Several are sentenced in County Court

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 July 2018 at 7:12 pm

ALBION – Several people were sentenced in Orleans County Court today, including a Rochester man who admitted in a previous court appearance to having cocaine with the intent to sell on May 1, 2017.

Lamar Nelson, 29, pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree. He faced up to a maximum of 2 ½ years in state prison.

He was given the maximum by Judge Sara Sheldon as part of a plea agreement, partly because of Nelson’s previous rape conviction that made him a second-felony offender.

He has been in the county jail the past 14 months. In addition to time in prison, he will be on post-release supervision for 1 ½ years.

His attorney Michael O’Keefe said Nelson has “long and extensive use of drugs and alcohol since he was a teen-ager.”

In a presentence report, Nelson insisted he was innocent of the crime.

Sheldon told Nelson his DNA was on packaging for the drugs.

“There’s no question you were part of the enterprise,” she told him. “That you still maintain your innocence is an insult to my intelligence.”

Nelson said he pleaded guilty to the crime and is taking responsibility “for my actions.”

“I hope so,” Sheldon responded. “That’s part of being a man.”

Chad Oehlbeck, 30, of Hamlin was sentenced to six months in jail and 5 years of probation. He pleaded guilty to aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

In a previous court appearance, Oehlbeck admitted to the judge he was driving without a license and was impaired on June 3, 2017. He also said he had a shotgun in the vehicle.

Sheldon said she regretted agreeing to the six-month cap in jail because the arresting officer, a state trooper, described Oehlbeck “as one of the worst people I’ve ever had to deal with.”

The judge issued an order of protection for a woman in the case.

Richard L. Dixon, 46, of Waterport was sentenced to six months in jail and 5 years of probation for felony driving while intoxicated, his third DWI.

Dixon also was fined $1,000 for the DWI, and needs to pay a $520 court surcharge plus a $50 DNA fee.

John W. Murphy, 45, of Lyndonville was sentenced to time served for seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance for knowingly and unlawfully possessing a painkiller.

Murphy has been in a drug diversion program. That allowed a felony charge to be reduced to a misdemeanor. He spent 15 days in jail. He could have faced up to a year of incarceration.

He needs to pay a court surcharge of $250 within 60 days.

• The judge arraigned Crystal Woodward, 32, of Medina for second-degree grand larceny, and eight counts each of forgery in the second degree and falsifying business records in the second degree.

She allegedly took checks totaling $91,973 for Medina Transportation Company.

Joanne Best, the public defender, said Woodward is in a drug treatment program. Best asked for no bail for Woodward.

The judge agreed to release Woodward on her own recognizance.

“She has a very plausible and realistic defense,” Best told the judge.

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