After pleading guilty to 8 felonies, Ozarks man claims 60-year sentence is ‘cruel’
An Ozarks man who pleaded guilty earlier this year to eight felonies has filed a petition to set aside the case.
Cody Gallamore, 28, claims in the petition that his 60-year sentence is a form of cruel and unusual punishment, and he alleges he received ineffective counsel from his attorney before pleading guilty.
The charges he faced, which ranged from multiple counts of burglary, armed criminal action, assault and resisting arrest, stemmed from a 2016 incident in which he fired a weapon while fleeing police.
Gallamore said it was an accidental discharge into the ground, according to the petition.
He also claims his attorney, who could not immediately be reached, drastically underestimated the sentence he would receive and did not tell him he was ineligible to file a request for a reduced sentence because he was a persistent offender.
“I was sentenced to 60 years in prison for a crime that was non-violent and in which nobody was hurt nor did I attempt to hurt anyone,” he wrote. “People are being sentenced in this state weekly to less time than I was for much more severe and violent crimes.”
During Gallamore’s sentencing in September, the Springfield News-Leader reported 20 police officers were in attendance.
Judge David Jones acknowledged Gallamore wasn’t aiming directly at an officer when he fired his weapon, the News-Leader reported, but he said a message needed to be sent after a gun was fired near police.
“I’m hoping ... when you’re released, you’re no longer the menace to society you are now,” Jones said.
The prosecutor on the case recommended Gallamore be sentenced to 30 years.
The News-Leader previously reported that Gallamore was affiliated with a white supremacist group, and that he had endured a difficult childhood during which he was exposed to drugs by a parent.
Max Londberg: 816-234-4378, @MaxLondberg
This story was originally published December 28, 2017 at 2:07 PM with the headline "After pleading guilty to 8 felonies, Ozarks man claims 60-year sentence is ‘cruel’."