AUBURN - A man serving 25 years to life in state prison for a drug possession conviction will now be released within months thanks to the state's new drug sentencing guidelines.
Otis Glenn, 55, convicted of possessing more than four ounces of heroin tossed into the Seneca River during a high-speed police chase on the state Thruway in 1989, was resentenced to 20 years in Cayuga County Court Thursday.
Glenn is the second drug defendant in the county to be resentenced under the 2004 Drug Law Reform Act, which was passed by the state Legislature to reform the Rockefeller-era drug laws.
Because Glenn has earned good time by working in a state Department of Correctional Facilities' commissary for 10 years and has not been cited for any disciplinary infractions, he will be free within months, said attorney Joe Sapio, who represented Glenn through the county's assigned counsel program.
Glenn was convicted in 1991 in a Cayuga County jury trial of first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Because he admitted to a 1986 federal felony conviction of conspiracy to deliver heroin, he was sentenced under a higher range than the minimum of eight to 20 years.
Glenn and his co-defendant, Valfonso DeWitt, 50, were stopped by a state trooper June 8, 1989, as they headed west on Route 90. Police found a large suitcase in the car that the men said they could not unlock.
They then led police on a high-speed chase. They abandoned their car on North Street in the city of Auburn and were taken into custody near Auburn High School.
The suitcase was found in the Brutus portion of the Seneca River, packed with heroin, glassine envelopes, scales and two revolvers.
Dewitt was denied his request in August to be resentenced because the drug reform law applied only to class A-1 felonies, not A-2 felonies.
Dewitt pleaded guilty to an A-2 felony, second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to five years to life. The law was expanded to include A-2 drug felons in September.
Another drug defendant, Albert “Albee” J. Brunner IV, had his previous 25-years-to-life sentence reduced to 19 years in July.
Brunner was arrested in January 1989 in the Auburn Plaza's parking lot on Grant Avenue after arranging a sale with an undercover police officer for 30 ounces of cocaine worth $40,000.
Another five ounces was found in a suitcase in Brunner's now-defunct Bedrock Cafe nightclub at 29 Grant Ave.
No more resentencing applications have been filed.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
Glenn is the second drug defendant in the county to be resentenced under the 2004 Drug Law Reform Act, which was passed by the state Legislature to reform the Rockefeller-era drug laws.
Because Glenn has earned good time by working in a state Department of Correctional Facilities' commissary for 10 years and has not been cited for any disciplinary infractions, he will be free within months, said attorney Joe Sapio, who represented Glenn through the county's assigned counsel program.
Glenn was convicted in 1991 in a Cayuga County jury trial of first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Because he admitted to a 1986 federal felony conviction of conspiracy to deliver heroin, he was sentenced under a higher range than the minimum of eight to 20 years.
Glenn and his co-defendant, Valfonso DeWitt, 50, were stopped by a state trooper June 8, 1989, as they headed west on Route 90. Police found a large suitcase in the car that the men said they could not unlock.
They then led police on a high-speed chase. They abandoned their car on North Street in the city of Auburn and were taken into custody near Auburn High School.
The suitcase was found in the Brutus portion of the Seneca River, packed with heroin, glassine envelopes, scales and two revolvers.
Dewitt was denied his request in August to be resentenced because the drug reform law applied only to class A-1 felonies, not A-2 felonies.
Dewitt pleaded guilty to an A-2 felony, second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to five years to life. The law was expanded to include A-2 drug felons in September.
Another drug defendant, Albert “Albee” J. Brunner IV, had his previous 25-years-to-life sentence reduced to 19 years in July.
Brunner was arrested in January 1989 in the Auburn Plaza's parking lot on Grant Avenue after arranging a sale with an undercover police officer for 30 ounces of cocaine worth $40,000.
Another five ounces was found in a suitcase in Brunner's now-defunct Bedrock Cafe nightclub at 29 Grant Ave.
No more resentencing applications have been filed.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
