Verdict is guilty for defendant tried in absentia

After a short trial, the Oconee jury verdict for a man who was not there was guilty.  A court officer said sentencing for Richard Claude Dills will take place later.  The office of 10th Circuit Solicitor tried Dills on the charge of failure to register as a sex offender.  Though Dills was not in the courtroom for his trial, his attorney was.  But defense attorney Gruber Sires had no witnesses to call in his client’s behalf.