LOCKPORT – Two Niagara Falls men accepted plea bargains Monday in a drugs-and-guns case, while the court-appointed lawyer for a third defendant resigned, as his client reportedly left the state.
DeMario D. Crittenden, 33, of 16th Street, pleaded guilty to attempted fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Levester J. Rose, 34, of Dudley Avenue, admitted to seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and is scheduled to plead to another misdemeanor in Niagara Falls City Court.
Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas issued bench warrants for Thomas J. Pryor Jr., 20, whose last known address was on Centre Avenue, after police failed to find him Friday and Saturday. He also is wanted on an unrelated gun possession charge.
The three were arrested Dec. 3, 2011, after a traffic stop at 22nd Street and Willow Avenue. Police said they found nearly one-quarter ounce of cocaine and a .38-caliber handgun. Crittenden and Rose were arrested again Jan. 2 in the Falls, as cocaine was again found in their car. The plea deal settles all pending charges, Assistant District Attorney Peter M. Wydysh said.
As Crittenden and Rose were freed on bond to await sentencing – March 22 for Rose, April 5 for Crittenden – Pryor’s attorney, David J. Mansour, was allowed to quit the case. He said Pryor may have headed for the Atlanta area, where he has relatives.
DeMario D. Crittenden, 33, of 16th Street, pleaded guilty to attempted fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Levester J. Rose, 34, of Dudley Avenue, admitted to seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and is scheduled to plead to another misdemeanor in Niagara Falls City Court.
Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas issued bench warrants for Thomas J. Pryor Jr., 20, whose last known address was on Centre Avenue, after police failed to find him Friday and Saturday. He also is wanted on an unrelated gun possession charge.
The three were arrested Dec. 3, 2011, after a traffic stop at 22nd Street and Willow Avenue. Police said they found nearly one-quarter ounce of cocaine and a .38-caliber handgun. Crittenden and Rose were arrested again Jan. 2 in the Falls, as cocaine was again found in their car. The plea deal settles all pending charges, Assistant District Attorney Peter M. Wydysh said.
As Crittenden and Rose were freed on bond to await sentencing – March 22 for Rose, April 5 for Crittenden – Pryor’s attorney, David J. Mansour, was allowed to quit the case. He said Pryor may have headed for the Atlanta area, where he has relatives.