A former city elementary school teacher will serve at least a year in prison after pleading guilty to two felony charges of driving while intoxicated.
Marcy L. Cole, 35, of Main Street, Gasport, was sentenced Thursday in Niagara County Court to two terms of one to three years in prison, to be served concurrently.
Cole pleaded guilty in September to two felony counts of DWI in connection with her arrests on Oct. 7, 2007, and Jan. 10, 2008.
She had a previous DWI conviction, after pleading guilty in October last year to misdemeanor DWI in connection with an April 18, 2007, traffic stop in the Town of Lockport.
She was arrested a fourth time in June on charges of DWI in the Town of Royalton.
Cole has been in jail since early September, when Judge Sara Sheldon Sperrazza ordered her bail revoked. Probation officers had reported several incidents in which Cole was reportedly still drinking and causing disturbances while awaiting trial on what was originally an 11-count indictment.
Her guilty plea later that month satisfied all counts of the indictment.
Cole’s attorney, Thomas Scirto, said Cole has enrolled in several recovery programs available at the Niagara County Jail.
“She’s just now on the long road to recovery,” he said.
He said she has also ended an “abusive” relationship that had been causing her problems and has been reconnecting with her family, including her children, who are “seeing their mother sober for the first time in months.”
Cole read a two-page statement before sentencing was handed down, at times breaking down in tears when telling Judge Sara Sheldon Sperrazza about her recovery process.
“I’ve come to realize what ... the recovery program means. It’s taken this to get me to that point,” she said. “My decisions have brought me humiliation. ... I had to be broken, your honor.”
Cole taught fourth grade at Roy B. Kelley Elementary School until January, when she was pulled from the classroom after parents and teachers reportedly complained about her conduct.
The school board accepted her resignation in June.
Cole apologized to her family, whom she said have been supportive of her through the past year.
“I take full responsibility, and I apologize to those I have hurt,” she said.
Sperrazza said there were “too many troubling moments” in the case to grant Scirto’s request of a six-month local jail sentence followed by probation.
“I see a woman who mouths the words, ‘I now get it,’ but I truly don’t think you do,” Sperrazza said. “Honestly, Marcy, I don’t think you get it yet.”
Contact reporter April Amadon at 439-9222, ext. 6251.
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COURTS: Ex-teacher Marcy Cole sentenced to prison on DWI plea
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Rohde sentenced, job uncertain
It’s unknown if a suspended Niagara County Sheriff’s deputy will return to work, following his sentencing Wednesday in Lockport City Court.
Kevin J. Rohde, 31, was granted a one year conditional discharge for endangering the welfare of a child. Rohde pleaded guilty to the charge in Feburary, a charge which stems from an incident that took place with a 15-year-old girl in March 1999. Rohde was given youthful offender status, as he was 18-years-old at the time.
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Mongielo sentenced to 15 days
David J. Mongielo faces a 15-day jail sentence for violating the town’s sign ordinance a second time, which was a violation of the first offense’s conditional discharge.
Mongielo received a pair of sentences Tuesday night in town court, the first for his 2011 violation of the ordinance. The Robinson Road auto shop owner will pay a $250 fine and receive a one-year conditional discharge. That means Mongielo will serve 15 days in jail if he violates the ordinance again over the next 12 months.
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Diefenbach sentenced to 10 years
Not only couldn’t Hans S. Diefenbach believe he was so delusional last spring that he thought Norma Confer was trying to kill him, Diefenbach said he would have married the woman he stabbed to death if circumstances were different.
Diefenbach made that statement Thursday, just minutes before Niagara County Judge Matthew J. Murphy sentenced him to 10 years in state prison, five years of post release supervision and a $5,000 fine. -
Bartz could get probation
A Town of Lockport burglar will attempt to avoid jail time by participating in Niagara County Court’s judicial diversion program for court supervised drug treatment.
Matthew E. Bartz, 30, of Bartz Road pleaded guilty to three counts of third-degree burglary at an appearance Wednesday in State Supreme Court before Justice Richard C. Kloch, Sr. However, Bartz was also approved for the diversion program Wednesday. All three counts are nonviolent class D felonies. -
Rohde given youthful offender status
A Niagara County Sheriff’s deputy has received youthful offender status in a rape case stemming from an incident that allegedly took place 13 years ago.
Kevin J. Rohde, 30, has taken a plea without admission and will be sentenced April 25 in Lockport City Court. He had been facing first-degree rape following an incident that took place March 1, 1999, at a Remick Parkway residence, when Rohde was 18 years old. -
Former NFTA cop sentenced
A former Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority police officer will spend six years on probation for sending a sexually explicit photo to a teenage girl, a girl he later had a sexual encounter with.
In addition, John W. Ingham will spend 25 weekends in the service of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office Work Program. Ingham was sentenced Thursday by State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch, Sr. Ingham will also register as a sex offender. -
Rapist gets 15 years
A Middleport man will serve 15 years behind bars for raping a Lockport woman at knifepoint in March.
Harold G. Case, 50, 3470 Carmen Road, was sentenced Thursday in Niagara County Court for first-degree attempted rape, a class C violent felony. Upon completion of the sentence, Case will have 15 years of post release supervision. -
Plea reached in stabbing case
Hans S. Diefenbach could be looking at 10 years in state prison, after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter Thursday in Niagara County Court.
Diefenbach 47, 70 Genesee St., admitted to stabbing 66-year-old Norma Confer several times with a pair of knives on April 21, leaving one of them in her back. She died in May after being in a coma for
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Court actions published Sept. 7, 2011
Schumacher DWI case adjourned to October
A Gasport woman accused of hitting two teens on Dysinger Road on May 26 will return in the beginning of October to Lockport Town Court, after having her case adjourned Tuesday night.
Amy J. Schumacher, 36, 8472 Chestnut Ridge Road, has been charged with Class E felony aggravated vehicular assault and driving while intoxicated.
On May 26, Schumacher was driving on Dysinger Road when she swerved off the road and struck two boys who were walking on the shoulder, according to the report from the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office. According to sheriff’s deputies, Schumacher registered a 0.12 percent blood alcohol content. - More Courts Headlines
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