‘Liberty versus incarceration’: Adult Drug Court an alternative to jail | Local News

Boyer said that a team review of his case prior to Friday’s hearing showed Hockensmith failed to report for drug testing the week prior.

“That’s going to be a problem,” Boyer told the Hagerstown man. The judge outlined the sanctions he could impose before deciding on having Hockensmith report to the Day Reporting Center for daily drug testing. Boyer told him to report immediately to the Day Reporting Center.

“It’s going to put drug court front and center on your plate,” Boyer said.

Hockensmith was one of the first three people accepted into the drug court program when its first docket was heard on June 7. He pleaded guilty to two burglaries, but his sentence was deferred while he is in the drug court program.

Sixty-year-old Malcolm Blackman of Hagerstown was before Boyer immediately prior to Hockensmith. He also entered the program on June 7 and Boyer congratulated him for a clean drug test, and for being responsive to the requirements of the program.

“I think I’m doing real good,” said Blackman, who also received a deferred sentence after pleading guilty to distribution of heroin. He said the program has given him a good support network.

“Without them, I’d probably be going to prison,” he told Boyer.

Thomas McNeil, 50, of Williamsport, was the third person accepted into Drug Court on June 7, pleading guilty to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.

McNeil, however, was still in jail because housing arrangements had not been finalized. The judge said he would sign an order for McNeil to be released Monday, and ordered he start injections of Vivitrol, a drug that blocks the effects of opioids.

Both Blackman, Hockensmith and McNeil will be back in court again June 28 as the court monitors their progress — or lack thereof. Assistant State’s Attorney Leon Debes said several of the agencies involved in drug court met prior to court on Friday to review how the participants were performing in the program.

Washington County Circuit Court has joined more than a dozen other Maryland counties in establishing a drug court to deal with, and hopefully reform, those whose addictions have driven their criminal behavior.

“They’re pleading guilty to an offense. There’s no agreement as to the ultimate sentence other than, by agreeing to go into drug court, ultimately they can earn a suspended sentence,” Circuit Judge Brett R. Wilson explained earlier this month. Wilson presides over adult drug court, with Boyer the back-up judge.

Had McNeil and Blackman not been accepted into adult drug court, they faced up to 20 years in prison. Hockensmith was looking at up to 18 years on the burglaries.

A plea in drug court puts the offenders on an extensive period of presentence supervision, with scrutiny by a number of partner agencies, Wilson explained. That likely means 18 months or more working to meet the requirements of the court “because all of drug court is going to be completed before they are sentenced.”

Ultimately, a person can receive a suspended sentence by successfully completing drug court — or end up in prison if they fail.

Like Hockensmith, not everyone is expected to get through the program without some setbacks that can result in sanctions, Wilson said, adding, “our goal is not to kick people out, but to find ways for them to succeed.”

A key partner with drug court is the county’s Day Reporting Center, which provides drug treatment, employment, educational and other services participants need to get get their lives in order, said Wilson. Serenity Treatment Center, which has a contract with the day reporting center, provides most of the drug treatment services, although other programs can be used to meet a client’s individual needs.

The county’s Parole and Probation office supervises clients while they are in presentence status, Wilson said. Potomac Case Management is involved in drug court, creating a “therapeutic menu” to address the issues of participants, Wilson said.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Hagerstown Police Department and County Health Department are also partners in Adult Drug Court, according to Wilson.

Wilson expects enrollment to reach about 25 by the end of this year. Eventually, drug court could accommodate 50 or more, although the need is probably greater, he said.

Three more men were accepted into the program on June 14, entering pleas and signing contracts to abide by drug court conditions. They were back in court for their weekly review on Friday, although they remained incarcerated while housing arrangements are being made. One man will live with his mother, although the mother had asked the court to put her son on Vivitrol as one of her conditions.

The defendants are represented by a public defender or private counsel at the point when they enter the plea, Wilson said. After that, their interests in drug court will be represented by attorney Mary Drawbaugh, a private criminal defense attorney contracted by the court.

One new admission was made Friday when 40-year-old Dwayne Scott Way of Hagerstown pleaded guilty to a pair of burglaries for July 2018 break-ins at a pizza shop and the home of a person he knew. Boyer ordered Way to pay restitution to the victims as a condition of drug court.

People charged with violent crimes are disqualified from participating, Wilson said. If an applicant has an old assault or robbery conviction, the judge said, their record would receive more scrutiny to determine if they should be eligible.

“It’s not an easy road,” the judge said. “There’s a lot of work you have to do, but there’s a heck of a carrot at the end of that road — liberty versus incarceration.”