AUBURN - An HIV-positive woman was sentenced in Cayuga County Court Tuesday to one to three years in state prison for attempting to smuggle heroin to an Auburn Correctional Facility inmate May 7.

Judge Mark Fandrich told Myra Hernandez, 52, of New York City, that he wasn't sure that a prison sentence could be worse than her medical problems, but that he also believes smuggling drugs into state prisons is a serious problem.

Hernandez was sentenced for the felony crime of first-degree promoting prison contraband.

Her assigned counsel, David Elkovitch, had asked for her to be sentenced to probation because of her HIV-positive status and hepatitis C infection that required high-maintenance treatment. He also said she was attending programming five days a week with the goal of changing her life.

Hernandez indicated she planned to appeal the sentence.

Also in court:

€ Shane Butler, 23, of 188 E. 10th St., Oswego, was arraigned on the felony charges of second-degree burglary and fourth-degree grand larceny.

Butler is accused of entering a Schoolcraft Road, Sterling, residence April 10 with accomplices and stealing two shotguns. A conference was scheduled Aug. 15 and motions in his case were scheduled for Oct. 3.

€ James Chapman, 59, of 1823 Atwater Road, King Ferry, was denied a probable cause hearing of the three felony and two misdemeanor counts of sexual abuse he faces.

He was granted a Huntley hearing regarding the admissibility at a jury trial of a statement he made to law enforcement officers.

Attorney Jethro Loftus' motion to have a psychiatric examination conducted of the alleged victim was denied.

Chapman is accused of sexually abusing a minor between August and December of 2005. Chapman is being held in Cayuga County Jail on bail set at $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond.

€ Lynne Elardo, also known as Lynne Elardo-Bilinski, 38, of 17 Burt Ave., Auburn, entered a guilty plea to a felony charge of third-degree grand larceny and a felony charge of fourth-degree grand larceny.

Elardo admitting stealing a man's personal identity and opening a Bank of America credit card account and a GM MasterCard account through HSBC bank.

She admitted fraudulently obtaining $13,107.22 worth of cash, goods or services on the Bank of America account and $2,754.78 worth on the GM MasterCard.

Her sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 19.

€ Russell Robillard, 49, of 3485 Clinton Road, Jordan, was arraigned on the felony charge of driving while intoxicated.

His bail was continued at $2,500. A conference in his case was scheduled for Aug. 29 and motions are scheduled to be argued Oct. 3.

Robillard is accused of driving intoxicated around 7:30 p.m. April 1, on Route 31 in Weedsport.

€ Thernell Smith, a state prisoner, was sentenced to five years in state prison after his guilty plea to the charge he hit a correction officer in the face with handcuffs and injured another officer when being returned to his special housing unit cell Oct. 19, 2003.

Fandrich reviewed a videotape of the incident that Smith asked him to view at the time of his guilty plea.

The judge said the tape did not provide a conclusive view of what happened, but he also felt Smith was a danger to correction officers and to society at large.

Smith's sentence will run after his current 10- to 20-year sentence for a Bronx County conviction of first-degree robbery and first-degree attempted assault.

Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net