cook will be held in the Columbia County Jail and, Karl said, he will need to have an evaluation to determine his eligibility for the alternative sentence.

A judge will decide if Cook will be allowed to receive the alternative sen- tence on Aug. 9.