NORWICH – On Monday Feb. 22, Shaun P. Sullivan, 36, of Norwich appeared in Chenango County Court for a possible plea and sentencing on the matter related to his previous drug related arrest, and will now be serving the next five-years in state prison.
Sullivan previously made motions in Chenango County Court in October of 2015, for a judicial diversion, arguing he was a drug addict and not necessarily a dealer. However, following interviews conducted with Sullivan it is alleged that he did not meet the criteria and thus was left with two choices of taking the District Attorney's plea bargain offer or take the matter to trial.
Sullivan was originally arrested on Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, at approximately 9:20 p.m., when members of the Norwich Police Department allegedly forcibly entered a single-family residence, located on 12 State Street in the city of Norwich, with the authority of a search warrant signed by Chenango County Court Judge Frank B. Revoir, Jr.
After forcibly gaining entrance into the residence, NPD officers arrested three people and seized large quantities of heroin, “crack” cocaine and cash.
There was also a child under the age of 12 found inside the residence at the time of the arrests.
The New York State Police Community Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET) along with help from the NPD K-9s Weeks and Nitro assisted NPD officers in the investigation and arrests.
Miguel A. Abreu, then 28, of Brooklyn, NY, Shaun P. Sullivan, then 34, of Norwich and Samantha M. Remillard, then 34, of Norwich were the three individuals detained during the original drug related arrests.
All three defendants were originally charged with the following: two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, a class B felony; criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a class A misdemeanor; criminally using drug paraphernalia, a class A misdemeanor; criminal nuisance in the first degree, a class E felony; endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor.
Abreu was also charged with the class E felony of tampering with physical evidence for his alleged attempts to destroy and or hide evidence upon the appearance of the police officers.
Since the 2014 arrests, both co-defendants of Sullivan have taken their respective plea bargain offers and have been sentenced
Abreu pled guilty to the top charge, which was criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, a class B felony. Abreu was sentenced to 5-years in the New York State Department of Corrections with 3-years post-release supervision.
Remillard was sentenced back in August of 2015 to the plea offer of four months of weekend incarceration, followed by five years of probation. Remillard began her first weekend of incarceration on August 23, 2015, and thus should have been released by now.
Further, Remillard did testify per questioning from District Attorney, Joseph A. McBride, that she was aware that Sullivan was dealing drugs out of their State Street apartment.
Sullivan was the last of the trio to appear and on Monday Feb. 22, he was brought from the Chenango County Correctional Facility to stand with his attorney Scott Clippinger before The Chenango County Court Judge Frank B. Revoir Jr.
First Assistant District Attorney Michael D. Ferrarese was present and representing the people on this matter.
Revoir made it known to all present that per the plea bargain deal offered by the District Attorney's Office, Sullivan was to enter a plea of guilty as a predicate felon to the second charge of the indictment, which would be in full satisfaction to all other charges. This second charge was criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, a class B felony.
After swearing Sullivan in Revoir read, “on Nov. 7, 2014 at 12 State Street in Norwich and with another you did possess 190-glassine envelopes of heroin.”
Sullivan enter a guilty plea to this charge before being questioned by Ferrarese, “You admit to selling both heroin and coke with others?”
“I myself was moving crack and a couple of times heroin,” answered Sullivan.
Sullivan did then also admit to Judge Revoir that he had been previously convicted in July of 2010 to a felony burglary related charge.
“This is the defendants fourth felony, he could have been sentenced to much more of a severe sentence. He has gone a century of his adult life committing crimes,” said Ferrarese. “If we had our way you'd be going away a lot longer. But hopefully you’ll be a little more mature when you get out and hopefully the past stays the past.”
Sullivan was then given a chance to speak saying, “I just want to apologize to Sam (Remillard) and her family, she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, they didn’t deserve this.”
“You have spent almost if not as much or more time incarcerated than you have out. Hopefully this is a wakeup call. You didn’t meet the criteria for judicial diversion but you have a history of drug use,” said Revoir. “You can now sit by and bide your time in state prison or you can take advantage of the programs offered in state prison. Hopefully I never see you again sir in a court room.”
Sullivan was sentenced as a predicate felon to spend the next five years in the New York State Department of Corrections followed by two-years post release supervision.
A written waiver of appeal was signed at the conclusion of this matter.