LOGAN — A 46-year-old Smithfield man is being given another chance at rehab instead of prison. John Cody Jones was ordered to undergo an inpatient treatment center but warned that a 30 year sentence hangs over his head if he doesn’t succeed.
Jones was sentenced Monday, May 6, in Logan’s 1st District Court. He previously accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to 15 charges including burglary, theft, and distribution of a controlled substance, all second-degree felonies.
Jones told the court he had a substance abuse problem. He asked the court for another chance, saying he had been accepted into a three year program that will get him away from the drugs in this community.
Cache County deputy attorney Aaron Jossie said he would go along with Jones’ admittance to the drug rehab program instead of incarceration. He expressed gratitude in the defendant’s willingness to confess to the crimes and hoped he would change his life.
Jones said he was sorry for the “hell (he’d) raised.” He acknowledged that his actions were digging his own grave.
Judge Spencer Walsh expressed concern about Jones’ criminal history. He noted how the defendant had been arrested for bringing drugs into Cache Valley from Salt Lake. Another time he was caught burglarizing a home with his son.
Jones has been given chances at rehab before instead of incarceration. Twice he was allowed to attempt drug court. The program gives people suffering from drug addictions treatment and counseling, while also requiring regular appearances before a judge, frequent and random drug testing, and monitoring by probation officers.
Judge Walsh sentenced Jones to two consecutive terms of one-to-15 years in prison but suspended the order to allow him to be transferred to the rehab center. He also sentenced him to 270 days in jail, giving credit for 94 days already served.
Judge Walsh said his sentence will hold significant incarceration over Jones’ head if he doesn’t succeed. It will also give the defendant a chance to pay back the victims quicker.