Jailed for Driving High

Thursday, the day that criminal matters are heard in East Hampton Town Justice Court, has been a busy day this past month. Last Thursday, for example, the calendar listed no fewer than 75 defendants.

Ronald A. King of East Hampton, 62, pleaded guilty to a charge of driving under the influence of crack cocaine and was sentenced to 60 days in the county jail. Mr. King is awaiting sentencing in another case as well, having admitted on Jan. 8 in county court to a felony charge of grand larceny, stemming from an incident that took place last February. He confessed to stealing $5,000 from a couple on Millstone Drive in Bridgehampton, where he was working as a handyman.

East Hampton Village police arrested him on the drug charge just a few days after the theft, by which time all the money was gone, reportedly to pay for drugs. He will be sentenced for grand larceny on Feb. 17, in the courtroom of New York Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins in Riverside.

Mr. King has several felony convictions on his record already, which will not help him when he is sentenced. He is being held in the county jail in Yaphank, unable to post $100,000 bail. If sentenced as a repeat offender, he would be required to serve from four to seven years in state prison.

Shannon K. Barrett, 33, pleaded guilty here last Thursday to two misdemeanors, criminal mischief and resisting arrest. The charges stemmed from separate arrests at the end of November, both occurring at her mother’s house. She pleaded guilty to harassment, a violation, in connection with yet a third incident at the same location.

Alcohol was involved in all three. Police said Ms. Barrett was “extremely intoxicated” during one of the arrests, in which she was said to have punched an emergency medical technician in the nose.

East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana sentenced her to six months in the county jail. There are programs available there for abusers of alcohol and drugs, and Justice Rana encouraged her to pursue them.

Earlier this month, an indictment on multiple charges, including two felonies under Leandra’s Law, was announced in justice court. Felony indictments can only be tried at the county level.

The grand jury indictment, naming Wilson Vera-Carmona, 26, was unsealed Tuesday during his arraignment in the courtroom of State Supreme Court Justice John J. Toomey Jr. Mr. Vera-Carmona is charged with two counts of driving while intoxicated with a minor in the car, one for each youth, as well as multiple misdemeanors.

Leandra Rosado, an 11-year-old girl, was killed in October 2009 when the car she was in flipped over on the West Side Highway in Manhattan. There were seven children in it, several of whom were thrown from the car. Leandra was the only one to die. The driver of that vehicle, Carmen Huertas, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to four to seven years in state prison. Leandra’s Law was passed soon after.

Mr. Vera-Carmona was released without bail after his arraignment. Justice Toomey noted that he has never missed a court appearance since his arrest.