Latest news with #DrugCourt
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Mercer County man sentenced after being discharged from drug court
MERCER COUNTY, WV (WVNS) — A man was sentenced in Mercer County after being discharged from drug court. According to a press release, 35-year-old Richard Allen Cecil, Jr, of Bramwell, was sentenced on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 to seven to 11 years in prison for failing to complete the requirements of the Mercer County Drug Court program. Mercer County man sentenced for witness tampering conspiracy in sex trafficking case The press release stated that in October 2021 Cecil was charged by a Mercer County Grand Jury, and pleaded guilty to Unlawful Possession of a Fireman by a Prohibited Person, Driving on Revoked license for DUI- Third Offense, and Attempt to Commit a Felony in December 2021. As part of his original sentence, Cecil was allowed to be a part of the Drug Court program. According to the press release, Cecil was discharged from the program and his sentenced was reimposed. Once he finished the GOALS program he was allowed back into Drug Court, but the release stated that after he reportedly violated Drug Court rules, Cecil was discharged from Drug Court again. Our court system and the Drug Court program bent over backwards the last couple of years to help Mr. Cecil get his life back together but he continued to break the rules. He left us with really no choice but to ask the Court to reimpose the original sentences. Brian K. Cochran | Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney Two people face charges after reported child abduction in Summers County According to a press release, Cecil was sentenced to five years for Unlawful Possession of a Fireman by a Prohibited Person, one to three years for Driving on Revoked license for DUI- Third Offense, and one to three years for Attempt to Commit a Felony. The sentences will be carried out continuously. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Helping former incarcerated individuals Rebound back into society
Rapid City, S.D. (KELO) — For the past 20 years, the Rebound Program in Rapid City has been helping people previously incarcerated get back on their feet, and not reoffend. This re-entry program begins when someone's still behind bars. Who are the people in orange in downtown Sioux Falls? 'Once we establish that correspondence, we go over to the jail and meet with individuals every day we're doing this. Assess their needs, do a risk assessment and find out what they really need to successfully re-enter the community,' Assistant Director Alex Purcell said. Eli Livingston was involved in Drug Court when he got out of jail over a year ago. He's been involved with Rebound ever since. 'So I was in jail when I heard about it, and then upon getting released from jail I found a place to live and then I came on over to Rebound to see if they could help me. Because I kind of lost clothes and everything, so they kind of helped me get my stuff together,' Rebound Member Eli Livingston said. The resources available are tailored to each member's specific needs. 'Vital documents are a big deal, connecting to transitional housing, permanent on-going housing, permanent mental health services, medications, physical health. We've really started to look at the whole person approach,' Purcell said. Rebound members are 70% less likely to be incarcerated again compared to people not enrolled in the program. 'I meet with Rebound every week. I have a place to live, I got clothes, I got minutes on my phone, I got all my court costs paid off, I work hard. Just having the support is a huge relief. You know, I can come over here and ask where do I go, what do I do about this?' Livingston said. For the past two decades, Rebound has helped over 2,400 people with their needs after release from the Pennington County Jail. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Yahoo
Wethington announces resignation as circuit judge
Daviess Circuit Judge Jay Wethington, who was Commonwealth's Attorney before becoming a judge in 2007, resigned from the bench as of Friday. With Wethington's retirement, the Administrative Office of the Courts can begin the process of filling the Division I seat for the rest of Wethington's term. The process calls for the Administrative Office of the Courts to appoint a nominating commission which will take applications and forward recommendations to the governor for an appointment. Whoever is chosen will have to run for election in 2026. Wethington suffered an injury from a fall in March of 2024, and Wethington's division has been covered by other judges since. In a letter submitted to state Chief Justice Debra Hambree Lambert, Wethington said while he was hoping for full recovery, 'my expectations and hopes were too high,' and that he is currently 'unable to resume my duties as circuit judge to the extent I know the position requires ...' While Wethington said Friday his health has improved since the accident, he is looking forward to traveling with his wife in the future. The decision to resign was difficult, he said. 'Not because of my injury, but in my heart it was a hard decision to make, because I liked it, I was good at it, and people responded to things I wanted to do,' Wethington said. 'There's more to it than sitting on the bench,' Wethington said. Wethington, a former Atlanta Constitution reporter, started his law career in private practice before being hired as an assistant commonwealth's attorney by then Commonwealth's Attorney Tom Castlen. 'We go way back. We were friends even in grade school,' Castlen, who is now a retired Circuit judge, said. Later, he said, 'Our careers have paralleled one another over the years. 'He's a good attorney and he's a good person,' Castlen said. When Castlen became Circuit Judge and Wethington became commonwealth's attorney, Wethington was an strong supporter of the creation of a drug court program, Castlen said. 'I'm not so sure, when I was Commonwealth's Attorney, if I would have been as receptive' to the idea of Drug Court, Castlen said. 'But Jay was very supportive and got on board ... He knew the alternatives that needed to be explored for people with substance abuse.' Wethington said the prosecutor is an important part of Drug Court, because prosecutors have to agree to send a defendant to the court-monitored substance abuse program. People in drug court receive substance abuse treatment and services, with the court monitoring their progress. Wethington, who later presided over Drug Court after becoming a circuit judge, said 'Drug Court has been good for me as a judge.' 'My first attitude was, 'if you miss up, you're going to prison,' ' Wethington said. But Wethington learned that addicts will relapse. Drug Court, 'helped me understand about addiction,' Wethington said. Wethington said some of the cases he handled as Commonwealth's Attorney that created new state law. For example, a local case that rose through the appeal process resulted in the justices ruling that a person could be found guilty of homicide if they supplied drugs to a person who died. Another case, which Wethington handled as a special prosecutor, made law when the Supreme Court ruled commonwealth's attorneys also had a right to appeal in criminal cases. Wethington argued the case before the Supreme Court. Wethington said his judicial philosophy was 'to stay out of the way.' '(Judges) call balls and strikes,' Wethington said. Later, he said, 'The hardest thing for me was to shut up and let the lawyers win or lose their case. They know the case better than you, so stay out of it.' State Court of Appeals Judge Lisa Payne Jones was hired by Wethington to be an assistant commonwealth's attorney when Wethington ran the CWA's office. 'He helped me get litigation experience under my belt,' Jones said. 'He took the mentor role,' Jones said, and that, 'he guided me on buying a house. He didn't just care about you as a lawyer, he cares about you as a person.' Retired Daviess Circuit Judge Joe Castlen, who was Division II judge for years while Wethington was in Division I, said, 'I always liked Jay being on the other end of the hall' at the judicial center. 'I could always ask his opinion,' Joe Castlen said. 'We always confided on different matters, and it was great to have a good working relationship like that.' Wethington said, as a prosecutor, 'I didn't care about wins and losses, because that's not the point of the job. The job is justice.'
