A man who admitted in July that he tried to steal a truck from a local car dealership will spend two to four years in prison.
He will also be given a chance at rehabilitation for substance abuse.
Carl Rivers, 41, apparently obtained a 2000 Chevy Silverado from an Oakfield car dealership, drove it until it broke down, and took some money that was supposed to go toward purchase of the vehicle and used it to buy drugs.
Rivers admitted on July 1 to attempted grand larceny, 4th.
For the purposes of sentencing, it was his second felony offense. The first was a burglary charge in Orleans County in 1996. That conviction falls within the 10-year limit for a predicate felony because of time Rivers spent in jail in the intervening years.
Assistant District Attorney Melissa Cianfrini told Judge Robert C. Noonan that Rivers had a lengthy criminal record with numerous arrests in several states, but Public Defender Gary Horton noted that Rivers' arrests in North Carolina and California did not lead to convictions.
Horton said all of Rivers' difficulties with the law can be traced to his substance abuse.
"Mr. Rivers has reached point in life where he knows he must change where he is going," Horton said. "He must address the substance abuse problem or he’s going to spend the rest of his life bouncing in and out of penal institutions, and he doesn’t want that to happen."
Prior to sentencing, Rivers acknowledged he had a substance abuse problem and said he wasn't interested in making excuses.
"I want to deal with my addiction," Rivers said. "I don't want to say being in jail is easy, but doing time isn't hard. Anybody can do it. Dealing with my addiction is what I’m ready to do."
Noonan said it was important to ensure Rivers, with his record, spend some time in prison, but he also ordered him to participate in a CASAT substance abuse program, if he is accepted.
