NORWICH – Three individuals cases were heard this past Monday Nov. 16, in Chenango County Court.
Chenango County Court Judge Frank B. Revoir Jr. presided over each of the cases.
First Assistant District Attorney Michael D. Ferrarese was present on behalf of the people.
• Devon L. Ireland, 20, of Norwich was in Chenango County Court for a violation of parole violation.
Ireland was represented by his attorney Public Defender John Cameron.
“I believe I handled the case originally at his arraignment. We offered two years in state prison and five years post release, that is still the peoples position on this matter. There are some disturbing aspects to this case, this defendant is grooming children and was found in Canasawacta Creek with young children,” said Ferrarese.
The suggestion and request made by the Public Defenders Office was for Ireland to be put into a home for assisted living in the City of Norwich, rather than simply face incarceration.
“He is a convicted sex offender, this home is for people with mental health issues,” said Ferrarese.
“It is for the best interest of the community and my client to spend time in jail then be on probation. This Chenango Housing has an opening for him on Wednesday morning. The language used does not suggest grooming, but that he was simply found talking to these children. I ask that we go ahead with the plea and we set this down for conferencing so we can move forward,” responded Cameron.
“He is a criminal your honor, a convicted sex offender. I am objecting to putting him in this Chenango House. While there he could be unsupervised around people that may be underage,” said Ferrarese.
Ireland's probation officer was present in court and commented on the situation saying, “After his mother was incarcerated, his younger brother went to live with his grandmother, therefore Ireland could no longer live there because his brother was underage. So he was forced to move out.”
Revoir expressed his concerns about sentencing Ireland to state prison saying, “He'll do no more than a year in state prison due to time already served. Then he'll be right back on the streets unsupervised. If I restore his probation then he will have years left of being supervised.”
The probation officer continued saying, “What concerned me wasn’t finding him in the creek, but the conversation I had with him after, he expressed very little to no remorse to being down in that creek with children, which is a violation of his probation.”
“These people at Chenango House know he cant be around anyone under 18-years of age. They will make sure that that does not happen, and as a consequence of his behavior, my client is willing to admit to count one of his indictment as well. He needs help, he needs probation and allowing him to live at this house will do just that. If he has any further contact with minors, then boom he will be off to state prison,” said Cameron.
Due to the conflicting arguments, Revoir adjourned the matter and remanded Ireland back to the Chenango County Correctional Facility.
Ireland will appear in Chenango County Court later today, Wednesday Nov. 18, at 1:30 p.m.
• Michael A. Fletcher, 32, of Bainbridge was in Chenango County Court for purposes of outlining his plea and sentencing agreement.
Fletcher was represented his attorney Geoffrey Rossi.
