$10 Cocaine Sale Becomes ‘Third Strike’ : Courts: Anaheim man had numerous prior convictions, ranging from robbery to vandalism. He plans to appeal the 25-years-to-life sentence.

A 30-year-old man convicted of selling $10 worth of rock cocaine to an undercover police officer was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Tuesday under the state’s new “three strikes” law.

Billy Sharod, whose criminal record dates back to 1984 and includes convictions for two robberies, grand theft and petty theft, protested his latest conviction, arguing unsuccessfully in court for a new lawyer and a new trial.

“I’m fighting for my life here,” the former construction worker told Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno. “All I’m saying is, I’m an innocent man. I’ve never sold drugs.”

Sharod’s lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Daniel Cook, also tried to avert the tough sentence, asking the judge to modify one of Sharod’s previous robbery convictions, neither of which he said involved use of a weapon.

But the judge rejected that request as well, imposing the maximum sentence under the new law, which mandates that defendants convicted of two or more serious crimes, ranging from burglary to murder, receive 25 years to life in prison when convicted of any third felony.

After the sentencing, Cook said he doesn’t think the public intended for the maximum “three strikes” sentence to be used against offenders such as Sharod.

“I just don’t think selling $10 worth of cocaine is worth this time,” he said. “It’s very frustrating.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Bruce Moore sought the maximum sentence against Sharod, the third “three strikes” defendant convicted by a jury in Orange County.

Sharod, also known as Sharod Billy Valentine, was arrested in May outside an Anaheim motel after selling about two grams of cocaine to an undercover narcotics officer, according to prosecutors. Police said Sharod, an Anaheim resident, was in possession of a marked $10 bill used during the undercover operation.

But during trial, Cook said he believed authorities had charged the wrong man and that Sharod had received the marked bill from someone else.

A Superior Court jury rejected that argument, however, deliberating just a few hours before finding Sharod guilty of one count of drug sales. The jury was not told what sentence he faced if convicted.

Sharod, who graduated from a Los Angeles high school and studied accounting for several months at a business school, has been in and out of jail and prison in recent years for a number of convictions, including two robberies, burglary, possession of stolen lottery tickets, petty theft, vandalism and grand theft, according to a sentencing report.

A probation officer writing the report described Sharod as someone who shows a “serious ingrained pattern of criminal activity.”

Sharod, however, offered the officer an explanation for each offense listed in the report.

Sharod told the judge that he plans to appeal his drug conviction.