2 sentenced for meth crimes in Albion
ALBION – Two people were sentenced to the Orleans County Jail on Monday for their roles in methamphetamine crimes in Albion.
Tara Ryan, 19, of Albion admitted to manufacturing meth in her former apartment on East Bank Street. She had the ingredients and equipment needed to make the illegal drug.
She pleaded guilty to unlawful manufacturing of methamphetamine in the third degree and could have faced a maximum of 2 ½ years in state prison.
Judge James Punch gave her six months in jail and 5 years on probation.
During sentencing, Ryan, a first-time offender, thanked her family for not giving up on her.
“Getting arrested saved my life in the long run,” Ryan told the court. “I have to stay clean and surround myself with positive role models.”
Ryan and six others were arrested on April 19 after police discovered meth was being manufactured in Ryan’s apartment.
Judge Punch said Ryan has actively involved in the crime, while some of the others arrested were “on fringe.”
“You were one of the more active people in producing this very dangerous drug,” Punch told Ryan. “This is a very dangerous drug and there has to be some incarceration. We can’t tolerate this drug coming into our community.”
Bridgette Fronczak-Reilly, 19, of Lockport also was sentenced after she admitted she possessed meth on April 19. She pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, and could be sentenced to up to a year in jail on Oct. 3.
Fronczak-Reilly apologized to the community for being involved in the crime.
The judge gave Fronczak-Reilly 60 days in jail and probation. He said the Lockport resident wasn’t an active leader in the operation.
“I would say you were mixed up with the wrong people,” Punch said.
The judge said the community needs to be vigilant in fighting methamphetamine.
“It’s a substance this court considers profoundly dangerous,” Punch said. “We need to keep it from infecting the community like other drugs have.”
In other sentencings on Monday:
• David M. Mitchell, 27, was sentenced to an additional 1 ½ to 3 years in state prison for first-degree attempted promoting prison contraband. Mitchell, an inmate in the Orleans Correctional Facility in Albion, allegedly sharpened two metal instruments to use as weapons in the prison. Those weapons were confiscated on Feb. 22. He has prior felony convictions.
“Prison is a dangerous place,” said Mitchell’s attorney Dominic Saraceno. “Some people feel they need items like these to protect themselves.”
Judge Punch credited the corrections officers for finding the metal instruments before they were used to harm another person. He said the contraband makes prison more dangerous for inmates and staff.
• Richard D. Walls, 46, was sentenced to six months in jail and five years probation after he applied for three credit cards in another person’s name. He moved from the local community and was picked up on a warrant in Georgia. Punch said Walls acted as “a con man” in gaining the trust of an elderly couple with the intention of taking advantage of them.
• A local boy was sentenced to six months in jail for having sexual contact with a child under age 11. The boy was given youthful offender status so his name won’t be published. The boy apologized for his crime – first-degree sexual abuse.
Judge Punch said the crime warrants time in jail, but not prison because the boy had no prior criminal history.
“You need a combination of help and punishment,” the judge said.
