NORWICH – For what he said was the first time ever in his tenure as Chenango County Court Judge, on Monday, Oct. 24, Judge Frank B. Revoir reduced a felony charge to a misdemeanor upon sentencing a defendant.

The Judge's decision came after a father's plea in the case of 21-year-old Maxwell Horton, who had previously agreed to enter a plea of guilty to grand larceny in the third degree, a class D felony.

Horton was originally placed on interim probation following his conviction, but he failed to attend required community service, and failed out of drug treatment court, and thus landed back in County Court for re-sentencing.

The victim of the crime in the case was Horton's father, who appeared in court on Monday, and delivered an emotional victim impact statement.

“I just wanted to address the court to say a bit about Max and us,” Horton's father began. “My son has struggled with drug use and addiction. The long spiral down started with a prescription of Oxycontin.”

Horton's father went on to explain that as his son's addiction worsened, the family sought many ways to treat him, but ultimately failed. Horton's son eventually ended up stealing a camera from his father that was valued at more than $16,000, which he then proceeded to sell for money to fuel his addiction. That is where the grand larceny charge stems from.

Horton's father reported the incident to police in a last ditch effort to seek treatment for his son.