AUBURN - A young defendant was asked to take an oath to tell the truth before he was allowed to enter a guilty plea.
Whitt White, 24, of 28 Perry St. Auburn, had begun to deny that one of his alleged co-defendants had been with him during an early morning burglary of Jake's Liquor Store at 96 North St., Auburn. Cayuga County Judge Peter Corning swiftly demanded Friday that White be prepared to make an oath before continuing.
“If you're going to plead guilty, Whitt, you're going to tell the truth,” Corning said. “I don't play games in this court.” Whitt's hands were released by a sheriff's deputy from handcuffs locking them at his front, so he could hold his right hand in a mimicry of Corning's raised right hand.
An oath to tell the truth is usually only required during criminal trials.
In an orange Cayuga County Jail jumpsuit, White admitted that he'd been riding in a car with Scott P. Farrelly, 20, of 198 State St., Auburn, and James Scott, 23, of 88 Orchard St., when they arrived around 8 a.m. July 2 at the store.
White admitted smashing the store's picture window with a brick and helping Farrelly get into the store. He started bleeding, he said, and went back into Farrelly's car until Farrelly came back out with three liquor bottles.
The three were pulled over shortly after by a state police trooper.
White also admitted that - while out on bail following his arrest for the liquor store burglary - he stabbed a man in the back with a knife around 2 a.m. July 23, at the intersection of Perrine Street and Rock Avenue in Auburn.
Penny Cordway, 35, with a last known address of 14 Rock Ave., Auburn, a woman also involved in the dispute, entered a guilty plea in October in Auburn City Court to the misdemeanor charge of third-degree assault for which she was sentenced in November to 89 days of weekend jail time in Cayuga County Jail and a conditional discharge. As of Wednesday, Rochunda Overstreet, 27, with a last known address of 23 Orchard St., Auburn, has her case from the incident still pending. Cordway and Overstreet were charged with brawling with a woman, and White was charged with stabbing a man accompanying the woman.
White will be sentenced Dec. 28 for the felony burglary charge related to the liquor store break-in and the felony assault charge related to the stabbing.
Farrelly's and Scott's case are still pending. Scott was advised Thursday by Corning that it would be in his best interest to communicate with his assigned counsel Doug Bates.
Also in court:
* Adam Baez, 42, an Auburn native and a state prisoner currently held in Groveland Correctional Facility, Livingston County, was deemed to be a level one, or low risk of committing another sexual offense.
A sex offender's risk level is determined in court by compiling points assessed for different aspects of the crime. Baez fell on the lower level of this assessment.
The assessment had to be completed before Baez's earliest scheduled release, Dec. 25, from a prison sentence of one and a third to four years. Baez was convicted by his guilty plea to two separate felony crimes of fifth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and first-degree attempted sexual abuse. In the sex abuse crime, Baez restrained a 15-year-old girl and grabbed her breasts through her clothes.
* Robert Ely, 36, of Chicago, turned himself in to be arraigned on a decade-old grand jury indictment. Ely entered a not guilty plea to the felony charges of second-degree burglary and third-degree grand larceny. His bail was set at $20,000 cash or $40,000 bond.
A co-defendant of Ely's, Eli Miller, 41, of Michigan, pleaded guilty and was sentenced last year to time served and restitution for the same crime that Ely stands accused of. Miller admitted that he and a burglary crew stole $3,385 from an elderly Weedsport resident Sept. 7, 1995.
Ely and Miller were part of a Chicago-based, Gypsy-organized crime clan that targeted vulnerable households during a trip to the region, according to Chief Assistant District Attorney Jon Budelmann. Budelmann said his office had been denied its extradition request for Ely before, but this time he came voluntarily.
Ely's local attorney David Elkovitch could not be reached for comment Friday. Ely was accompanied by a second attorney and members of his family.
Two other men are still wanted for the burglary. Motions in Ely's case are due to be argued Feb. 8.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
“If you're going to plead guilty, Whitt, you're going to tell the truth,” Corning said. “I don't play games in this court.” Whitt's hands were released by a sheriff's deputy from handcuffs locking them at his front, so he could hold his right hand in a mimicry of Corning's raised right hand.
An oath to tell the truth is usually only required during criminal trials.
In an orange Cayuga County Jail jumpsuit, White admitted that he'd been riding in a car with Scott P. Farrelly, 20, of 198 State St., Auburn, and James Scott, 23, of 88 Orchard St., when they arrived around 8 a.m. July 2 at the store.
White admitted smashing the store's picture window with a brick and helping Farrelly get into the store. He started bleeding, he said, and went back into Farrelly's car until Farrelly came back out with three liquor bottles.
The three were pulled over shortly after by a state police trooper.
White also admitted that - while out on bail following his arrest for the liquor store burglary - he stabbed a man in the back with a knife around 2 a.m. July 23, at the intersection of Perrine Street and Rock Avenue in Auburn.
Penny Cordway, 35, with a last known address of 14 Rock Ave., Auburn, a woman also involved in the dispute, entered a guilty plea in October in Auburn City Court to the misdemeanor charge of third-degree assault for which she was sentenced in November to 89 days of weekend jail time in Cayuga County Jail and a conditional discharge. As of Wednesday, Rochunda Overstreet, 27, with a last known address of 23 Orchard St., Auburn, has her case from the incident still pending. Cordway and Overstreet were charged with brawling with a woman, and White was charged with stabbing a man accompanying the woman.
White will be sentenced Dec. 28 for the felony burglary charge related to the liquor store break-in and the felony assault charge related to the stabbing.
Farrelly's and Scott's case are still pending. Scott was advised Thursday by Corning that it would be in his best interest to communicate with his assigned counsel Doug Bates.
Also in court:
* Adam Baez, 42, an Auburn native and a state prisoner currently held in Groveland Correctional Facility, Livingston County, was deemed to be a level one, or low risk of committing another sexual offense.
A sex offender's risk level is determined in court by compiling points assessed for different aspects of the crime. Baez fell on the lower level of this assessment.
The assessment had to be completed before Baez's earliest scheduled release, Dec. 25, from a prison sentence of one and a third to four years. Baez was convicted by his guilty plea to two separate felony crimes of fifth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and first-degree attempted sexual abuse. In the sex abuse crime, Baez restrained a 15-year-old girl and grabbed her breasts through her clothes.
* Robert Ely, 36, of Chicago, turned himself in to be arraigned on a decade-old grand jury indictment. Ely entered a not guilty plea to the felony charges of second-degree burglary and third-degree grand larceny. His bail was set at $20,000 cash or $40,000 bond.
A co-defendant of Ely's, Eli Miller, 41, of Michigan, pleaded guilty and was sentenced last year to time served and restitution for the same crime that Ely stands accused of. Miller admitted that he and a burglary crew stole $3,385 from an elderly Weedsport resident Sept. 7, 1995.
Ely and Miller were part of a Chicago-based, Gypsy-organized crime clan that targeted vulnerable households during a trip to the region, according to Chief Assistant District Attorney Jon Budelmann. Budelmann said his office had been denied its extradition request for Ely before, but this time he came voluntarily.
Ely's local attorney David Elkovitch could not be reached for comment Friday. Ely was accompanied by a second attorney and members of his family.
Two other men are still wanted for the burglary. Motions in Ely's case are due to be argued Feb. 8.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
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