NORWICH – One of two Syracuse brothers pleaded guilty to felony possession of cocaine Friday while his younger sibling is heading to trial for similar charges in a separate incident.

Leon Bellamy Jr., 27, of Syracuse, pleaded guilty to fifth degree criminal possession of a controlled substance (Class D felony) after being found by Chenango County Sheriff’s deputies with 4.77 grams of cocaine on his person.

Chenango County Court Judge W. Howard Sullivan sentenced Bellamy to two years in state prison.

“I just happy the defendant went to state prison and we want to get the word out that if you come to our community to sell drugs, you’ll be moving into the Department of Corrections,” said District Attorney Joseph McBride.

Sheriff’s Lt. Richard Cobb said deputies arrested Bellamy twice in two weeks for drug-related charges before holding him on the felony. Bellamy was arrested Dec. 3 in the Town of Preston after a deputy pulled him over for a traffic violation. Cobb said the officer noticed a strong smell of marijuana and discovered a small quantity of marijuana on Bellamy. He was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and released.

On Dec. 16, police again encountered Bellamy after his vehicle crashed into a ditch along County Route 10A in the Town of Preston at around 3:12 a.m.

“Deputies investigating the accident discovered an amount of cocaine and marijuana in the vehicle and the two female passengers riding with the defendant basically told police it belonged to him,” said Cobb.

McBride told the court Friday that Bellamy pressured one of the girls riding in the car to hide his cocaine for him.

Following the incident, Bellamy was charged with fifth degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell and third degree criminal possession of controlled substance, both felonies. He was also charged with two misdemeanors, seventh degree possession of a controlled substance and fifth degree possession of marijuana.

In yet another incident, Bellamy was charged with first degree criminal nuisance, an E class felony, after a police investigation claimed he received money from the sale of cocaine in the Town of Norwich between Feb. 9 and 10.