After entering guilty pleas in two cases last week, a man who has been charged with meth possession at least three times since 2015 was given a prison sentence. Douglas resident Benny Bolen, 43, was supposed to go on trial last week, but he chose to enter a guilty plea on the same day the jury was chosen.
According to court records, Bolen entered a guilty plea to the allegation of meth possession, which was brought against him in March 2023. He also entered a guilty plea to two charges that led to his arrest in August 2021: possession of meth with intent to distribute and possession of a handgun by a felon with a criminal record.
A Coffee County K-9 Unit detective pulled down a motorbike on Highway 221 and Daisy Ave. for failing to use a turn signal and a brake light violation, according to a report from the Coffee County Drug Unit. Bolen, who was recognized as the rider of the motorcycle, was discovered in possession of both a gun and meth.
According to the document, Bolen was charged with possessing a firearm while a convicted felon, possessing a firearm while committing a crime, possessing methamphetamine with the intention of distributing it, and possessing items connected to drugs. He was solely charged with possessing a handgun by a convicted felon and meth with the intent to distribute.
On March 22, 2023, Bolen—who was under bond in that case—was found to be in possession of more than four grams of methamphetamine. On Monday, February 5, he entered a guilty plea to all three offenses, according to authorities. According to court documents, Bolen was given a 20-year term in the first instance, three of which he will serve in prison. In addition, he received a sentence of three years, to run concurrently with the previous case.
Bolen was charged in 2020 for theft by taking, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in 2016, possession of meth in 2015, and burglary in 1998, according to prior paperwork submitted to the Coffee County Superior Court. Bolen entered a guilty plea to burglary, but the court files for the 2015 and 2020 cases were empty. Documents, however, indicate that the firearm possession allegation was dropped.
Additionally, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections website, Bolen was convicted of possessing narcotics (opiates) in Chatham County in 2003 and was sentenced to two years in jail, of which he served four months.
Bolen is presently listed as being booked in the Coffee County Jail and awaiting transfer, according to a copy of the jail roster.
