A Hereford man released from prison in January after serving three years for possessing an AK-47 firearm during a 2018 drug offense remains jailed on a no-bail order in Cochise County after he failed to report to his probation officer when he got out of prison.
John Gabriel Sochor became the subject of a nationwide arrest warrant in February when he did not report to the probation department within 72 hours of his Jan. 21 release. He was to begin a four-year term of probation for a conviction involving possession of marijuana.
Yavapai County authorities arrested Sochor, 47, on the warrant in early April and he was transferred to the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office on April 8. Judge Timothy Dickerson has ordered Sochor remain in jail until it is decided during a June 10 violation hearing whether probation is still an option or if Sochor will be resentenced to a term of imprisonment for the marijuana conviction.
Court records show Sochor was arrested in August 2018 after coming under investigation following a report of a man acting suspiciously in Ash Canyon south of Sierra Vista. The caller included a description of the man and his vehicle, leading deputies to Sochor.
A search of his vehicle revealed marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and a firearm. Deputies also executed a search warrant at Sochor’s residence where they found 87 marijuana plants, some as tall as 10 feet. And they recovered nine additional firearms and three ballistic vests; two of the vests were rated for protection against high-velocity ammunition.
A plea deal negotiated between Sochor’s public defender and the Cochise County Attorney’s Office stipulated to the three-year prison term for the weapons charge. He was given credit toward that sentence for the 425 days Sochor spent in jail awaiting resolution of the case.
The deal also called for a probation term on the marijuana possession charge, along with dismissal of nearly one dozen other felony counts. The dismissed charges cannot be refiled, but the plea deal calls for a 3.5 year prison term if probation is revoked.
That decision is in the hands of Dickerson.