Two area drug dealers get prison time

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

September 3, 2008

By LOHR McKINSTRY The Press Republican Wed Sep 03, 2008, 12:00 AM EDT

ELIZABETHTOWN -- Two men accused in separate cases of selling drugs in Essex County were each sentenced to seven years in state prison Tuesday.

Donald R. Handy, 49, of Ticonderoga was an employee of Ticonderoga Central School District when police stopped him on March 31 with 98 grams of cocaine and a marijuana cigarette in his 1999 Ford Ranger.

Handy was employed as a custodian at Ticonderoga Elementary-Middle School, but his employment ended soon after his arrest.

He was charged with two counts of felony third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana.

After pleading guilty, he was sentenced in Essex County Court to seven years in state prison and forfeited $1,400 in cash he had when arrested, along with the Ford Ranger.

Essex County District Attorney Julie Garcia said they don't believe Handy sold drugs to students at the school.

"It was extremely troubling to realize Don Handy was on his way to work at the school when a large amount of cocaine was found in his car. The kids could easily have had access to his vehicle where it was parked."

In the other drug-sales case in County Court Tuesday, James Brown, 44, of Keeseville was sentenced by Judge Richard Meyer to seven years in state prison.

State Police said Brown had a kilo of cocaine in his car when he was stopped on the Adirondack Northway last year.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration lists a kilogram of cocaine powder as having a street value of roughly $50,000.

Garcia said the arrest was the result of a joint investigation between Essex County and Adirondack drug task forces.

"We suspect he was distributing cocaine to people in Clinton and Essex counties for a period of time. I feel strongly that drug dealers need to be held responsible. Their conduct poisons our county and has a detrimental impact in many ways."

A co-defendant with Brown, Kelly Dillon, 45, of Keeseville has already been sentenced to five years in prison.

Garcia said the sentences being meted out are substantial.

"We'll always be aggressive with regard to our sentences. Seven years on each of these cases. These were men responsible for distributing large amounts of cocaine in Essex and Clinton counties. It will make a difference to have them incarcerated for the next seven years."

lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com