David Wayne Hammock, 19, entered a blind plea of guilty to three counts of second-degree burglary and no contest to second-degree arson in a blind plea agreement, Sequoyah County District Attorney Richard Gray said Tuesday.
The arson charge and one of the burglary charges relate to the fire, while the other counts of burglary are related to the December 2003 burglary of a Sallisaw liquor store.
Gray said Hammock's blind plea means that Hammock enters his plea without benefit of a known sentencing outcome. Gray said Hammock could face a punishment of up to 46 years in prison.
Hammock was ordered by District Judge John Garrett to complete a youthful offender delayed sentencing program, which could take up to one year to complete in prison, Gray said. The program is operated by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC) in a prison in Fort Supply. Gray said the program is a boot camp program where participants engage in rigorous physical disciplinary activities and attend various programs for chemical and social deviation.
After Hammock completes the program, the DOC will submit an offender accountability report to Judge Garrett in order for Garrett to determine sentencing. Gray said Hammock will be sentenced according to the discretion of Judge Garrett.
"Hammock is entering his plea to escape going to trial," Gray said. "He is scared of what the jury would recommend as punishment for the burning of Sallisaw High School. The only recommendation he received from my office on burning the school was the maximum term of imprisonment.
"I can not stop him from entering his blind plea. I will make certain, at the time of sentencing, that witnesses are called to express and relate the damage the young man has done to the community and how his acts have impacted the community as a whole. We continue to pursue this defendant aggressively and will maintain our position of requesting the maximum punishment for the arson."
Hammock was originally set to go to trial in March, but the case was taken off the spring jury docket after Hammock's attorney asked for a continuance.
Hammock has been held on a $75,000 bond in the Sequoyah County Jail in Sallisaw since his June 2004 arrest.
