A Haywood County judge has ordered a 44-year-old man to serve his full 10-year felony sentence in state prison after ruling he repeatedly violated the terms of his probation, including picking up new felony charges and skipping out on supervision altogether. Judge Clayburn Peeples revoked Lafayette Boyd's probation Monday, sending him to the Tennessee Department of Correction to serve out the decade-long sentence he originally received for a 2019 drug conviction.
Boyd was convicted on September 26, 2019, of possessing cocaine with intent to sell and was sentenced to 10 years under strict state supervision, according to WBBJ-TV. That supervision unraveled, the station reports, after Boyd violated its terms by acquiring new felony convictions in Lauderdale County, failing drug screenings and absconding from probation altogether.
While he was supposed to be under state supervision, Boyd was also arrested by the Tennessee Highway Patrol on a separate set of charges: possession of marijuana with intent to sell, felony evading arrest, tampering with evidence and driving on a revoked license. That arrest prompted state probation officials to file a violation-of-probation warrant against him, setting up Monday's hearing before Judge Peeples in Haywood County.
Prosecutor Points to Boyd's Criminal History
District Attorney General Frederick H. Agee said Boyd's record played a role in the outcome, noting that he has prior felony convictions and had been given chances to turn his life around. Agee said Boyd has prior felony convictions, and he has been given every opportunity to be rehabilitated and be a law-abiding Tennessean, per the station's report.
Agee also thanked Judge Peeples for holding Boyd accountable and said he hopes the parole board makes Boyd serve every day of his 10-year sentence, the same report notes.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Tennessee
Boyd's case lands amid a wider trend across Tennessee's criminal justice system. Between 2010 and 2019, the number of revocations for a technical violation during parole or probation increased by 53%, according to the Institute for Public Service, which notes that such revocations increase the state's reincarceration rate.
For now, Boyd is headed into Tennessee Department of Correction custody to serve the sentence a judge first handed down more than six years ago.
