Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ March 04, 2020 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A20A1361. ANTUAN RAPHEAL HOWELL v. THE STATE.

Antuan Howell pled guilty to statutory rape and reckless conduct, and the trial court entered his sentence on June 8, 2018. On January 24, 2020, Howell filed a pro se notice of appeal. We lack jurisdiction.

A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the judgment or trial court 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 appellate jurisdiction on this Court. Rowland v. State, 264 Ga. 872, 872 (1) (452 SE2d 756) (1995). Howell’s notice of appeal was untimely filed more than a year and a half after his sentence was entered. Consequently, we lack jurisdiction over this untimely appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Because Howell was represented by counsel before the trial court, he is informed of the following in accordance with Rowland, 264 Ga. at 875-876 (2): This appeal has been dismissed because you failed to file a proper and timely notice of appeal. If you still wish to appeal, you may petition the trial court for leave to file an out-of-time appeal. If the trial court grants your request, you will have 30 days from the entry of that order to file a notice of appeal referencing your conviction. If the trial court denies your request, you will have 30 days from the entry of that order to file a notice of appeal referencing the denial of your request for an out-of-time appeal.

The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to send a copy of this order to Howell and to his attorney, and the latter also is DIRECTED to send a copy to Howell.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 03/04/2020 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.