A Proctorville man who was convicted of burglary during a two-day trial this week in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison, but not before getting a warning from the judge about changing the course his life has been following.

Jeffrey A. Leffingwell, 25, of 55 Township Road 1309, maintained his innocence at his sentencing.

“I may have knew (sic) about it but your honor I did not do it,” Leffingwell told Judge D. Scott Bowling. “I did not do it.”

But Assistant Lawrence County Prosecutor Jeff Smith pointed out that two strikes against Leffingwell merited a lengthy prison sentence: the testimony offered during his trial and Leffingwell’s prior criminal record.

Leffingwell’s attorney, Mike Davenport, asked Bowling for a shorter prison sentence because of Leffingwell’s age and because he has a young child.

In the end, Bowling delivered a sober warning about a life of crime and the perils of making bad choices, noting that this was not Leffingwell’s “first go-round” with the criminal justice system.

“When you are released from prison you will still be a young man,” Bowling said. “When you walk out that door (of the prison) you look to your right and then you look to your left.

There is a lion crouching there, waiting to devour you.”

Bowling also ordered Leffingwell to pay $1,700 in restitution to his victim.

Leffingwell is accused of breaking into a Proctorville residence earlier this year.