SCHOOL DRUG CASE NETS PAIR

PITTSFIELD - Two men snared in a controversial Great Barrington
school-zone drug sting last year appeared before Berkshire Superior
Court Judge Daniel A. Ford yesterday. One was sentenced to five years
in jail and the other pleaded guilty to a charge of heroin possession.

Jose Ramos Jr., 20, of Spruce Street, Great Barrington, received two
separate sentences of 2 1/2 years in the Berkshire House of
Correction after a jury found him guilty yesterday of distribution
of cocaine, committing a drug violation within a drug-free school
zone and conspiracy to violate drug laws. Michael P. Shea, 22, of
Wellington Place, Boston, pleaded guilty to one count of possession
of heroin yesterday.

The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for three hours
before returning the verdict against Ramos.

Ford sentenced Ramos on the distribution and school zone charges. He
also ordered Ramos to remain on probation for five years after his
release on the conspiracy charge, and to pay a $150 drug assessment
fee and a $90 victim/witness assessment fee.

Assistant District Attorney Richard M. Locke said Ramos and a
co-defendant, Ryan P. Babcock, 20, of Park Street, Housatonic, had
sold an undercover police officer a half-gram of cocaine for $40 on
Jan. 22 in the parking lot of the former Taconic Lumber store on Main Street.

The sale took place less than 1,000 feet from the Great Barrington
Co-Operative Nursery School and the Searles Middle School, according
to Locke. Locke had sought two sentences of 3 1/2 years in state
prison for Ramos. He pointed to Ramos' juvenile record, which
included numerous drug, assault, probation violation, larceny and
vandalism offenses. Ramos was also accused of raping a 16-year-old
girl in June with whom he worked at a Lenox motel. "When you see his
record, judge, you'll see where I'm coming from," Locke said.
However, attorney Edmund St. John III of Adams argued that Ramos is
"a very troubled young man" who has endured the death of both his
parents. St. John also noted that Ramos, who stands 5 feet 6 inches
tall, would suffer in state prison. "He'd be nothing but bait and
meat," said St. John.

A tearful Ramos, who wore khakis and a striped shirt, had also asked
Ford for leniency and to consider sending him to the county jail
instead of state prison. Ramos' aunt and family grew emotional
sitting in the front pew. "I haven't had a chance to prove myself,"
Ramos said. "I'm just asking for a chance." In sentencing Ramos to
five years in the house of correction, Ford denied St. John's request
for a stay until after the Thanksgiving holiday, and court officers
took Ramos into custody.

Babcock pleaded guilty in July to three counts of distribution of
cocaine, two counts of selling drugs in a drug-free school zone, one
count of conspiracy to distribute drugs, one count of possession of
marijuana. He was sentenced to serve a total of 4 to 6 years in
state prison on the distribution and school zone charges.

Sting operation The Great Barrington investigation, conducted by town
police and the Berkshire County Drug Task Force, involved small-scale
street sales of cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine from January to
September in 2004. The sting was instigated after police received
complaints of violent incidents involving local youths, graffiti and
alleged drug activity in the Taconic parking lot. A total of 19
people were arrested in the sting operation in September 2004. That
includes Shea, whose sentencing will be delayed until he undergoes a
court-ordered evaluation.

Defense attorney Alexander Z. Nappan had requested the court clinic
evaluation of his client because he said Shea suffers from a
psychiatric problem. "I don't know what it is, but I have never
encountered this in a client before," he told Ford.

Assistant District Attorney Robert W. Kinzer III told Ford that he
would recommend a year in jail for the heroin charge. However, Kinzer
said he may ask for less time on that charge depending on the results
of the evaluation. Shea also faces one count of distribution of
cocaine and committing a drug violation within a drug-free school
zone, Kinzer noted. He told Ford he would ask for an additional two
years in jail on the school zone charge; the sentence from the
heroin charge would run concurrent with that sentence.

Shea, who wore khakis and a black shirt, appeared nervous and shaking
during the hearing. His family sat in the back of the courtroom. Shea
told Ford that he has been hospitalized for depression and heroin
addiction. According to Kinzer, Shea was found in possession of
heroin and related paraphernalia in Great Barrington on Sept. 17, 2004.

Most of the remaining cases from the sting operation are pending.
However, Alexandra Brenner, 18, of State Road, Great Barrington,
pleaded guilty in July to one count of distribution of marijuana. Her
case was continued in Central Berkshire District Court without a
guilty finding until March.

Another defendant, Kyle Sawin, 18, of Otis, was found not guilty in
September after being tried twice on charges of selling marijuana in
a drug free school zone. His first trial ended in a mistrial when
the jury could not reach a verdict.