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Coffey Sentenced to Prison as Habitual Felon

On June 13, 2016, Allan Lee Coffey, age 32, plead guilty to four counts of felony breaking or entering, four counts of larceny after breaking or entering, and one count of possession of methamphetamine. He also admitted his status as an habitual felon.

Coffey
Coffey

The property charges stem from a string of residential break-ins that occurred between August and October of 2015 in the Rutherwood and Deep Gap communities of Watauga County. In several of the cases, neighbors of the victims provided critical information to the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office that helped identify Mr. Coffey as a suspect. On Oct. 19, 2015, a WCSO deputy stopped Mr. Coffey driving a van that contained many of the items stolen during the break-ins.

Prior to committing the break-ins, Mr. Coffey was stopped by a Boone Police Department officer on July 19, 2015, and found to be in possession of methamphetamine.

The District Attorney’s Office enhanced Mr. Coffey’s sentence by identifying him as a habitual felon.  Coffey had previously been convicted of three prior felony breaking or entering charges in Watauga County in 2002, 2003, and 2005.

The Honorable R. Gregory Horne, Superior Court Judge, sentenced Coffey to serve a minimum of 6 years and six months, and a maximum of 8 years and ten months in prison. As part of the judgment, Coffey was ordered to pay restitution to the victims.

“In our effort to save lives and protect private property, we will continue to use the habitual felon laws to take repeat offenders like Mr. Coffey out of our community” District Attorney Seth Banks said in a statement.  “I appreciate the hard work of Assistant District Attorney Matt Rupp, deputies with the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office, and officers from the Boone Police Department in seeing that Allan Lee Coffey was brought to justice.”