Man pleads guilty to vehicular assault
CANTON —Wallace G. Mitchellrealized he hit something, but continued driving because he'd been drinking earlier that evening.
The Heuvelton resident later learned he hit an Amish buggy with his pickup truck, leaving two people injured. Mr. Mitchell, 54, of 85 Rensselaer St., pleaded guilty Monday in St. Lawrence County Court before Judge Jerome J. Richards to felony second-degree vehicular assault and misdemeanor driving while intoxicated.
The plea agreement calls for him to serve up to six months in county jail, along with receiving five years' probation when sentenced June 7. He was released under probation supervision.
"I honestly didn't know what I hit," Mr. Mitchell told the court.
He admitted to driving on County Route 10 about 9 p.m. Aug. 3 in the town of Oswegatchie when he rear-ended the buggy, driven by Enos L. Shelter, 19, court records show. Mr. Mitchell then left the scene but was caught by state police moments later.
A passenger in the buggy, Levi A. Shelter, 18, suffered facial and other injuries. He was taken for treatment to Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, Ogdensburg, and later released. The driver of the buggy, Enos Shelter, had minor injuries and refused treatment, troopers said.
Mr. Mitchell had a blood alcohol content of 0.16 percent, troopers said. State law establishes 0.08 percent BAC as the threshold for intoxication.
He was indicted in February on charges of second-degree vehicular assault and leaving an accident scene without reporting, both felonies, and two misdemeanor counts of driving while intoxicated.
In other court proceedings,Tyler J. Alley, 21, of 6123 Route 37, Ogdensburg, denied violating his probation conditions.
Alley, a Level 3 sex offender, is accused of having sex with a 14-year-old girl over the last few months in the town of Canton. He also reportedly provided alcohol to three underage people, St. Lawrence County sheriff's detectives said.
He was charged April 13 with second-degree rape, child endangerment and three counts of first-degree unlawfully dealing with a child. He's also accused of violating his probation conditions by not completing a sex offender treatment program, drinking alcohol and being around a child under age 17 unsupervised.
Nathan A. Shaver, 19, of 1033 Washington St., Ogdensburg, was sentenced to one year of interim probation on a fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property charge. He admitted in February to stealing two handguns from his father, Kevin Shaver.
Tegan P. King,17, of 19 Gouverneur St., Canton, pleaded guilty to attempted third-degree robbery. He admitted to robbing Sebastian J. Jerome of marijuana on Oct. 15 behind Rite Aid in the Midtown Shopping Plaza in Canton while codefendant Tristan Perry held Mr. Jerome at knife-point.
Mr. King could be placed on interim probation for one year when sentenced June 7.
Sierra S. Johnson-Sunday, 21, of 348 Route 37,Donna M. Lazore-Benedict, 31, of 412 Route 37, andAdah C. Shenandoah, 21, of 68 White Road, all from Hogansburg, each pleaded innocent on two counts of second-degree robbery and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and one count of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.
All three were accused of attacking Nicholas Fiacco on April 15 in the parking lot of the senior citizens complex on Baldwin Avenue in the village of Norwood. The trio reportedly came looking for him to settle a debt after selling him OxyContin pills.
The trio allegedly stole a SUNY Canton ID card, a cell phone, the title to a 1994 Geo Tracker, a debit card and about $300 in cash from Mr. Fiacco.
