It's been more than a year since Devon Wright entered a guilty plea to weapons charges, among other crimes, but he has finally been sentenced to prison for his crimes.
Wright was released from custody after his guilty plea in November 2021 so he could be present at the birth of his first child.
Then he disappeared and evaded capture for several months.
He then wanted to withdraw his plea and he asked for a new attorney.
Wright got the new attorney. And then last week, he withdrew his request to withdraw his guilty plea and was sentenced to 24 years in prison.
Judge Melissa Cianfrini sentenced him to:
- 12 years plus five years parole on his attempted assault in the first-degree conviction;
- Seven years, the maximum, on the criminal sexual act in the third degree with 10 years on parole;
- 10 years on attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree; and,
- 364 days jail term on his assault in the third-degree conviction, which by law merges with the above sentences.
Because Wright failed to appear for his prior scheduled sentencing date in 2021, Wright lost the benefits of his prior plea deal and Cianfrini ordered the prison terms be run consecutively, putting Wright in prison for a determinate sentence of 24 years with 10 years following on parole.
District Attorney Kevin Finnell recommended a sentence of 20 to 29 years (29 years being the maximum consecutive sentence available under the law).
Fred Rarick, Wright's new attorney, argued that while Wright failed to appear as ordered for sentencing previously, he did avoid getting arrested on new charges since his conviction, so he should be given the benefit of his prior plea agreement.
If the agreement had stood, the sentence cap would have been 10 years in prison.
Cianfrini said that Wright's pre-sentence investigation report did not look good for him. She also said his crimes were violent and that Wright's regard for human life was non-existent.
For prior coverage of Wright, click here.
