A Corfu resident who admitted last month to possessing cocaine will spend five years on probation, even though Judge Robert C. Noonan said he was reluctant to give that sentence to 29-year-old Brandon R. Brade.
Noonan told Brade that reading pre-sentence reports is often like reading a novel, and before he gets to the end he can anticipate the outcome.
In this case, Noonan said, Brade's story said, "he's going off to prison," but the twist in this story was that the probation department was recommending probation for Brade. The recommendation was based on Brade's recent success, and "only his recent success," said Noonan, in substance abuse treatment.
But Noonan counseled Brade that if Brade continues in some of his behavior, and especially some of his attitudes, the story wouldn't turn out well for the Corfu resident.
"If you display your defiance of authority and the world's rules as you have seemed to do in the past, that’s not going to work for you," Noonan said.
Brade admitted to possession of cocaine Aug. 18. He originally faced several drug-related charges, including the sale of cocaine.
While Brade had some minor scrapes with the law prior to 2005, his attorney said, this is Brade's first felony conviction.