The Paris News

Clarence Wesley Haley, sentenced to 45 years in prison by a Lamar County jury for failing to register as a convicted sex offender, has lost his appeal before the 6th Appellate District of Texas in Texarkana.

Haley appealed on the basis the indictment was fundamentally defective and the evidence was legally and factually insufficient to support a conviction. He also claimed the court had incorrectly sentenced him.

Haley was convicted by a jury on evidence that showed he failed to register as a sex offender when he moved to Paris from Gregg County in April 2007.

He operated a tattoo parlor in a mobile home park before finally leaving Paris and his tattoo parlor vacant.

His punishment was enhanced to an habitual offender status.

Appeals court justices ruled the indictment was not fundamentally defective and the verdict was supported by legally and factually sufficient evidence.

Justices modified the judgment to reflect Haley’s conviction as a third degree felony and affirmed the judgment of the trial court.

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