Shirley v. State

O.C.G.A. § 16-11-106 unambiguously prohibits having a firearm on one's person or within arm's reach during the commission of a felony and makes no exception for lawful possession.

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Morgan Russell Shirley pled guilty in Douglas County Superior Court to one count of trafficking methamphetamine, OCGA § 16-13-31; four counts of VGCSA, OCGA § 16-13-30; and four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, OCGA § 16-11-106. He appeals his convictions for the firearms violations and his sentence under OCGA § 16-11-106 b. Finding no error, we affirm. The record shows that, during controlled buys coordinated by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department, an undercover operative purchased methamphetamine four times from Shirley at Shirley’s Lithia Springs pawn shop. During each transaction, Shirley was either wearing a handgun “on his hip” or had a handgun within arm’s reach. During the fourth transaction, Shirley sold the undercover operative two ounces of methamphetamine, a trafficking amount. See OCGA § 16-13-31 e. Police officers arrested Shirley immediately after the fourth sale, and Shirley had at least one additional ounce of methamphetamine in his possession.

During the hearing on Shirley’s non-negotiated guilty plea, Shirley affirmatively stated that he understood that he could be sentenced up to 170 years in prison for the indicted crimes, including a mandatory minimum ten-year sentence and $100,000 fine for the trafficking charge, maximum thirty-year sentences for the sales and possession with intent charges, and mandatory consecutive five-year sentences for each of the four firearm convictions. Shirley admitted to the facts supporting the charges as indicted, and his counsel stated that he believed the charges in the indictment had an adequate basis in fact. The trial court found that there was a factual basis for Shirley’s guilty plea and accepted the plea as being freely, knowingly, and voluntarily made.

Shirley v. State

O.C.G.A. § 16-11-106 unambiguously prohibits having a firearm on one's person or within arm's reach during the commission of a felony and makes no exception for lawful possession.

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