Syracuse, NY - When Levon Cooper showed up in court Monday for the start of his robbery trial, he wanted to talk plea deal. But Onondaga County Judge Bill Walsh was not receptive. Cooper wanted to know why the previous offer of a three- to six-year sentence wasn’t still available to him. Walsh explained that when Cooper rejected that...
An inmate recently assured Onondaga County Judge Bill Wash that he is well known in the Justice Center jail.Syracuse, NY - When Levon Cooper showed up in court Monday for the start of his robbery trial, he wanted to talk plea deal.
But Onondaga County Judge Bill Walsh was not receptive.
Cooper wanted to know why the previous offer of a three- to six-year sentence wasn’t still available to him.
Walsh explained that when Cooper rejected that deal and got his case scheduled for trial, he was told the deal would not be offered again.
The judge said that if he turned around and gave Cooper the same deal on the morning of jury selection, the defendant would just go back to the Justice Center jail and tell the other inmates and there’d be no incentive for anyone to plead guilty before the day of trial.
Walsh said he had a reputation to consider.
“You don’t have to worry about that. Everybody over there knows who YOU are,” Cooper told the judge.
It earned him a laugh from the judge and a promised sentence of 3 ½ to seven years in prison for a third-degree robbery plea.
Continued release a no-go for no-show defendant
Bradley Wiley was supposed to be sentenced recently to probation for a burglary plea but things didn’t go as planned.
That’s because Wiley never reported to the probation department to be interviewed for the court’s pre-sentence report.
Onondaga County Judge Tony Aloi“That’s not a good first step,” Onondaga County Judge Tony Aloi said. The judge noted defense lawyer Tom Ryan had shown up for the probation department meeting but Wiley had been a no-show.
Aloi said he was having Wiley taken into custody to facilitate getting the pre-sentence interview accomplished.
“This is going to be the first step in the learning process,” the judge told Wiley.
Ryan asked to be heard, prompting Aloi to quickly joke he was not having the lawyer taken into custody. The lawyer called Wiley’s conduct a “youthful, poor choice” and asked Aloi to consider releasing Wiley to the probation department’s Pre Sentence Release program.
The judge rejected that request, calling Wiley’s conduct “a serious misstep” if he was supposed to be on probation but didn’t even make the first appointment.
“He’ll make the next appointment because he’ll be transported over there in shackles,” Aloi said.
Judge pokes fun at self, lawyer who joins in ordered to "zip it"
Sal PiemonteCrayg Ellison was in court recently to take a plea deal when defense lawyer Sal Piemonte pointed out he believed the prosecution paperwork for a pre-indictment plea was prepared incorrectly.
Assistant District Attorney Dan Barry then reported there were actually two documents to cover the two pleas Ellison was to enter. State Supreme Court Justice John Brunetti said that matched his understanding of what was to be done.
“I stand corrected,” Piemonte admitted.
“A phrase unknown to me,” Brunetti said with a smile.
When Piemonte mentioned a recent court notebook item with a similar joking sentiment and the fact the newspaper reporter who wrote it was in the courtroom, Brunetti continued smiling and suggested the defense lawyer move on.
When Piemonte made another reference to it, Brunetti – the smile still in place - politely directed him to “zip it.”
Ellison then went on to plead guilty to second-degree assault in one case and endangering the welfare of a child in another in exchange for a promised sentence of two consecutive one-year sentences in the Onondaga County Correctional Facility.