Busy court night; 6 protesters get jail terms Nineteen Crestwood trespass cases were heard Wednesday night, Dec. 3 in Reading Town Court on an evening notable for a change in sentencing philosophy by Town Justice Raymond Berry; six guilty pleas resulting in jail sentences; a couple of fines, and nearly a dozen not-guilty pleas leading to adjournments until March and April. The court session was preceded by a rally outside attended by about 100 people in support of the trespass movement -- which is in opposition to the Crestwood energy firms plans to store methane, propane and butane in abandoned salt caverns just west of Seneca Lake. (Addendum With 9 more arrests this morning (Thursday), a total of 92 arrests have occurred since Oct. 29.) Sentenced to 15-day jail terms Tuesday night were James Betts, 30, of Ames, Iowa; Michael J. Clark, 30, of Cleveland, Ohio; John P. Dennis, 54, of Ithaca; and Kelsey Erickson, 23, a Cornell University graduate living in Carlisle, Mass. Following arguments by a legal advisor for the protest group, Atty. Sujata S. Gibson of Ithaca, Judge Berry acceded to requests for lesser sentences in two cases, dispensing a one-day jail stay to Judith Leaf, 67, of Ithaca, and a 7-day term to Susan S. Mead of Ithaca. Leaf was released shortly after midnight, technically one day after sentencing. The six prisoners were gathered in a town hall meeting area outside the courtroom after sentencing until about 9:25 p.m., and then handcuffed and taken from the scene by deputies. The court session ran from 7 p.m. until after 10:30.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 05:10:42 +0000
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