Lester M. Miller is a law firm in Macon Georgia specializing in criminal, divorce, motor vehicle, and workers compensation

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Macon Telegraph, The (GA)
2007-03-16
Edition: HO
Page: A

DJ receives 18-month sentence
Tim Sturrock, TELEGRAPH STAFF WRITER

A federal judge sentenced a popular Middle Georgia DJ to 18 months in prison Thursday morning on a
charge stemming from the discovery of a working methamphetamine lab at his home.
Richard Charles Orr, also known on the radio as Rick Knight, rented the house at 2170 Allen Road
where authorities found the lab April 7. He pleaded guilty last year to failing to report the commission
of a felony to the appropriate law enforcement officers.
Knight was a DJ for country music station WDEN in Macon from 1987 until the station was purchased
by Cumulus Broadcasting in 2002.
Orr, who is now a DJ at WMCG in Dublin, and several friends asked for lenience.
"I made a poor choice," Orr told Judge Wilbur D. Owens Jr.
But statements about his volunteer work, his dedication to staying sober and assurances that he was
turning his life around didn't stop him from getting prison time.
"I don't know of anyone working harder at their treatment or their job," Orr told the judge before the
sentence.
Orr will also have to pay $3,000 and will be on supervised release for a year after serving his prison
sentence.
He remains free until hearing from the Federal Bureau of Prisons about when he will begin serving his
sentence, said his attorney, Lester Miller.
Orr's recent problems with the law began in April, when David Cox of Warner Robins and Jack
Derrick Ball Jr. of Macon were arrested at Knight's house after investigators detected a suspicious odor
coming from the property. Cox pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to
distribute Thursday and was sentenced to five years in prison. Ball pleaded guilty to the same charge in
January. His sentencing has not been scheduled.
While searching the property, authorities - including federal Drug Enforcement Administration officers
- found 44 grams of methamphetamine, 17 grams of d-pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, glass jars,
plastic tubes, plastic bags, coffee filters, a Crown Royal bottle containing methamphetamine residue,
and other suspicious chemicals, according to court records.
Initially, authorities charged Orr with manufacturing methamphetamine, but the charge was reduced.
Miller said a conviction on the initial charge could have gotten Orr more than five years.
Orr could end up serving only eight months in prison and six in a halfway home, with the rest of the
time off for good behavior, Miller said.
Miller, Orr's friend Bibb County Commissioner Joe Allen, Orr's pastor, an official from Easter Seals
of Middle Georgia and Orr's boss in Dublin all spoke on his behalf.
Paul Lavender, of Victory Baptist Church in Macon, said that Orr is on the right track.
"Rick, like all of us, has made some mistakes," he said.
Friends also noted his involvement in various charities.
"I really do think he's tried to turn his life around, but sometimes you have to pay," Allen said after the
hearing.
Orr left the courthouse Thursday, declining to comment through his boss, Rick Humphrey, general
manager of State Broadcasting.
Humphrey said he will always have a place for Orr at a radio station where he works and noted Orr's
talent and hard work.