CONVICTED DRUG DEALER GETS 35 YEARS

He Was Also Found Guilty Of Fleeing

FORT PIERCE - An Edgewater man found guilty of trafficking in hydrocodone
and fleeing deputies at speeds of more than 100 mph was sentenced to 35
years in prison Wednesday.

During an October trial, George Draper, 48, was cleared of nine of the
11 charges against him, including attempted second-degree murder,
aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and leaving the scene
of an accident with an injury. Circuit Judge Gary Sweet sentenced
Draper to 20 years on the trafficking charge and 15 years on the
fleeing count.

Prosecutors said that after selling drugs to an undercover detective
on July 25, 2002, and being confronted by St. Lucie County Sheriff's
Office deputies, he rammed a patrol car and led deputies on a high-
speed chase that began at Indrio Road and Kings Highway, moved to
Interstate 95 and ended at State Road 60 in Indian River County.
Draper's car went into a canal, and he struggled with deputies,
pushing Detective Gary Morales' head under water twice during the
struggle, Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Kuczler said.

Defense attorney Rusty Akins argued Draper didn't realize the
detectives were law enforcement because they were not wearing standard
uniforms, and he thought he was being robbed.

During the sentencing hearing, Akins read a letter written to the
judge by Draper, in which he said he has been a model inmate during
the more than three years he has been in custody and asked for a
sentence on the low end of the guidelines. The trafficking charge
carried a minimum of 15 years in prison, and the state asked for a
45-year sentence on both counts.

"The defendant has a reckless disregard for the law and the safety of
others," Kuczler said.