Telegraph Staff Writer
STARKE— A Bradford County man told a judge he would rather spend over a year in jail than spend 90 days behind bars, go to a drug treatment program and serve out one year on drug-offender probation.
Thomas Fred Borland, 41, was first arrested for possession of drugs and possession of drug equipment on Nov. 3, 2022, after a Starke police officer spotted the defendant driving a motorcycle without a tag.
The officer wrote in an arrest report that Borland pulled into the parking lot of a Circle K at the corner of Starke’s North Temple Avenue and West Brownlee Street.
“During the process of the traffic stop, I gained reasonable suspicion to the fact that Borland was in possession of illegal narcotics,” wrote the officer. “As a result, I utilized K9 Erin to conduct an open-air sniff of the motorcycle and attached backpack. K9 Erin alerted to the presence of illegal narcotics, and a search of the bike and backpack was conducted. A small glass pipe containing methamphetamine residue (was found).”
The officer reported that he also uncovered a bag on Borland’s person containing one gram of the central nervous system stimulant.
Two months later, Borland signed a plea agreement with a two-year drug offender probation period. However, on April 11, a probation officer wrote that Borland violated his probation by testing positive for methamphetamine and failing to submit to a drug and alcohol evaluation at Meridian Behavioral Healthcare in Gainesville.
During a May 3 hearing, the defendant’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Susan Ward, told Judge James Colaw that Borland reported to Meridian and waited in the organization’s waiting room for two days for his evaluation.
“At that point, he was fearful that he would lose his job if he did it again,” said Ward, asking the judge to reinstate Borland’s original probation.
Colaw responded that he could not fulfill the defendant’s request but would offer him a choice: 90 days in jail, followed by six months in an inpatient drug treatment facility. Borland’s probation would be reinstated at that point with one year remaining.
“If you just want a sentence that closes your case so you can get it in the rearview mirror and get on with your life, that sentence would be— I would do the minimum, but that minimum on your guidelines is 12.45 months,” he said.
Borland chose the year in jail.
Colaw told the defendant that the lengthier jail sentence carried one additional benefit.
“You should be eligible for gain time on that, and when you get it done, it’s in the rearview mirror, and you can get on down the road with your life,” he said. “I wish you good luck.”
