PHS grad with attorney on school board dodges jail time

01:27 PHS grad with attorney on school board dodges jail time 0 Comments

A recent high school graduate dodged a jail sentence for six drug convictions Tuesday when he was represented by an attorney who serves on the school board.

The defense attorney, Carol Chellman, told the sentencing judge that a city police officer is “behind this young man.”

The “young man,” Ryan Ignaciuk, 18, of 44 Pearson St., pleaded guilty to the half-dozen charges alleging drug possession, possession of drugs in a motor vehicle and breach of bail conditions. The convictions are for his possession of marijuana or hashish on three occasions, once when he was on bail for drug charges.

Ignaciuk graduated from PHS in June and the convictions are for possessing pot or hash on Dec. 18, 2010, March 12 and May 26. Through a negotiated plea agreement, a felony count of criminal liability for the conduct of another was reduced to a misdemeanor conviction for drug possession.

Prosecutor Rena DiLando told the court she and Chellman agreed on sentencing terms for five of the charges, but disagreed about how Ignaciuk should be sentenced for breaching bail by getting rearrested. DiLando asked the court to sentence Ignaciuk to the county jail for 90 days, with 30 of them served and the rest suspended.

Ignaciuk was on bail for marijuana possession when he drove a codefendant to a hashish sale, had drugs in his possession and was present during the drug deal, DiLando told the court. After that, according to police, Ignaciuk was arrested for possession of pot while leaving the high school.

A 30-day jail sentence is “fair, reasonable and lenient,” DiLando told the court.

Chellman presented the judge “with several letters” of support which were not filed in Ignaciuk's District Court file. Following the hearing, Chellman declined to comment about who wrote the letters and what they said.

During the court hearing she said, “Everyone at Portsmouth High School, the coaches and a Portsmouth police officer, are all still behind this young man.”

Police Capt. Corey MacDonald said no Portsmouth officer wrote a letter in support of Ignaciuk. Lt. Russell Russo, who also serves as an athletic coach, did tell Chellman, “it breaks my heart whenever a kid I coached goes through our booking room,” according to MacDonald.

Chellman told the court Ignaciuk already served seven days in jail, started counseling at his own expense, would have jail time hanging over his head and needs help, not more time in jail.

“I can't think of a better case for treatment and a worse case for jail,” she said.

Further, if he were sentenced to jail, Ignaciuk would miss the first five days of college and lose his college housing, Chellman said.

Any consequences suffered by Ignaciuk are his “own doing,” DiLando countered.

“Thirty days for these charges are more than reasonable,” said the prosecutor.

The newly convicted teenager stood before Judge Stephen Morrison and made his own plea for leniency. He said while he served the seven days at the Rockingham County House of Corrections he was cell mates with a heroin addict who said his addiction began with pot.

“He lost his wife, his kids and his job,” the teenager told the judge. “I talked to him non-stop and it let me see I don't want that to be me.”

Ignaciuk's mother said her son has a full scholarship to college and worked all summer to pay his fines.

Judge Morrison imposed a series of fines and a year of suspended jail time. He also imposed a deferred one-year jail sentence for the breach of bail conviction.

The judge explained that the suspended and deferred jail time can be imposed if Ignaciuk gets rearrested.

“You mess up again and it's going to be a long time in jail,” the judge warned.