Judge cites trafficker's good qualities before ordering probation

YOUNGSTOWN

Even the prosecuting attorney acknowledged that a man being sentenced for two drug-trafficking charges Wednesday had some positive things going for him.

Judge Lou D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court agreed with that as well, but he added just before he gave 27-year-old Bert Pritchard of Gluck Street five years’ probation that if he violated his probation, he would have only one thing going for him — a trip to prison.

Pritchard pleaded guilty June 13 to a charge of trafficking in marijuana, a fifth-degree felony and trafficking in heroin, a third-degree felony. He was arraigned on the charges Jan. 28.

Martin Desmond, an assistant county prosecutor, was asking that Judge D’Apolito sentenced Pritchard to two years in prison, mainly because of a presentence investigation that said there was a slight chance Pritchard could be a repeat offender because of two prior misdemeanor convictions.

Read the complete story in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.