Cobb Man to Serve 5 Years in Prison for Punching Cop

Patch Staff Report

According to Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds, a Marietta man will serve five years in prison after being convicted of punching a Marietta police officer.

A Cobb jury convicted Gary Dewayne Mullis, 65, of one count of obstruction earlier this month. Assistant District Attorney Lauryn Perry, who prosecuted the case, said the evidence showed that on the evening of Oct. 1, 2012, Mullis was accosting people for money at the RaceTrac gas station at 749 South Marietta Parkway.

Marietta Police Officer B. Vaughan testified that he approached Mullis simply to speak to him and possibly cite him for criminal trespass. But Mullis disobeyed commands not to put his hands in his pockets, and then punched the officer in the face and a scuffle ensued. Mullis pulled off the officer’s radio, and an ammunition magazine. However, jurors acquitted him of a charge of attempted removal of a weapon.

At sentencing Thursday afternoon, Perry provided evidence of Mullis’ five prior felony convictions.

Judge Marsha Lake, a Cobb State Court judge who was sitting as a Superior Court judge, then sentenced Mr. Mullis as a recidivist to the maximum penalty of five years to serve in prison.

“Cobb County is not going to tolerate your behavior,” Judge Lake told Mullis.