Ridgeway man pleads guilty to selling cocaine

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 May 2017 at 7:04 am

ALBION – A Ridgeway man admitted in Orleans County Court on Monday to selling cocaine.

Richard C. Turrell, 61, of Angling Road could face a maximum of 2 years in prison when he is sentenced on July 17. He was arrested in September. Turrell said in court that he had the cocaine and it was shared by some of his friends. “We all went in on it,” he told Judge James Punch.

Sharing it with friends fits the legal definition of selling. Turrell pleaded guilty to criminal possession of controlled substance in the fifth degree, which normally carries a maximum of 2 ½ years in prison.

As part of a plea deal, he will face up to 2 years and will spend time at the Willard drug treatment campus run by the state prison system.

Turrell, owner of the Rick & Ron’s automobile business, has been very cooperative in the investigation, said Joe Cardone, the district attorney.

In another case in County Court,

• An Albion man was ordered to pay $1,500 in restitution after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor after he allegedly stole cylinders last May 27.

Christopher M. Bescherer, 35, of Lattin Road was given 30 days to pay the restitution. He has a job with a landscaping business and said he can make the restitution.

His case was handled on Tuesday by Sara Sheldon of Niagara County. Bescherer completed counseling while in jail and said he wants to live a better life.

Sheldon said she would give him a chance.

“Jail doesn’t seem to work,” she said. “Maybe the light bulb went off.”

She said Bescherer will need to come back to court on July 17 to show he paid the restitution.

Return to top