Many cases where people are sentenced for multiple counts of a crime having been caught once yield nonsensical results; this is more properly a subject for legislatures to address than judges, but somebody needs to create some logical standards.
If someone throws a rock through a window, that's one act of vandalism. If on the next day the person throws another rock through someone else's window, that's clearly a second act of vandalism. Suppose, though, the person had instead thrown two rocks through the same window, thirty seconds apart, with the second rock knocking off some more glass. Would that be one act or two? Should someone who throws 70 rocks through one window in a short time be punished ten times as harshly as someone who threw one rock through a different person's windows every day for a week?
Another thing to consider is that in a lot of cases there is more circumstantial evidence of more crime or more serious incidents in which there is not enough evidence for the prosecutor to bring charges on. A good example would be tax evasion on mobsters. Even though they were involved in more serious activity, the best evidence that the prosecutor had was on tax evasion. They go for what they believe will stand up in court. I do not know what other activity this individual was involved in and until I know I won't make a call on this. I do believe that this individual believed that his case would be overturned and therefore turned down a plea bargain of 16 years. You play with fire there is a good chance you're going to get burnt. In most cases I do not have sympathy with the criminal. We just had a case of a person who has been in and out of prison 9 times shoot a policeman in the head at point blank range and kill him and our governor (Gregoire) says that this needs to be reviewed to see how better the state can conduct rehabilitation. Just plain assinine. Incidents like this lead me to have little or no sympathy for the criminal. I would be more than inclined to give the criminal in the drug case a choice. The 55 years in prison or 15 years at hard labor, preferably by that sheriff in Arizona who makes it labor.