On the morning of March 6, 29-year-old Ryan Shumway reportedly threatened Batavia Police officers with a knife.
This morning, Shumway was sentenced to one-and-a-half to three years in prison for the crime. The sentence follows a guilty plea June 23 to menacing a police officer, a felony.
The incident began when two police officers responded to a domestic dispute on Dewey Avenue, where Shumway, of Stafford, threatened the officers with a knife. The officers ordered him repeatedly to drop the knife before he finally did.
It's Shumway's second strike. He has a prior felony conviction for grand larceny, stemming for an incident in 2005.
Shumway told Judge Robert Noonan that he would like to turn his life around.
"Well, sir, I've been in trouble before and everything (I've) done, I pled guilty," Shumway said. "I'm looking forward to geting this behind me and, hopefully, this will be behind me and I can start a new, good life."
Noonan wasn't without sympathy, but also wasn't about to cut him any slack (the sentence Noonan imposed was arrived at through a plea bargain).
Noonan said there were two version of the events of March 6, but even the one that Shumway's friends and supporters agree on indicate Shumway was drunk and waving a knife.
When liquor and weapons are involved, Noonan said, it can be a scary situation, "no matter how good of a person you are or how good you want to be."
"All I can say to you sir, is that if you want to stay out of trouble, you need to stay away form alcohol and drugs or you’re going to get in trouble," the judge said. "You’re just one of those people, that if you get involved with alcohol or drugs, you’re going to get in trouble."
Noonan then imposed the sentence and within minutes Shumway was escorted from the courtroom and into custody by a bailiff.
