Fred Allen Linkous-Lincoln
La Plata, MD – Some folks who traverse through Charles County Circuit Court, especially those with opiate drug addiction that often leads to burglary or theft charges, never get it.
Despite the court’s best efforts, some inevitably relapse and are tangled up in legal woes which eventually lead to jail time.
So it must have been refreshing to Judge H. James West Monday, June 6 when Fred Allen Linkous-Lincoln, 26, of Waldorf, appeared before him for sentencing on June 23, 2014 charges of theft and conspiracy to commit theft.
Linkous-Lincoln “got it.”
His attorney, Camara L. Mintz, told West his client has been clean of heroin for two years and is committed to supporting his young daughters.
“He’s been through a lot,” Mintz said. “He was locked up in St. Mary’s for just over a year from 2014-15.”
Linkous-Lincoln also spent 16 months in Fairfax County, Virginia on “unrelated matters,” he admitted.
In the meantime, Mintz said his client cleaned up his drug addiction by going through Phase I therapy at Walden and he even attained his GED in the process. Mintz added that his client was a “model inmate” during his incarceration at both St. Mary’s and Fairfax. Upon his release, Linkous-Lincoln found work, Mintz told West.
“He’s doing really well,” Mintz added. “He came home and got to work. He cut off a lot of his old friends. He no longer associates with those people.”
“I do try hard,” Linkous-Lincoln told the judge. “I’m trying to get my life back on track. I have an opportunity to work hard.
“I understand I did break the law,” he said.
West offered the defendant a choice between 10 months in the Charles County Detention Center (CCDC) with work release and five years of supervised probation or 30 months in the Maryland Department of Corrections with unsupervised probation upon his release. After discussing the options with Mintz, Linkous-Lincoln chose option one.
“The reason it’s 10 months is because you have done such a good job and have made a real effort,” West explained. “I’m glad to hear you’re on the right track.”
With that, the judge sentenced the defendant to 10 years with all but 10 months suspended. The jail term is to be served at CCDC with work release granted.
He also gave Linkous-Lincoln credit for 97 days of time served.
He added that five years of supervised probation began immediately and allowed Linkous-Lincoln to report June 21.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com
