Drug-Related Verdicts Reached Within Minutes of Each Other

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Douglas County juries reached two drug-related guilty verdicts within minutes of each other last week in what District Attorney Brian Fortner called “great wins for the citizens of Douglas County.”

Both verdicts were rendered after 3 p.m. on March 26, the DA’s Office said on Facebook.

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Peter Pefinis, Jr. faces up to 15 years in prison after a jury convicted him of causing serious injury with a motor vehicle in October 2010.

Prosecutors said Pefinis was high on methadone and Xanax when he veered out of his lane on Ga. 8 in Winston and collided with a grandmother who had just dropped off her grandchild and was on her way home. The woman suffered serious injuries and was left severely disabled.

• Click here to read more on both cases

The jury took only an hour to reach a verdict. Sentencing for Pefinis is scheduled April 1.

Around the same time as Pefinis’ verdict, another jury convicted Star Thomas for methamphetamine trafficking.

According to prosecutors, Thomas was arrested in January 2014 after a Douglasville Police Department search of her home revealed 28 grams of meth, as well as marijuana and other drug-related items. Thomas claimed the drugs were her boyfriend’s, but the boyfriend had been in prison and none of his belongings were located in her residence.

Thomas, who had a previous meth arrest in DeKalb County, will be sentenced in mid-April.

(Photos: Peter Pefinis Jr., Star Thomas; Douglas County District Attorney’s Office Facebook)