Augusta, GA
Former Augusta Commissioner Sammie Sias faces sentencing
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Former Augusta Commissioner Sammie Sias faces sentencing Tuesday, after being convicted of destroying records in a federal investigation.
On Tuesday, around 9:05 a.m., Sias arrived to the court to hear his sentencing, we are there live.
On June 1, it was determined that Sias won’t get a new trial after being convicted of destroying records and then lying about it to federal investigators.
Sias was found guilty last July after a four-day federal trial and faces up to 20 years in prison. Days later, on Aug. 12, he appealed, seeking acquittal or a new trial.
His appeal alleged there was insufficient evidence for a conviction. He also said his former counsel had provided ineffective legal assistance.
The judge said Sias hadn’t offered sufficient grounds to set aside the verdict and grant a new trial and that an appeal for a new trial “is not the appropriate vehicle” for raising claims of ineffective legal assistance.
The judge also found Sias failed to establish there were errors regarding evidence at trial, much less that any errors had “substantial influence on the outcome.”
“Additionally, the Court notes that Defendant does not cite any legal authority to demonstrate why the alleged evidentiary errors are in fact errors,” the judge wrote.
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