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Lewis County Court Activity Report for Friday, May
07, 2021
Published: May 08, 2021 at 07:00 p.m.
By: Nick Altmire
Lowville, NY- The
following plea and sentencing activity took place on Friday in Lewis County
Court, with the Honorable Daniel R. King presiding:
James D. Barker, 60, of Deer
River, was scheduled to be sentenced on a charge of third-degree Unlawful
Manufacture of Methamphetamine, a class D felony, to which he entered a
guilty plea to on March 19th. Mr. Barker did not appear in court
for sentencing on Friday, with Judge King issuing a bench warrant for his
arrest. The charge stemmed from five-month methamphetamine investigation by
the Lewis County Drug Task Force and assisting agencies that led to the execution of a search warrant at Mr. Barker’s Deer River residence on
October 23, 2021.
George H. Castor, 47, was
returned by U.S. Marshals after being located in
Fresno, CA. Mr. Castor was extradited from California on a bench warrant
issued out of Lewis County Court. In 2011, Mr. Castor entered a guilty plea
in Lewis County Court to second-degree Assault- With Intent to Cause
Injury, a class D felony, never returning for sentencing. His original plea
agreement in 2011 included an agreed upon sentence of 2 to 4 years in State
prison, as a second-felony offender. Mr. Castor was apprehended by
authorities in Fresno, CA, during a November 2020 traffic stop, initiating
the process of returning him to Lewis County on the bench warrant. Judge
King additionally opened a sealed indictment handed-up by a Lewis County
Grand Jury, charging Mr. Castor with second-degree Bail Jumping, a class E
felony. Separate and distinct bail amounts were set at $50,000 cash or
$100,000 bond on the original charge and $30,000 cash or $60,000 bond on
the Bail Jumping charge. Mr. Castor in next scheduled to appear in court on
June 4.
Mitchell O. Fruin, 22, of Lyons Falls, was sentenced to
serve 1 to 3 years in State prison on charges of Aggravated Vehicular
Assault, a class C felony, and Driving While Ability Impaired by Alcohol or
Drugs, a Class E felony. Mr. Fruin pleaded guilty
to the charges on April 16, admitting that on October 6, 2020, in the town
of Lyonsdale, he engaged in reckless driving,
while under the influence of methamphetamine, resulting in a crash that caused serious injuries to a 15-year-old passenger in the
vehicle. Judge King mandated Mr. Fruin to the
State prison system’s Willard Drug Rehabilitation Program, which allows
inmates successfully completing the 90-day program to serve the remainder
of their sentence under parole supervision. Mr. Fruin
was additionally ordered to pay a total of $1,375 in fines and court fees,
must participate in a victim impact panel, and will have his driver’s
license revoked for 1 year. An order of protection was issued on behalf of
the victim.
Jack G. Iams, 27, of Watertown, entered a guilty plea
to one count of third-degree Grand Larceny, a class D felony, admitting to stealing a 2008 Dodge Ram truck on November 02,
2020 in the town of Turin. Sentencing in the case was adjourned to June
4, when Mr. Iams is expected to be sent to Lewis
County Jail for six months, followed by a 5-year probation term. Mr. Iams still has a pending charge in Lewis County Court
of third-degree Burglary, relating to a November 03, 2020 incident in the
town of Denmark, which is also expected to be addressed on June 4th.
A plea allocution had been started on that charge, until defense counsel
raised concerns, resulting in Judge King halting the allocution until the
prosecution and defense teams had a chance to discuss the matter further.
James J. Lynch, 32, of
Lowville, was scheduled to be sentenced on a charge of fifth-degree Criminal
Sale of a Controlled Substance, a class D felony, to which he entered a
guilty plea to on February 26, when admitting to selling methamphetamine to
another individual on July 28, 2020 in the village of Lowville. Mr. Lynch
was not present in court on Friday, with Judge King indicating that Mr.
Lynch had contacted the court that morning stating a relative he was
staying with had tested positive for COVID-19, making him unable to appear
due to quarantine restrictions. The sentencing date was rescheduled for
June 17.
Oscar J. Medina, 39, of Watertown,
pleaded guilty to one count each of Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated-
With Child (Leandra’s Law), a class D felony, and third-degree Attempted
Burglary, a class E felony. Mr. Medina admitted to driving while under the
influence of alcohol with two individuals under the age of 15 as passengers
on August 6, 2020 in the town of Harrisburg. Additionally,
Mr. Medina admitted to entering a building in the village of Lowville on October 30, 2020, with the intent to commit a
crime. Mr. Medina was placed in the Lewis County Drug Court program, with
sentencing in Lewis County Court to come at the completion. If successfully
completed, the Attempted Burglary charge would be reduced to a misdemeanor
charge of Petit Larceny and he would serve a probation term for both cases.
If unsuccessful in drug court, Mr. Medina would be facing 2 to 4 years in
State prison.
Heather L. Race, 41, of West
Leyden, pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree Attempted Grand
Larceny, a class E felony, admitting to calling in a fraudulent anonymous abuse report to her place of
employment in 2017, against herself, in order to be placed on paid
administrative leave while the unfounded complaint was investigated,
resulting in $6,934.76 in payments. Sentencing is scheduled for July 16,
when Ms. Race is expected to be placed on interim conditions of probation
for one year. If successful, the charge would be reduced to a misdemeanor
count of Petit Larceny with a 3-year probation term. If unsuccessful, the
felony count would remain with a 5-year term of probation.
Bryan M. Spear, 30, of
Glenfield, pleaded guilty to two counts of fifth-degree Criminal Possession
of a Controlled Substance, class D felonies, and one count of Criminal
Possession of Stolen Property, also a class D felony. Mr. Spear admitted to
possessing methamphetamine with the intent to sell on two separate
occasions in the town of Martinsburg, on both September 10, 2019 and
October 29, 2019. Additionally, he admitted to possessing a stolen three-wheeler in the town of Martinsburg on May
10, 2020. Sentencing
in the cases was adjourned to June 4, when Mr. Spear is expected to receive
consecutive sentences on each count for a total of 7 to 9 years in State
prison. In 2016, Mr. Spear pleaded guilty to third-degree Criminal
Possession of a Controlled Substance, a class B felony and
Aggravated
Driving While Intoxicated- With a Child, a class E felony, and was sentenced to serve 3 years in State prison with a mandate to
the Willard Drug Rehabilitation program.
The next session
of Lewis County Court is scheduled for Tuesday, May 25, 2021.
**LinkingLewisCounty.com is the only news
outlet to consistently have a reporter in the courtroom to fully cover Lewis
County Court proceedings, providing the information used to compile our
court reports**
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