Medina man admits to drug sale, weapons crime

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 August 2016 at 10:30 pm

ALBION – A Medina man who was arrested about a year ago on drug and weapons charges pleaded guilty in Orleans County Court today and will face no more than 4 years in prison as part of a plea deal.

Terry Holloway Jr., 33, pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree. The weapons charge normally carries a maximum 4 to 7 years in state prison and the drug charge normally has a maximum of 1 ½ to 8 years in prison.

Holloway admitted in court he sold cocaine in Albion on June 13, 2015. He also admitted to having a rifle.

Holloway has a previous felony conviction. He has been in jail for nearly 13 months. He will be sentenced at 2 p.m. on Oct. 31.

In other cases in County Court, two people also pleaded guilty to crimes and have been accepted into Drug Court. If they can stay off drugs and avoid other crimes, Judge James Punch said he would reduce the charges to misdemeanors and not sentence them to jail. However, if they break laws, they could face the maximum for their felony crimes, Punch said.

• Brandi Ralph, 32, of Yates Center Road in Lyndonville pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary and petit larceny. The burglary charge normally carries a maximum of up to 7 years in state prison.

She admitted she entered a garage on April 18 and stole tools. Ralph said was looking for something she could take and sell to feed her drug addiction.

If she completes Drug Court, Judge Punch said the burglary charge would be removed and she would instead be charged only with petit larceny.

Ralph is to enroll in an in-patient drug-treatment program.

“I hope you realize what this drug can do,” Punch said in court. “It kills a lot of people in our community and I don’t want you to be one of them.”

• Allen E. Snook, 33, of Medina pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, which normally carries a maximum of 2 ½ years in state prison.

He was arrested in May with morphine. If he completes Drug Court, which for him includes drug treatment through the Genesee-Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Punch said the felony charge would become a misdemeanor.

Ralph and Snook both will have regular compliance checks with the judge as an incentive to stay away from drugs.