Judge extends probation for two

August 19, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

It took almost dying for Jonathan Congelio to decide he needed to kick heroin.

For Jessica Taylor, it took an inpatient program to help her get clean.

Both were in front of Judge Elizabeth Kobly for probation-violation hearings Tuesday in municipal court. Both told the judge they finally are getting help for their heroin addictions.

The judge was skeptical, but for both defendants, she extended their probations for a year and ordered them to continue their treatment.

Congelio, 26, was on probation for a December 2013 arrest for obstructing official business and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is accused of violating his probation by submitting a fake urine sample to probation authorities in January that masked marijuana use. Part of his probation included staying away from illegal drugs.

His attorney, Lou DeFabio, told Judge Kobly he had known his client for several years and was shocked to discover he was addicted to heroin. He said his client checked himself into a Cleveland-based rehab program in April after he overdosed on heroin and almost died. That overdose came after the probation violation.

Judge Kobly asked why she should believe that Congelio wants to get clean. She said he told her the same thing when she sentenced him to probation in the first place.

“What’s the difference between now and then?” Judge Kobly asked.

Congelio said he began smoking marijuana at 14 and began using heroin at 21. He said the overdose was a big scare for him.

“I was on a ventilator for seven days in the hospital,” Congelio said. “I had to watch my family look down in tears and in fear for me.” DeFabio said his client works six days a week, 13 hours a day and pays for his own treatment. He finished an in-house treatment program but Congelio said he has five more months left in the program. Judge Kobly said she would extend his probation and not send him to jail, but she also gave him a stern warning.

“If you’re lying to me again, sir, shame on me,” Judge Kobly said. “You will not get a third time.”

Taylor, 33, was on probation for a disorderly conduct charge in October of last year, and her probation was terminated in April when she failed to report for drug treatment. She told the judge she was trying to get into an in-house treatment program when she was placed on probation, but the wait was three months. She said she tried to explain to probation authorities that an outpatient treatment program would not work for her. Taylor said she was addicted to heroin, but Judge Kobly corrected her, saying someone is always an addict.

“There never is a ‘was’ with heroin,” Judge Kobly said.

Taylor said she agreed and added she has an addictive personality. She is enrolled in a treatment facility in Warren and asked if she is sent to jail if she could at least finish her treatment first. She said this facility has been the best one she has been in and she wants to continue her treatment. She said she became an alcoholic at 18 and began using heroin at 30.

Judge Kobly said she would extend Taylor’s probation for a year but added if Taylor breaks probation again, she will go to jail for as much time as she is eligible for.

“If you’re not serious about it, you’re just postponing the inevitable,” Judge Kobly said.