AUBURN - A 16-year-old teenager pleaded guilty to burglarizing eight residences in Auburn and Owasco in Cayuga County Court Thursday.
Paul J. Driscoll, with a last known address of 4 Sheridan St., Auburn, admitted burglarizing a French Avenue, Owasco, residence Nov. 29, 2006 and stealing cash; a Melrose Road, Owasco, residence Dec. 13, 2006 and stealing a knife and cash; an Owasco Road, Owasco, residence Dec. 13 and stealing an iPod; a Lake Avenue, Auburn, residence Dec. 14, 2006 and stealing property worth hundreds of dollars; a Crescent Avenue, Auburn, residence Dec. 14 and stealing cash; a Pulsifer Drive, Auburn, residence Dec. 14 by breaking a window and removing property; a Letchworth Avenue, Owasco, residence Dec. 18, 2006; and a Waterford Lane, Owasco, residence Dec. 18 and stealing wedding rings and coins.
“I went into the house and took belongings that didn't belong to me, sir,” Driscoll said. Driscoll repeated a similar admission seven more times.
Judge Thomas Leone did not make any firm commitments to the teenager. But he said he would likely order for Driscoll's sentences to run at the same time.
Driscoll faces up to 2 1/3 to 7 years in state prison, but he could receive as little as a conditional discharge. His $2,000 bail was maintained. Driscoll's sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 2.
“It goes without saying that you stay out trouble between now and the sentencing,” Leone said.
Also in court:
€ Malik Gist, 23, of Brooklyn, was sentenced to 1.5 years in state prison, two years post release-supervision and $150 restitution for the felony of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. Gist was also deemed eligible for shock camp in which he could serve several months in a bootcamp-style setting and then be released under supervision.
Gist had recently moved from Brooklyn to the Auburn area when he sold crack cocaine Jan. 26 within Auburn limits. He said his job applications in the area had been unsuccessful, so as money got tight he sold drugs out of desperation.
“I made a choice and that choice I made was the biggest mistake of my life,” Gist said as he read from a statement handwritten on yellow paper.
Leone was impressed that Gist graduated from high school, had attended some college, had been gainfully employed and had no criminal record, but he told Gist: “You came up here and things went in the garbage can.”
€ The attorney for Jamaren Montreal, 20, of Syracuse, and currently held in Cayuga County Jail, made a motion for Montreal's indictment to be dismissed.
Montreal's attorney, Norm Chirco, argued he should have been notified when the district attorney's office sought to indict Montreal a second time on drug charges and Montreal should have been afforded a chance to testify before the grand jury.
“I think I'm entitled to be notified to make an informed decision if Mr. Montreal should testify,” Chirco said. “It's not what a system of justice is about.”
Chief Assistant District Attorney Jon Budelmann argued the indictment involved a sealed case so notice was not required. He said previously that Montreal had been reindicted to clarify the old indictment.
Leone requested the attorneys submit paperwork in support of their positions and promised to make a decision by next week.
Montreal faces two felonies of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, two felonies of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and the felony of fourth-degree criminal possession of a narcotic.
Montreal is accused of selling crack cocaine within Auburn city limits Oct. 13 and Oct. 16, 2006.
€ Daniel P. Pace, 48, of Utica, was sentenced to 2 to 4 years of paroled supervision and $320 in state surcharges for fourth-degree felony grand larceny. Pace stole three paintball gun sets and a DVD recorder from Wal-Mart April 2.
Because of Pace's history of substance abuse, Leone said he was eligible for paroled supervision, which would allow Pace to serve time at the Willard Drug Treatment Campus, followed by release to a halfway-house and then onto parole.
€ Jamel Person, 26, of Apt. 133, 20 Thornton Ave., and currently held in Cayuga County Jail, had his bail reduced from $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond to $20,000 cash or $40,000 bond.
Person faces 10 charges accusing him of coming close to hitting a police officer with his car while fleeing a traffic stop April 19; ramming three police cars boxing him into the police stop; and driving recklessly and failing to stop at stop signs while fleeing police.
€ Carl Petrosino, 58, formerly of 11-1/2 Easterly Ave., Auburn, brought a request to have his sex offender level dropped from level two, or a moderate risk of reoffending, to level one, the state's lowest risk level of reoffending. The case is adjourned until the state board that makes sex offender level recommendations can complete its report.
Petrosino, a former Casey Park kindergarten teacher, pleaded guilty in April 1998 to one count of second-degree sexual misconduct against a child and admitted he sexually abused a 6-year-old girl on two or more occasions in 1997.
€ James Rogers, also known as “Jazz,” 73, of Apt. 1, 1 Franklin St., was sentenced to 3.5 years in state prison and 1.5 years of post-release supervision for third-degree felony criminal sale of a controlled substance.
Rogers admitted selling crack cocaine Dec. 6 at his residence during his April 26 court appearance, but on Thursday he sought to withdraw his plea during a litany of complaints. Leone denied his request.
Rogers' criminal history dates back to 1951, Budelmann said.
€ Omar Smith, 28, of Syracuse, and currently held in the Cayuga County Jail, pleaded guilty to third-degree felony criminal sale of a controlled substance. Smith admitted selling cocaine to a confidential informant last June 19 in the parking lot of Wal-Mart.
His sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 2.
€ Maurice Southall, 26, of Lyons, had his bail revoked after the friend who posted it said he needed the money to pay expenses.
Southall's bail was maintained at $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond.
John Lopez said he needed only part of the bail exonerated, but Leone said he was not willing to reduce Southall's bail. Southall tried to talk Lopez - who held hands with a little boy the entire time - over the court proceedings.
Leone told him he shouldn't hold a grudge against Lopez when he needed money to support his family.
Southall is scheduled to go on trial Aug. 13. Southall faces six felony and two misdemeanor drug charges.
€ Sylvester Vazquez Jr., 42, with a last known address of 11 Burt Ave., Auburn, and currently held in the Mohawk Correctional Facility, was determined to be a level two sex offender with a moderate risk of reoffending.
Vazquez is close to being released from a two-year prison sentence for the felony of first-degree sex abuse. He groped a 16-year-old girl against her will July 23, 2005.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
“I went into the house and took belongings that didn't belong to me, sir,” Driscoll said. Driscoll repeated a similar admission seven more times.
Judge Thomas Leone did not make any firm commitments to the teenager. But he said he would likely order for Driscoll's sentences to run at the same time.
Driscoll faces up to 2 1/3 to 7 years in state prison, but he could receive as little as a conditional discharge. His $2,000 bail was maintained. Driscoll's sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 2.
“It goes without saying that you stay out trouble between now and the sentencing,” Leone said.
Also in court:
€ Malik Gist, 23, of Brooklyn, was sentenced to 1.5 years in state prison, two years post release-supervision and $150 restitution for the felony of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. Gist was also deemed eligible for shock camp in which he could serve several months in a bootcamp-style setting and then be released under supervision.
Gist had recently moved from Brooklyn to the Auburn area when he sold crack cocaine Jan. 26 within Auburn limits. He said his job applications in the area had been unsuccessful, so as money got tight he sold drugs out of desperation.
“I made a choice and that choice I made was the biggest mistake of my life,” Gist said as he read from a statement handwritten on yellow paper.
Leone was impressed that Gist graduated from high school, had attended some college, had been gainfully employed and had no criminal record, but he told Gist: “You came up here and things went in the garbage can.”
€ The attorney for Jamaren Montreal, 20, of Syracuse, and currently held in Cayuga County Jail, made a motion for Montreal's indictment to be dismissed.
Montreal's attorney, Norm Chirco, argued he should have been notified when the district attorney's office sought to indict Montreal a second time on drug charges and Montreal should have been afforded a chance to testify before the grand jury.
“I think I'm entitled to be notified to make an informed decision if Mr. Montreal should testify,” Chirco said. “It's not what a system of justice is about.”
Chief Assistant District Attorney Jon Budelmann argued the indictment involved a sealed case so notice was not required. He said previously that Montreal had been reindicted to clarify the old indictment.
Leone requested the attorneys submit paperwork in support of their positions and promised to make a decision by next week.
Montreal faces two felonies of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, two felonies of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and the felony of fourth-degree criminal possession of a narcotic.
Montreal is accused of selling crack cocaine within Auburn city limits Oct. 13 and Oct. 16, 2006.
€ Daniel P. Pace, 48, of Utica, was sentenced to 2 to 4 years of paroled supervision and $320 in state surcharges for fourth-degree felony grand larceny. Pace stole three paintball gun sets and a DVD recorder from Wal-Mart April 2.
Because of Pace's history of substance abuse, Leone said he was eligible for paroled supervision, which would allow Pace to serve time at the Willard Drug Treatment Campus, followed by release to a halfway-house and then onto parole.
€ Jamel Person, 26, of Apt. 133, 20 Thornton Ave., and currently held in Cayuga County Jail, had his bail reduced from $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond to $20,000 cash or $40,000 bond.
Person faces 10 charges accusing him of coming close to hitting a police officer with his car while fleeing a traffic stop April 19; ramming three police cars boxing him into the police stop; and driving recklessly and failing to stop at stop signs while fleeing police.
€ Carl Petrosino, 58, formerly of 11-1/2 Easterly Ave., Auburn, brought a request to have his sex offender level dropped from level two, or a moderate risk of reoffending, to level one, the state's lowest risk level of reoffending. The case is adjourned until the state board that makes sex offender level recommendations can complete its report.
Petrosino, a former Casey Park kindergarten teacher, pleaded guilty in April 1998 to one count of second-degree sexual misconduct against a child and admitted he sexually abused a 6-year-old girl on two or more occasions in 1997.
€ James Rogers, also known as “Jazz,” 73, of Apt. 1, 1 Franklin St., was sentenced to 3.5 years in state prison and 1.5 years of post-release supervision for third-degree felony criminal sale of a controlled substance.
Rogers admitted selling crack cocaine Dec. 6 at his residence during his April 26 court appearance, but on Thursday he sought to withdraw his plea during a litany of complaints. Leone denied his request.
Rogers' criminal history dates back to 1951, Budelmann said.
€ Omar Smith, 28, of Syracuse, and currently held in the Cayuga County Jail, pleaded guilty to third-degree felony criminal sale of a controlled substance. Smith admitted selling cocaine to a confidential informant last June 19 in the parking lot of Wal-Mart.
His sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 2.
€ Maurice Southall, 26, of Lyons, had his bail revoked after the friend who posted it said he needed the money to pay expenses.
Southall's bail was maintained at $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond.
John Lopez said he needed only part of the bail exonerated, but Leone said he was not willing to reduce Southall's bail. Southall tried to talk Lopez - who held hands with a little boy the entire time - over the court proceedings.
Leone told him he shouldn't hold a grudge against Lopez when he needed money to support his family.
Southall is scheduled to go on trial Aug. 13. Southall faces six felony and two misdemeanor drug charges.
€ Sylvester Vazquez Jr., 42, with a last known address of 11 Burt Ave., Auburn, and currently held in the Mohawk Correctional Facility, was determined to be a level two sex offender with a moderate risk of reoffending.
Vazquez is close to being released from a two-year prison sentence for the felony of first-degree sex abuse. He groped a 16-year-old girl against her will July 23, 2005.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
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