Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ January 11, 2019 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A19A1032. MICHAEL PERRY EPPS v. THE STATE.

In 2001, Michael Perry Epps entered an Alford1 plea to felony theft by taking as a lesser included offense of burglary. Seventeen years later, in 2018, Epps filed a motion seeking an out-of-time appeal. The trial court denied his motion on September 10, 2018, and Epps filed a notice of appeal on November 16, 2018. We, however, 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). Epps’s notice of appeal is untimely, as it was filed 67 days after entry of the order denying his motion for an out-of-time appeal. Consequently, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 01/11/2019 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.

North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U. S. 25 (91 SCt 160, 27 LE2d 162) (1970).