Copeland v. State

Barnes, Judge.

Elmore Copeland appeals the trial court’s denial of his motion for an out-of-time appeal. For the reasons that follow, we reverse.

On April 28, 2000, a jury convicted Copeland of two counts of forgery in the first degree, and the trial court sentenced him to serve ten years on each count, to run concurrently. The court imposed the sentence under the recidivist provision of OCGA § 17-10-7 (c), based on prior felony convictions for burglary, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, which requires Copeland to serve all ten years without the possibility…