This article ran last week:
By SEAN McCRACKEN
smccracken@fltimes.com
ROCHESTER — One of the animal-rights activists who entered Wegmans’
Wolcott egg farm four years ago must be resentenced, a state appellate
court has ordered.
Adam Durand was originally charged with third-degree criminal trespass,
third-degree burglary and petty larceny. He and other members of a group
called Compassionate Consumers entered Wegmans’ facility three times
between May and August of 2005 to film a documentary entitled “Wegmans
Cruelty.”
They also took 11 hens from the facility without Wegmans’ permission.
Durand was found guilty of trespassing but acquitted of the other charges.
The state Appellate Division, Fourth Depart ment, ruled that Judge Dennis
Kehoe improperly factored in those other charges when he sentenced Durand
for trespassing.
Durand was sentenced to six months in jail and has already served 37 days.
Wayne County District Attorney Richard Healy said he was surprised at the
decision’s wording.
“I don’t feel that he did [consider the other charges],” Healy said.
In his appeal, Leonard Egert, Durand’s attorney, also contended that
Kehoe’s sentence was harsh and excessive. But the appellate court said
that contention was without merit.
Healy said he doesn’t see anything to stop Kehoe from handing down the
same sentence a second time.
“It’ll come back here, and the judge will do whatever he wants, is the way
I read that,” said Healy, who prosecuted the case but did not recommend a
sentence.
But based on the decision’s wording, Egert thinks a lesser sentence should
be on the horizon.
“To the extent that the judge did take into account [the other charges],
you would think that the sentence would be adjusted,” Egert said. “It’s
one thing to sentence someone for trespassing, a minor offense, versus
sentencing them based on burglary and petty larceny, which are much
higher-level offenses.”
Both Egert and Healy acknowledged that the door will be open for further
appeals after resentencing. But as of now, Egert sees this as the end of
the line.
“I think it’s going to be pretty much concluded after the sentencing,” he
said. “The only other place to take it would be the Court of Appeals [the
state’s highest court], and they only hear a handful of cases.”
Durand’s resentencing is scheduled for July 14 at the Wayne County
Courthouse.