NASSAU- A man who claimed he was drunk and high when he pleaded guilty to killing Inspector Carlis Blatch during an armed robbery has lost his attempt to have his convictions overturned.
Timothy Cole received concurrent sentences of 33 years for murder and 18 years for armed robbery following his guilty plea on February 10, 2020.
The Court of Appeal on Tuesday described Cole’s attempt to appeal his convictions as a “cynical ploy to game the system.”
Cole, 50, changed his plea before the prosecution called any witnesses at his trial before Senior Justice Bernard Turner.
Prosecutors alleged that on September 12,2018 Cole ordered Blatch out of a Hyundai Elantra, which was parked in the vicinity of H.O. Nash Jr High School, at gunpoint.
Blatch, who was armed, came out of the car and drew his police service revolver.
However, Blatch was shot in the head during the gunfight that followed, and his killer drove off in the Elantra.
Two witnesses identified Cole as the killer and a third allegedly saw him running from an area off Farrington Road, where the killer ditched the stolen car.
Justice Turner accepted Cole’s guilty pleas after he agreed with the summary presented by Terry Archer, the prosecutor.
Prior to his plea, Cole’s attorneys Stanley Rolle and Dorsey McPhee and the prosecutor met with the judge in chambers to discuss the proposed plea and sentences.
Nevertheless, Cole maintained that he had no idea what happened during his court appearance because a police officer had given him alcohol while in the cell at Central Police Station. He alleged that he drank some of the beverage before he traded it for a joint with another detainee.
On the other hand, Rolle, said in an affidavit, that he did not smell alcohol on Cole’s breath during their conversations and nothing about his behavior suggested that he was high.
Christina Galanos argued that convictions should be voided because there was no written plea deal as required under the Plea Discussions Act.
However, the tribunal of Justices of Appeal Jon Isaacs, Stella Crane-Scott and Carolita Bethell, ruled that the lack of a written plea deal did not result in a miscarriage of justice.
In fact, the Court said that Cole was in a better position than other defendants who negotiated deals with the prosecution because he knew that the trial judge was willing to accept the proposed sentence.
The Court said the discussions in chambers satisfied the judge that Cole knew what he was pleading guilty to and the consequences of his plea.
The appellate judges said that Archer’s concern that the prosecution would not be able to locate the witnesses if the Court ordered a retrial did not influence their decision.
