43
Man gets probation in low speed chase
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Kevin Anderson told a judge Thursday that he thought after serving a long prison sentence, he could use drugs casually because being behind bars toughened him up.
But the usage quickly turned into an addiction so bad that, when Boardman police tried to pull him over May 5 on Shields Road, he would not stop until he was finished smoking every morsel of crack cocaine out of a crack pipe that he threw out the window.
Prosecutors in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court were recommending a sentence of three years in prison for the 33-year-old Anderson, who pleaded guilty to third-degree felony charges of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and tampering with evidence; fifth-degree felony charges of possession of cocaine and tampering with evidence; and a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
He instead was sentenced to five years’ probation – longer than the typical two or three years – and he also must pay for weekly drug testing. A failed drug test or a missed drug test will be a violation of his probation, and he will then be put in prison for three years, said Judge Lou A. D’Apolito, who handled the sentencing.
Anderson’s attorney, Michael Kivlighan, asked for probation, saying that since his client finished serving a 10-year sentence for complicity in a murder case, he has gotten a job, paid child support for his daughter, and his job still is waiting for him. Anderson’s trouble was he thought he could do drugs once in a while with no long-term consequences, but that did not turn out well for him, Kivlighan said.
When asked, Anderson said he thought that he could use drugs whenever he felt like it as well.
“I figured I did all that time, and I was stronger and I could casually use,” Anderson said. “I was a fool.”
Judge D’Apolito said Anderson has to realize he is an addict, and Anderson said he did.
“I don’t want to use drugs anymore,” Anderson said.
Judge D’Apolito said because of Anderson’s actions before he got in trouble, which included supporting his child and getting a job and GED while in prison, he was willing to give him a chance, but he is on a short leash. He stressed that it is up to Anderson to pay for the weekly drug tests and that a failure to take a test will result in the prison term being imposed.