Wednesday, November 19, 2008 10:08 PM CST
Prison time ordered for attempt to fake drug screening results
By DAVE FOPAY, Staff Writer
dfopay@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — A man received prison time when he admitted trying to fake the results of a drug screening and to violating the terms of the probation sentence he received for an earlier conviction.
Joseph A. Ingram, 21, Lot 51 Old State Village, Mattoon, pleaded guilty to an obstructing justice charge that accused him of using urine he had stored in a hidden bottle for the drug screening. The screening was part of a probation compliance check for Ingram that took place on March 19.
He also admitted to violating the terms of the probation sentence he received in December 2005 for burglary and theft convictions. He received a sentence of five years in prison to cover both cases, but was recommended for a prison system discipline program that could lead to an early release.
Records in Ingram’s case indicate that once the fake sample was discovered, he admitted to his probation officer that he’d smoked marijuana recently and was trying to keep that from being discovered. He was allowed to wait until Dec. 4 to report to jail to await transport to prison.
Circuit Judge Teresa Righter accepted a plea agreement in the case that State’s Attorney Steve Ferguson and Public Defender Lonnie Lutz recommended.
In other cases in court recently:
- Douglas Kent Wade, 46, 613½ Marshall Ave., Mattoon, was sentenced to two years of conditional discharge for the obstructing justice charge of which he was found guilty by a judge in August.
The sentence is a form of supervision with fewer restrictions than probation, and terms for Wade included alcohol treatment and a $350 fine, equal to the amount of bond he posted. The charge accused him of lying about his identity to a police officer on Dec. 20, 2006.
Wade had also been accused of threatening an officer and trying to hit another man during the same incident, but he was acquitted of those offenses. Also at the time of the trial, a charge of tampering with a vehicle alleging police found him trying to open the door of a parked car was dismissed.
Righter imposed the sentence based on recommendations from Assistant State’s Attorney Eric Neumann and defense attorney Jeannine Garrett.
- Michael L. Scott, 28, 1901 Madison Ave. No. 19, Charleston, was sentenced to 18 months of probation for his conviction for failure to register as a sex offender. Scott pleaded guilty in August to a charge alleging he didn’t register his employment with police within five days of changing jobs in April.
Righter accepted a joint recommendation from Assistant State’s Attorney Kerri Davis and Lutz on a sentence that included 10, two-day periods in jail beginning Monday and a $1,000 fine. Records show that Scott’s only previous felony conviction was for sex abuse in Douglas County.
- Paul Burgess, 42, 3377 N. County Road 900E, Mattoon, pleaded guilty to a charge of delivery of a controlled substance alleging he sold cocaine on July 25.
Burgess was placed on probation for two years with terms including six months in jail with credit for about six weeks already served, though he’ll be released if an opening in residential drug treatment is available. He was also fined $2,600. Circuit Judge Mitchell Shick accepted a plea agreement that Assistant State’s Attorney Mick McAvoy and Lutz recommended.
- Troy A. Smiley, 37, of Arcola to an obstructing justice charge alleging he gave a false name to a Mattoon police officer on Aug. 17. A charge of possession of drug paraphernalia was dismissed, and terms of Smiley’s two-year conditional discharge sentence included three months in jail with day-for-day credit beginning Dec. 20 and a $500 fine. Righter accepted a plea agreement recommendation from Davis and Smiley, who represented himself.
Contact Dave Fopay at dfopay@jg-tc.com or 348-5733.
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Texas T wrote on Nov 19, 2008 10:23 PM: