Sherrill, NY -- The son of suspended Sherrill Police Chief James Hastings has been sentenced to house arrest and electronic monitoring after admitting to using methamphetamine earlier this month. Jason Hastings, 29, was arrested May 5 by Drug Enforcement Administration agents who say he violated the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 by purchasing an illegal quantity of the key...
Sherrill, NY -- The son of suspended Sherrill Police Chief James Hastings has been sentenced to house arrest and electronic monitoring after admitting to using methamphetamine earlier this month.
Jason Hastings, 29, was arrested May 5 by Drug Enforcement Administration agents who say he violated the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 by purchasing an illegal quantity of the key ingredients for manufacturing methamphetamine.
The arrest came nearly three months after his 6-year-old nephew suffered hallucinations from an overdose of methamphetamine. The child was hospitalized Feb. 15 after spending the day at the home of Sherrill Police Chief James Hastings and his wife, where Jason Hastings also lives.
Jason Hastings was released from federal custody with a number of conditions, including that he abstain from drugs and alcohol, submit to drug tests and report to a probation officer, according to federal records.
On Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge David Peebles amended the conditions of Hastings’ pretrial release, after a urine sample tested positive for methamphetamine July 12. Probation officer Timothy Nolan said Hastings admitted to using the drug on July 9.
Sherrill Police Chief James Hastings remains suspended without pay from his post, Sherrill City Manager Robert Comis said Thursday. The elder Hastings has headed the city’s police force since 2001. He took a paid leave of absence in March as state police investigated his grandson’s overdose. He was reinstated April 29 after an independent attorney hired by the Sherrill City Commission cleared him of any wrongdoing in connection with the incident.
The city suspended him without pay in late May, citing charges related to New York State Civil Service Law. Comis is temporarily in charge of the city’s police force of three full-time officers, including Hastings, and seven to 10 part-time officers, the city website says.
Contact Alaina Potrikus at apotrikus@syracuse.com or 470-3252.