By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Two Atmore men were denied parole during recent hearings before the Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole.
Lasherman L. Thomas, 37, was considered for and denied parole by the ABPP on March 1.
He has been in prison since April 9, 2005, a span of 15 years, 7 months and 19 days — including more than 3 years in the county jail while awaiting trial and transfer — on the date of his hearing.
He was convicted of the January 2004 robbery of H&W EZ Grocery on North Main Street in Atmore. Atmore Police Department archives show that a man later identified as Thomas entered the store, pointed a pistol at the grocer, then fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Thomas, currently housed at North Alabama Community-Based Corrections Facility, received a 20-year sentence on the robbery charge and a 10-year concurrent sentence for first-degree theft of property.
His minimum release date is July 11, 2027, unless he is granted parole or a pardon.
Also denied parole was Willie Jermaine McCants, who was convicted in Escambia County Circuit Court in 2006 and sentenced to life (with the possibility of parole) for shooting into an occupied building.
McCants, who is housed at Kilby Correctional Facility, had served 17 years and 25 days of the sentence on March 1, when he was considered for parole.
His current prison stint is his second. He was convicted, also here, in 2003 on a charge of second-degree receiving stolen property.
He was sentenced to 3 years and served 1 year, 3 months and 25 days before being granted parole.
Unless he is granted parole or a pardon, he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.