Published: September 18, 2008 10:16 pm         

Fayette circuit judge fields quintet of sentencings

FAYETTEVILLE — Fayette County Circuit Judge Paul Blake fielded a quintet of sentencings Thursday for defendants who all pleaded guilty to various charges last month.

Tony J. Walker, 32, of Oak Hill, will spend three terms in prison of one to 10 years each and another period of not less than a year — all four to be served consecutively. The first three sentences were for two counts of breaking and entering and one count of grand larceny. The fourth was meted out for petit larceny.

Walker pleaded guilty to the charges Aug. 5.

“You’ve shown this court and other courts that you can’t be trusted. Your history is nothing but being a thief,” Blake declared.

Walker was also ordered to pay $4,245 in restitution — one-third of the estimated restitution owed by Walker and two co-defendants. The trio reportedly broke into the Cold Spot in Glen Jean and stole $10,000 worth of tobacco products and lottery tickets.

Blake denied an application for probation by defense attorney Thomas Rist.

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In a case Blake described as both “puzzling” and “unusual,” Tracey A. McQueen, 26, of Kincaid, pleaded guilty Aug. 1 to three felony counts of burglary — all involving the same victim and residence. McQueen committed her misdeeds between last November and January of this year.

“I don’t want to see a pill again,” a tearful McQueen said as she turned and apologized to her victim in the courtroom. She blamed an addiction to pills as part of the impetus behind her crimes.

Blake ordered two of McQueen’s prison terms of one to 15 years apiece to be served consecutively, while the third will run concurrently with the second. McQueen must also make restitution in the amount of $2,014 to her victim within 20 months of her release from incarceration.

Assistant prosecutor Brian Parsons emphasized the trauma caused to the victim by McQueen’s repeated offenses.

“(The victim) is on home confinement. She’s a prisoner in her own home,” Parsons declared, noting the victim has boarded up the windows of her house and now sleeps with a gun under her pillow. “What can never be replaced is her own comfort, safety and security.”

In fact, McQueen was shot in the hand by her victim during the last burglary. Blake lamented that McQueen, like many who pass through his courtroom as defendants, share three features — drug addiction, lack of education and an upbringing in a broken home.

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Blake agreed to an Oak Hill woman’s plea for alternative sentencing and remanded her to 24 months of home confinement. Mary A. Zink, 44, entered a guilty plea Aug. 6 to third-offense of driving under the influence.

The “fly in the ointment,” as Blake put it, was that Zink’s boyfriend allegedly cut off her home-confinement bracelet on a previous occasion when she received a similar sentence.

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Peggy R. Angel, 44, of Robson, was granted 60 months of probation and told to pay $16,213.60 in restitution for pleading guilty Aug. 1 to one count of embezzlement. Blake reserved the right to impose community service on her at a later date as part of Angel’s sentence.

Angel’s work history got “washed down the tubes by your (Angel’s) greed,” Blake declared, observing that Angel had grown accustomed to “getting something for nothing.”

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Delmer C. Harrah II, 36, of Mount Hope, was granted 18 months’ probation and ordered to pay a $500 fine. Harrah pleaded guilty Aug. 1 to the misdemeanor offense of possession of a controlled substance — namely, less than 15 grams of marijuana.

Blake found it “encouraging” that Harrah appeared to be finished with drug use and that he “stepped up and admitted responsibility.”

— E-mail:

mhill@register-herald.com