November 3, 2017 at 4:37 p.m.
Rhinelander man gets two years in prison in forgery, ID theft case
Rhinelander man gets two years in prison in forgery, ID theft case
Alexander W. Durand will also serve three years of extended supervision, following a sentencing hearing Wednesday in front of judge Patrick O'Melia.
Durand was charged Dec. 29, 2016 with two counts of forgery, one count of misappropriating ID information to obtain money and a misdemeanor theft charge. An additional case was filed Jan. 17 accusing him of fraudulent use of a financial transaction card, theft of movable property and take and drive a vehicle without consent, all felonies, along with a felony count of bail jumping. A third case was filed on Feb. 15 charging Durand with additional felony counts of forgery and misappropriating ID information to obtain money.
Durand entered no contest pleas Sept. 13 to one count of forgery, one count of misappropriating ID information to obtain money, one count of fraudulent use of a financial transaction card and felony bail jumping.
As part of a plea agreement, the remaining charges were dismissed but were read in for sentencing purposes.
Adhering to the terms of the plea agreement, O'Melia sentenced Durand on one misdemeanor count of fraudulent use of a financial transaction card and one count of felony bail jumping.
The other two charges - forgery and misappropriating ID information to obtain money - were covered in a deferred entry of judgment agreement that will run until he has completed his entire sentence.
At the start of Wednesday's hearing, O'Melia asked assistant district attorney Mary Sowinski if she had complied with victim's rights notification rules. In her answer, she alluded to the complexity of Durand's crimes.
"How to define a victim under the statute of this particular case isn't precisely clear-cut," she said. "There were a variety of crimes that involved potentially exposing the credit and credit card and identity of individuals, but there was no actual financial damage in many cases. We did our best to identify those who could be considered victims under the statute, and did provide notice to those individuals."
In arguing for a sentence of three years confinement and three years extended supervision, she repeatedly stressed the magnitude of Durand's crimes.
"This particular behavior is not consistent with Mr. Durand's past history, in fact he has been relatively free of police contacts and crimes before this string of events began last year," Sowinski said. "What is so concerning about this, and why the state believes that a prison recommendation is appropriate under these circumstances, is because his behavior was so wanton and he exposed so many people to potentially being victims, who by the fortunate occurrence of a search warrant that intercepted much of their mail and identifying information and credit cards that had been taken out in their name, they didn't suffer any consequences. But that didn't mean that Mr. Durand didn't have the intention that they should suffer and he should be treated accordingly."
"This is just outright greed, and there is no other response the state can have at this point to such wanton behavior on Mr. Durand's behalf," she added.
Defense attorney Michael Scholke argued for a lengthy period of probation, noting that Durand has already spent nearly 300 days in the Oneida County jail, has had plenty of time to reflect on what he did and knows that what he did was wrong.
"He understands that his actions affected a lot of people," Scholke said.
"He's a very young man, your honor, and there is still time for him to find himself," the attorney continued. "He knows what he did was wrong and he deserves to be punished."
Scholke said Durand has come to realize during his confinement in the county jail that jail is a place he does not want to return to ever again.
"He can be rehabilitated, your honor," Scholke said, adding that he believes rehabilitation could be best accomplished through probation where Durand could show the community what kind of man he really is.
Durand offered a brief apology before O'Melia handed down his sentence.
While Durand did not have a serious criminal record prior to these incidents, the magnitude of the crimes he committed in the three cases cannot be overlooked, the judge said.
The final count of known victims that Durand stole mail from totaled 287, he noted.
"A lot of these people didn't know they were victimized until this all came out," O'Melia told Durand. "And I bet there are people who don't even know they were victimized, that just have no clue until a credit report comes out or they check their credit rating."
O'Melia also noted the pre-sentence investigation report prepared by the Department of Corrections did not paint a very flattering picture of Durand. It noted a poor work history, the lack of a high school diploma and a reported lack of remorse on his part, the judge said.
Ultimately, the judge said that he kept coming back to the gravity of the offense.
"It is not violent, but it is extensive and it did go on over a period of time and it involved several hundred victims," O'Melia said. "And it is tough to get around that when everything else is in your favor."
On the misdemeanor charge, O'Melia sentenced Durand to nine months in jail in addition to the prison time on the felony, with credit for 291 days already served.
"I'm not going to give you the maximum because of the no prior record, because I think you still have a lot to offer society," O'Melisa said. "But I can't overlook all these victims."
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at [email protected].
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