A Brooklyn judge went too far when she adjourned a drug defendant’s sentencing for nearly eight years – then let him go by dismissing the case, according to an appeals court decision made public yesterday.
The accused man, William Candelaria, was arrested in July 1997, and charged with possession of 33 vials of crack cocaine.
Justice Yvonne Lewis found him guilty in a bench trial, but then repeatedly adjourned his sentencing while Candelaria remained out on bail despite the conviction calling for mandatory jail time.
Finally, in June 2006, she dismissed the case “in the interests of justice” – a rare move by which judges can spare defendants punishment if they feel special circumstances make it appropriate.
“We conclude that there is no compelling factor which warrants dismissal of the indictment in furtherance of justice,” the unanimous panel wrote, in reinstating the conviction.
Candelaria must now appear in court to be sentenced on the decade-old case, by a different judge, the appeals court ordered. He faces up to seven years behind bars.