by peter e. bortner
A Berks County man is headed to state prison after a Schuylkill County judge sentenced him on Thursday for possessing a salable quantity of cocaine, plus drug paraphernalia, in June 2011 in Pottsville.
Luis A. Guadalupe, 25, of Reading, must spend three to six years in a state correctional institution under the terms of President Judge William E. Baldwin's sentence, which also requires the defendant to pay costs and $100 to the Substance Abuse Education Fund and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities.
"Your primary concern is not spending time in prison," Baldwin said in rejecting Guadalupe's pleas for mercy.
Guadalupe pleaded guilty on Feb. 22 to possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Pottsville police charged Guadalupe with possessing drugs and drug paraphernalia on June 21, 2011, in the city.
Assistant District Attorney Leo Breznik said Thursday that the drug Guadalupe possessed was cocaine.
Assistant Public Defender Andrea L. Thompson, Guadalupe's lawyer, said her client wants to reform himself and should be admitted into the state intermediate punishment program, which combines prison time with drug treatment.
Guadalupe also said he has learned a lesson and wants to take advantage of drug and alcohol treatment programs.
"I'm willing to change my life," he said. "I know what I did was wrong."
That did not impress Baldwin, who noted that Guadalupe has not participated in any such programs.
"Why didn't you do the programs while you were out?" the judge asked.
Baldwin also said that Guadalupe has a 2007 drug conviction from Berks County on his record, faces additional drug-related charges in Northumberland County and has worked exactly one day in the last five years.
Guadalupe pleaded guilty on March 6, 2007, in Berks County Court to delivery of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. Berks County Judge Thomas G. Parisi sentenced him to serve one to two years in prison, pay costs, a $100 fine and a $100 SAEF payment and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities.Defendant: Luis A. Guadalupe
Age: 25
Residence: Reading
Crimes committed: Possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia
Prison sentence: Three to six years in a state correctional institution