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Mother of infant gets three years on drug charges
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Ashlea Duck’s 3-month-old child stopped crying just before her sentencing hearing on drug charges Monday.
Although the baby was not allowed in the courtroom of Judge John Durkin, her cries could be heard inside.
Instead, it was the 24-year-old mother who was crying as she addressed the judge in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court just before she was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of trafficking in heroin, which are from a 2012 case; and trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in heroin and endangering children, which were filed in 2013.
Just before her sentencing, Duck read a short letter to Judge Durkin, saying she apologized for her bad decisions in the past and has since gone to counseling and has held down a steady job, primarily because of her baby.
“Whatever you decide to do today, I will take this as a learning example for my daughter and stepdaughter,” Duck said.
One of her attorneys, Tony Meranto, said his client accepted responsibility and also said that two co-defendants in the case, one a boyfriend, were the major players in what Assistant Prosecutor Martin Desmond termed after court a drug-dealing ring.
“Her participation was lower than the co-defendants’ in this case,” Meranto said.
Desmond told Judge Durkin that Duck had entered a guilty plea in the 2012 case and was set to receive probation until she was indicted again. He said she was arrested by police in Beaver Township with children and drugs in the car, which led to the 2013 charges.
Desmond said her participation was less than the other two. He classified her as a “pawn” to a former boyfriend who was indicted with her.
Judge Durkin said Duck has taken steps to correct her past mistakes, but he also noted she pleaded guilty to felony charges that mandate prison time.
“I don’t have a choice,” Judge Durkin said.
In the 2013 charges, Duck was sentenced to three years on each of the trafficking charges. Those sentences are to run concurrent as well as a six-month sentence for misdemeanor child endangering and the 2012 trafficking charge, for which she received a year.