Hayes v. State

Jotonnia Hayes challenges the final judgment and sentence imposed following revocation of probation on convictions of three counts of uttering a forged money order and one count of grand theft.

The trial court accepted a negotiated plea to the original charges. At the plea hearing, rather than face a prison sentence as originally contemplated, Hayes, through her lawyer, represented that she could leave the courtroom, walk up to the clerk’s office and pay restitution in full for her ill-gotten gains. With those representations, the plea negotiations became less than clear. The prosecutor, no…