Retired Macon police officer pleads guilty in drug case

MACON - A retired Macon police officer pleaded guilty Friday to charges he sold drugs while he was on the force and asked the court for mercy, claiming it was ``rough in jail.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> James Otis Smith Jr., 50, was charged April 5 with selling methamphetamines to an undercover officer with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. <br> <br> Smith pleaded guilty to one count of sale of methamphetamine and two counts of using a communication facility to facilitate a felony - charges that could have sent the 27-year veteran of the police department to jail for more than 30 years. <br> <br> Instead, Bibb County Superior Court Judge Tommy Day Wilcox sentenced Smith to 10 years on probation to include 180 to 220 days in a detention center. Wilcox said the punishment was standard for a first-time offender with no criminal record, reported The Macon Telegraph in its Saturday edition. <br> <br> Smith said he began using methamphetamines to lose weight and never intended to sell the drugs. <br> <br> ``I never sold it until they come around and asked for it,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> Smith was also fined $2,000, ordered to pay $1,000 to a drug education fund and granted first-offender status, which means his record will be wiped clean if he successfully completes his sentence.