Criminal Court Judge Rebecca Stern said Monday that Antwon Darriel Broome has a "terrible record," but she said she would let him stay under supervision of the Transformation Project - a Christian-based program - rather than be sent off to state prison.
She sentenced him to 12 years on one charge of selling cocaine and a consecutive suspended 12 years on a similar charge. She said he will go into prison if he messes up under the program.
A police officer testified about being threatened by Broome, and Judge Stern said the 39-year-old defendant had served seven months in jail on that charge.
Prosecutor Matthew Rogers said Broome was convicted in 1993 of attempted first-degree murder and especially aggravated robbery, getting 20-year and 10-year sentences. He said under the law at the time he was eligible for parole consideration after serving 30 percent of the time.
Broome started getting in trouble again in March of 2011 and has picked up 28 charges since then. The prosecutor said Broome "committed a series of felony offenses" and had dealings with several police officers "who felt like their lives were threatened."
An official of the Transformation Project said the program was criticized for taking him into the program without adequately investigating his background. She said it now does a more thorough check.
She said he admits to selling and using cocaine, but has never before had any drug treatment.