MAN, 88, GETS PROBATION IN DRUG CASE

Deo Dubbs says he is finished with cocaine and hopes he's through with
the court system.

A judge on Wednesday accepted a plea deal that allows the 88-year-old
Sarasota man to avoid prison, but he has to report to a probation
officer once a month for 18 months.

"I feel like what I got is fair," Dubbs said after receiving his
sentence, which includes 25 hours of community service and occasional
drug testing. "Eighteen months -- if I live that long -- that's not
much."

Circuit Judge Stephen Dakan warned the retired school maintenance
worker and bus driver who volunteers at the Senior Friendship Center
that if he violates his probation, he will risk prison time.

"I won't be back," Dubbs told Dakan at the five-minute hearing at the
Sarasota County Judicial Center.

"Good, good. We've got plenty of business without you," Dakan said and
smiled.

And with that, Dubbs promised to stay clean and walked out of the
courtroom with three friends.

Dubbs was arrested Jan. 28 after, Sarasota police say, he bought two
pieces of crack cocaine from an undercover officer for $10. Police
jailed him, making him one of the oldest people in the country to be
arrested on a charge of purchasing the drug.

Dubbs said he did it because he was bored and sick of watching
television and liked the "little pep" that cocaine helped bring to
relieve his aches and pains.

He pleaded no contest, and lawyers arranged a deal they said was
fair.

The irony Wednesday was the 25 hours of community service Dubbs is
required to complete.

Dubbs has volunteered for more than 10 years at the Friendship Center,
serving meals and helping less mobile elderly patrons.

"This 25 hours is nonsense. He does 25 hours in a week. He's a fine
man who made a mistake," said Socrates Birsky, a friend who
accompanied Dubbs to the hearing.

Birsky was upset at the length of the probation, arguing that it will
further mar Dubbs' reputation at the Friendship Center. "Little old
ladies and men who look like your grandfather are going to condemn
him," Birsky said.

Assistant State Attorney Peter Collins said such a sentence is
standard, however.

Dubbs shrugged modestly. He'll carry on, he said.

Meanwhile, his buddy Joe Shih looked at Dubbs and expressed relief. "I
was worried," Shih said. "He was too old to be sent to jail."