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A man awaiting sentencing for manslaughter could also be facing life in prison as a repeat offender.
Prosecutor Mark Sergent said Monday he planned to petition the court to treat 43-year-old Raymond Elswick as a habitual criminal, which could result in Elswick being sentenced to life in prison.
Elswick is awaiting sentencing on charges of voluntary manslaughter and conspiracy to commit kidnapping in the death of Daniel Burns.
The jury that heard the case last month passed over possible verdicts of first- or second-degree murder in favor of the manslaughter charge.
At a hearing Monday in Roane Circuit Court, Judge Tom Evans said the voluntary manslaughter charge indicated jurors believed Elswick intended to kill Burns, but without premeditation or malice.
Elswick and Joey and Crystal Hicks were all charged with murder in the 2005 death of Burns, who was beaten to death before his body was dumped along a rural road. Police said Burns' pinky finger was cut off before the 51-year-old man's body was dumped.
The beating began at the Hicks home in downtown Spencer after Crystal Hicks allegedly saw Burns touching her 9-year-old daughter.
Both Joey and Crystal Hicks entered pleas to reduced charges instead of going to trial. Crystal Hicks is serving a year for involuntary manslaughter and 1-to-5 years on two charges of conspiracy.
Her husband, Joey, is serving 15 years, the maximum term for voluntary manslaughter, and 1-to-5 years for conspiracy.
With the same convictions as those Joey Hicks pled to, Elswick could be facing the same sentences. But a habitual offender petition may result in him being sentenced to life in prison with mercy, which would make him eligible for parole on the habitual offender charge after 10 years.
If Sergent does charge Elswick as a habitual offender, Evans said the law required the charge be filed before the end of the current court term next month. Sergent said he planned to have the documents filed before that date.
Elswick would be entitled to a hearing on the petition.
Sergent said Elswick had been convicted of at least two prior felony charges including a burglary in Jackson County, and a breaking and entering in Roane County involving the Spencer Pizza Hut.
At Monday's hearing, Elswick's attorneys, Lee Benford and Damon Morgan, asked Evans to set aside the manslaughter conviction and grant Elswick a new trial.
Evans denied the request and was prepared to sentence Elswick before Sergent asked for a pre-sentence investigation by a probation officer. Sergent said the investigation was necessary to show Elswick's criminal history.
Evans set the sentencing for Oct. 6. Elswick has been held in jail without bond since his arrest more than three years ago.
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