Rickie Dawson York aka Mark Burton Convicted Felon 60 Years in prison

Rickie Dawson York, who turned 39 on Tuesday, pleaded guilty to possessing 1.46 grams of meth on Oct. 16. A Smith County jury sentenced the Tyler man after 25 minutes of deliberation in 241st District Judge Jack Skeen Jr.'s court.
The third-degree felony, which carried a punishment range of two to 10 years in prison, was enhanced to a first-degree, with a possible sentence of 25 years to life in prison, because of his two prior felony convictions. York will have to serve 15 years before he is eligible for parole. Bullard Police Officer Shawn Johnson testified that at about 3 a.m. on Oct. 16, he was traveling in the area of U.S. Highway 69 and Farm-to-Market Road 346 when he spotted a car parked in front of a closed business, which had been burglarized in the past. Johnson said he found York sleeping inside the car, which was running with its lights on. The man did not have identification, claimed to be waiting on his girlfriend and said he thought he was in the Chapel Hill area. After receiving consent to search, Johnson said he found two bags of meth and a bag of marijuana in the man's pocket. York asked the officer if there was anything they could do to work something out, but Johnson arrested him. Jurors were shown a videotape of the incident.He possessed 1.46 grams of meth and 2.93 grams of marijuana, according to lab reports.
York, also known as Mark Burton, was convicted of delivering marijuana in Dallas County in 1996 and possessing a prohibited weapon in Smith County in 2006, for which he was on parole. Beginning in 1987, he has also has been convicted of theft, possession of a controlled substance, failure to identify/fugitive from justice, criminal mischief and theft by check.


Assistant Smith County District Attorney Zach Davis said York continued to commit offenses whenever he was released from jail or prison and will never change his behavior. The defendant testified he has had a drug problem for 21 years but, Davis said, he has never sought treatment for his addiction.
He asked the jury to sentence York to life in prison to send him a message to stop using and selling drugs and stealing from people. Defense attorney Steven Comte said the punishment range was 25 years to life only because of York's criminal history, but that he has been punished and has served his sentences for all of his prior convictions.
"There is nothing about Mr. York's history that is violent and life should be reserved for the most heinous individuals out there," he said.
Comte said his client has made some bad decisions and has had problems with addiction, but is a genuinely nice man with a wife and children. He told the jurors to ask themselves what a reasonable sentence would be for possessing little more than 1 gram of meth, adding that he believed it would be a sentence at the low end of the punishment range.