Medina man pleads guilty to cocaine possession

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 April 2014 at 12:00 am

Brenton Poole could get 5 years in state prison

ALBION – A Medina man pleaded guilty in Orleans County Court today to attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, a charge that could result in up to five years in state prison.

Brenton Poole faced a maximum of 1 1/3 to 8 years in state prison. His plea deal sets the maximum punishment at five years. If County Court Judge James Punch sentences Poole to more than five years, Poole can withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial.

He was arrested on Feb. 12 along with two other Medina residents after a year-long investigation into the sale and distribution of crack cocaine and marijuana in the villages of Medina and Albion, according to the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force.

Poole, 28, admitted in court today he had cocaine in his closet at his home on 746 Church St. The drug was discovered in a search by police. A lab report confirmed it was cocaine and weighed 1.08 ounces.

Poole is a second felony offender. Punch set $5,000 bail for Poole, who has attended all of his previous court appearances.


In other cases in county court:

Tracey Stratton, 51, of Vermont was sentenced to a year in county jail for criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree.

Stratton admitted in court she mailed a controlled substance, the drug buprenorphine, to her son, who was an inmate at the Orleans Correctional Facility. She mailed the drug on Dec. 20, 2012. She faced a maximum of 2.5 years in state prison for the charge. She apologized in court for her actions.

“I’m sorry for the crime that I did and I know it was wrong,” she said.

Her son, Jason Seifert, 28, has pleaded guilty to promoting prison contraband when he received the controlled substance from his mother. Seifert could face another year in jail, plus three years probation when he is sentenced.

A Murray man admitted in court he exchanged lewd images with a 13-year-old girl.

Damien Jost, 19, of Ridge Road said in court he had online chats with a 13-year-old girl. He sent her a nude photo of himself and received nude photos of the girl.

He could face a maximum of 2 ½ to 7 years in state prison or the sentence could be a maximum of 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison if he is granted youthful offender status.

He will be sentenced on June 30.

An Albion man pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted burglary, petty larceny and violation of probation, which could result in a maximum sentence of 3 to 7 years in state prison.

Kyle Depoty, 23, of Albion faces charges of third-degree robbery for allegedly stealing a camera, camcorder and cigarettes from an Eagle Harbor home on Dec. 4. He admitted in court he broke into the house to steal the items.

He pleaded guilty to petty larceny for allegedly taking items from the Albion Wal-Mart on Dec. 8. He admitted in court he took two GPS devices from Wal-Mart.

He also faces probation violation charges.

He will be sentenced on June 30. He remains in county jail without bail.

A former Orleans County resident pleaded guilty to fourth-degree welfare fraud and could be sentenced to 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison on July 14.

Otis Hardy admitted in court he was living in Florida while collecting $6,297 in local welfare benefits from June 1, 2012 to Dec. 1, 2012. Hardy said he was in Florida helping to care for his mother, who is now deceased.