Press-Republican

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.
comments powered by Disqus
August 23, 2008

Robber convicted same day accomplice is sent to prison

By ANDREA VanVALKENBURG

Man found guilty same day accomplice is sent to prison

PLATTSBURGH -- A Plattsburgh man was convicted of robbery Friday morning about an hour after one of his accomplices was sent to prison for the same crime.

Oscar Grice's trial in Clinton County Court began earlier this week, and after two days of testimony and three hours of deliberations, the 33-year-old was convicted of first-degree robbery.

The jury cleared him of third-degree grand larceny in connection with the October 2007 robbery inside an Adirondack Gardens apartment in the City of Plattsburgh.

Grice, who has a lengthy criminal record, was one of four men accused of threatening three people with a gun and lead pipe, binding them with duct tape and robbing them of more than $3,000.

Grice -- along with James Hanson, 21; Michael Lacy, 24; and Robert LaFountain Jr. -- was taken into custody within hours of the holdup and found with an array of evidence from the crime.

Hanson, Lacy and LaFountain later admitted their roles in the strong-armed holdup. Grice was the only one who rejected a plea offer in the case.

His first trial earlier this year ended in a mistrial after a Plattsburgh City Police sergeant mentioned in his testimony that Grice had been in prison before. Since his past record wasn't admissible in the proceeding, Judge Patrick McGill granted a new trial.

Grice now faces eight to 25 years in prison.

The jury decided his fate about an hour after LaFountain appeared in another courtroom, where Judge Kevin Ryan said he was "struck by the brazenness" of the crime.

"You deserve a prison sentence," he told LaFountain before urging him to use his "time in prison to reflect on how you're going to deal with your life when you get out."

During his brief court appearance, LaFountain said he hopes his stay behind bars can help him turn his life around.

"I just want to take the next step to make my life better and be a better person," the 24-year-old Vermontville man said.

He was sentenced to six years in prison and five years post-release supervision on the felony charge of first-degree attempted robbery.

LaFountain had also pleaded guilty to third-degree grand larceny and received a concurrent sentence of three and a half to seven years in prison on that charge.

He was sentenced as a second felony offender, based on his past burglary and bail-jumping convictions, and was ordered to pay $360 in fees and a surcharge.

Both Hanson and Lacy are already in prison for their involvement in the drug-related robbery inside their former apartment.

avanvalkenburg

@pressrepublican.com

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News

Recent Article Comments
Albany Round-up

Photo of the Day
Strange News
Videos: Editor Picks
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48 Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48 Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion' 5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La. Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal $25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses