A Johnson County man convicted on a drug charge last month after police said he used his daughter to buy drugs will serve time in prison.

Johnson Circuit Court Judge Mark Loyd on Monday sentenced Theodore B. Ebeyer, 53, to four years in prison — one year to be served — after Ebeyer was found guilty of possession of cocaine in a case that lasted more than three years.

Formerly of Greenwood, Ebeyer will only serve one year at the Department of Correction.

The remaining three years of his sentence will be spent on probation, including 180 days on in-home detention, according to the Johnson County prosecutor’s office.

Ebeyer could have been sentenced to eight years in prison, officials say.

Court documents show that Greenwood police accused Ebeyer of using his then-17-year-old daughter to buy drugs in the summer of 2006.

“We were a little disappointed in the sense that we thought he should have received more jail time than he did, especially given the fact he basically used his daughter as a mule to obtain cocaine,” said chief deputy prosecutor Joe Villanueva.

Ebeyer, who is appealing the ruling, was awarded an appellate bond, which will allow him to stay out of jail until the appellate process is resolved.

“We argued he should have gone to jail (Monday),” Villanueva said, adding that the appeal process could take six months to a year.

In August 2006, Ebeyer originally was charged with aiding in dealing cocaine, possession of cocaine and neglect of a dependent. The Johnson County prosecutor’s office dismissed those charges in February 2008.

The prosecutor’s office in June 2009 refiled its criminal case against Ebeyer, charging him with possession of cocaine, after it was able to locate a key witness.