2 from Holley sentenced to state prison for overdose death
ALBION – Two people who had a role in the overdose death of a Clarendon man on June 1 were each sentenced to up to 4 years in state prison today by Orleans County Court Judge Sanford Church.
Logan DiPilato, 28, and Kelly Hagberg, 31, of Holley were sentenced for criminally negligent homicide (1 ½ to 4 years in state prison) and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree (2 ½ years in prison). The sentences will be served concurrent or at the same time.
District Attorney Joe Cardone told the judge that prison was warranted in the case due to the defendants putting fentanyl into the community, knowing the drug was highly dangerous. Cardone said their actions were “reckless.”
Hagberg admitted to providing fentanyl to DiPilato, who then sold four bags of it to Mark Kinsey, 35, which resulted in a fatal overdose.
“I’m so sorry for what my actions have done,” Hagberg said at her sentencing this afternoon in County Court. “If I could take it back I would.”
Hagberg said she has been sober the past five months and that time has shown her just how destructive her lifestyle was.
Logan DiPilato also apologized during his sentencing in the morning. He said he has been battling drug addiction for several years.
“Absolutely I feel so regretful for my actions against Mark Kinsey and his family,” DiPilato said at sentencing. “There is nothing I can say to bring rest to his family.”
Public defender Joanne Best said DiPilato has felt the pain of losing a loved one to an overdose. His brother, Dylan DiPilato, was 31 when he died suddenly on April 11.
Both Logan DiPilato and Hagberg have no prior felony convictions. Best, the public defender, said Logan is determined to break the cycle of addiction.
“He has always been extremely empathetic and sympathetic,” Best said about his remorse for Kinsey’s death.
Leigh Kinsey and her husband Chuck Kinsey are Mark’s parents. In a statement to the court, Mrs. Kinsey said Hagberg and DiPilato both deserve a life sentence in prison.
She said the loss of their son has been devastating to his parents, siblings, friends and the community.
Mark had returned home with his parents the last five weeks of his life while in recovery.
“He had many personal struggles and challenges over the 35 years of his life, and he was in recovery and finding a new direction for his life,” Mrs. Kinsey said. “He was not using, he was gaining weight and working a steady job as a cook.”
She said Hagberg and DiPilato knew Mark was vulnerable, trying to fight his addiction.
“We are all part of the community of recovery from substance use disorder,” Mrs. Kinsey said. “No one is exempt. This is a national epidemic, well publicized in the news. Each one of us has a responsibility to help each other in recovery. To take advantage of someone in recovery by selling them fentanyl is a betrayal of that responsibility and the community.”
She called it murder to sell fentanyl disguised as heroin to someone struggling to maintain his recovery.
“Our family has a life sentence – a life without our dear Mark, his precious smile, infectious laugh, and loving heart,” she said. “There is not been a day since June 1, 2019 where he have not grieved and cried. We are in grief counseling and will continue to be for a long time. This is our sentence.”
Judge Church gave Hagberg and DiPilato the maximum through a plea deal, rebuffing a suggestion from Best for a sentence of probation or the Willard drug treatment program in the state prison system.
“You knew it was fentanyl and you knew it was dangerous,” the judge told DiPilato. “There has to be penalties for this conduct especially when it leads to someone’s death.”
The judge had similar words for Hagberg, faulting her for putting a lethal drug in the community.
In addition to the prison sentence, DiPilato and Hargberg will both have 1 year of post-release supervision.
The Kinseys also asked for $12,000 in restitution for their son’s funeral expenses. That request was withdrawn because Judge Church said the request for restitution wasn’t made as part of the plea agreement on Oct. 17.
