JOHNSTOWN – A Gloversville man who crashed his car on the FJ&G Rail Trail last summer is serving at least one year in prison after pleading guilty to two felony charges.
Adrian Kirby, 44, of 22 Woodside Avenue, was sentenced by Fulton County Court Judge Polly A. Hoye on Feb. 15 after pleading guilty in December to driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Under terms of a plea arrangement, Kirby received a sentence of 1 to 3 years in prison for each count, with the sentences served concurrently.
He also was fined $1,500, had his license revoked for a year and will have an ignition-interlock device installed on his vehicle for six months.
He is incarcerated in the Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill, according to records from the state Department of Corrections & Community Supervision. The earliest he could be released is July 7. His first parole hearing will be this month, according to the records.
Kirby has been incarcerated since his arrest in July, when Gloversville Police said he ignored an officer’s emergency lights and sirens and tried to evade police by driving his hatchback into the parking lot at West Fulton and West streets around 2:30 a.m. July 13. He then drove through the grass and onto the rail trail. He fled on foot after his car struck a wooden barrier, and he was arrested behind a house on Kent Street, about four blocks away, police said.
Because Kirby has a previous DWI conviction and was driving on a revoked license, the DWI and unlicensed operation charges were upgraded to felonies.
He also was charged with unlawfully fleeing a police officer, failure to stop at a stop sign, failure to comply with a police officer, speeding, failure to take a presceen test for alcohol and leaving the scene of an accident. He also was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance for having crack cocaine, police said. Those charges were dismissed under a plea arrangement.
Kirby previously served an 18-month prison sentenced for criminal sale of a controlled substance after police said he sold cocaine to an informant and allowed his residence to be used for drug sales in August 2007.
Four other local men were sentenced this winter after being charged with DWI, including three who faced felony counts:
- Bradley J. Sweet, whose age and address are unavailable, was sentenced Jan. 4 to six months of jail and five years of probation by county court Judge Richard G. Giardino after pleading guilty in November to aggravated DWI, a felony.
State police said because Sweet had a child in his vehicle when he was stopped by troopers in June, the charge was upgraded to a felony under Leandra’s Law. He also was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, failure to keep right, speeding and having an unsafe tire.
Under terms of a plea arrangement, Sweet also was required to pay a $1,000 fine, had his license revoked for a year and will be required to have an ignition-interlock device installed on his vehicle for six months.
- Kevin M. Abel of Route 334 in the town of Johnstown, who was 53 when he was indicted by a county grand jury last March, was sentenced under terms of plea arrangement to a year in jail by Giardino on Jan. 4 after pleading guilty in October to a felony DWI charge.
Abel was arrested by sheriff’s deputies for DWI in January 2012 and also was indicted for driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent. He also was sentenced to pay a $1,570 fine and will be required to have an ignition-interlock device installed on his vehicle.
- Christopher M. Herba, whose age and address were not available, was sentenced to six months of weekends in jail on Jan. 29 by Hoye after pleading guilty to felony DWI.
The felony charge is because Herba has a previous DWI conviction. He also was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and have an ignition-interlock device installed on his vehicle for six months under terms of a plea arrangement.
He initially also was charged with driving with a blood-alcohol content greater than 0.08 percent after police stopped his vehicle on Feb. 15, 2012, on Route 29 in Johnstown.
- Gerald H. Playford III, whose address and age were unavailable, was sentenced by Giardino on Jan. 23 to participate in Fulton County’s Drug Court after pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated.
Playford was arrested in June by Gloversville police. As part of his sentence, he was required to pay $1,820 in fines, but he could receive a conditional discharge in three years under a plea arrangement.
Sentencings set
Two men will be sentenced next month after entering guilty pleas in front of Hoye in connection with felony DWI arrests:
- Armand LaForest, whose age and address were not available, is expected to receive six months in jail under a plea arrangement when he is sentenced on April 23 after pleading guilty last month to aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
He originally also was charged with felony DWI when state police arrested him in August. After his plea, he was sent to jail to begin serving his anticipated sentence early.
- Eric R. Johnson, whose age and address were not available, is expected to be fined $1,500 and have his license revoked for a year under a plea arrangement when he is sentenced April 4. He pleaded guilty to felony DWI after being stopped by state police on Dec. 20.
Because Johnson has a previous DWI conviction, the new charge was upgraded to a felony.
