Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ September 05, 2018 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A19A0131. MELVIN PLEAS v. THE STATE.

In 2001, Melvin Pleas pled guilty to highjacking a motor vehicle, armed robbery, and several related offenses, and the trial court imposed a total sentence of years in prison, to be followed by 15 years on probation. The record contains no indication that Pleas filed a direct appeal from his judgment of conviction.

In early 2018, Pleas filed a motion to vacate his sentence, contending that his sentence is void because (i) during his plea and sentencing hearing, the trial court failed to inform him of the nature of the charges against him, the elements of each offense, and his right to appeal and seek habeas corpus relief; and (ii) he was wrongly convicted of highjacking and armed robbery. The trial court denied Pleas’s motion in an order entered on April 12, 2018. On May 29, 2018, Pleas filed this direct appeal. We lack jurisdiction.

A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the order sought to be appealed. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. Rowland v. State, 264 Ga. 872, 872 (1) (452 SE2d 756) (1995). Pretermitting whether a direct appeal may lie from the trial court’s April 12 order, Pleas’s notice of appeal is untimely, as it was filed 47 days after the order was entered. Consequently, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 09/05/2018 I certify that the above is a true extract from the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia.

Witness my signature and the seal of said court hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.