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The Atlanta radio personality known as “Fat Kid” spent eight hours behind bars at the Floyd County Jail on Thursday after pleading guilty to criminal trespassing.
The misdemeanor charge against 25-year-old Jeremy Edward Powell stemmed from an April 2005 incident during which he refused to leave a Floyd County residence after being asked repeatedly to do so.
According to county police, Powell posed as a church representative asking to buy any pornographic materials at a Reeceburg Road home.
When the residents said they didn’t have any pornography, a police report stated, Powell told them “they looked like the type of people who would have porn” and began listing pornography titles while children were in earshot.
The visit was recorded as a prank for a morning show on 99X radio.
Powell apologized for his actions Thursday in front of Floyd County Superior Court Judge Walter J. Matthews, who chastised him for his actions before sentencing him to eight hours in jail, 12 months probation, 40 hours community service and a $750 fine.
Matthews also ordered Powell to write an “abject apology” that, pending his approval, will be sent to the victims in the case.
“The judge — and I think rightly so — was upset by the actions,” Powell’s defense attorney, Raymond Lail of Atlanta, concluded. “But the eight hours that the judge gave (Powell) was much less than the 10 days to serve the DA wanted.”
Powell had declined to agree to prosecutors’ sentencing recommendations when entering his plea, Lail explained, placing himself at risk of receiving even more jail time if the judge had deemed it necessary.
Tracy Garmon, who was at the home when Powell knocked, said Thursday she was “satisfied” with the final sentence. “He got what he deserved,” she said. “Maybe he’ll learn his lesson. ... He’s just got to be more careful next time, or somebody’s going to kill him,” she added. “If you’re going to play a prank, play it on somebody who will take it — not somebody you’ve never met.”
Assistant DA John McClellan, who said he was “pleased the court addressed the seriousness of the issue” on Thursday, was happy to see the case resolved before the trial stage.
Powell, who was released from jail custody at 6 p.m., is serving his probation in Floyd County while serving a 12-month probation sentence he received in Gwinnett County, where court records show he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor criminal trespass charge in August.
According to McClellan, 99X has prohibited Powell from performing any further pranks.
