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Tidioute man sent to state prison for drug deal that nearly caused death

A Tidioute man was sentenced to several years in state prison on Friday for dealing drugs that nearly led to a death.

Destin D. Ecker, 21, of Tidioute, was sentenced before Judge Maureen Skerda for possession with intent to deliver and criminal use of a communication facility.

Ecker’s charges stem from a March 21 incident during which, according to an Oct. 19 WTO story, “Ecker gave Anthony Pollaro two ‘stamp bags’ of heroin in return for driving him to the gas station. Pollaro, reported to police by two others at the scene as a recovering drug addict, was reported to have nine unused syringes, one used syringe and a metal spoon covered in residue in his bag near where he was found after overdosing on the heroin.

Police said they followed the ambulance to Warren General Hospital where EMS workers informed them that Pollaro had died, but was revived with Narcan. Court documents said police used Pollaro’s phone with his permission to set up a meeting with Ecker in Tidioute where he was later arrested and interviewed.

According to a representative from the District Attorney’s Drug Task Force at the time, regarding both charges that were withdrawn, “the victim most likely would have remained unresponsive if the Narcan hadn’t been administered. Based on those statements, investigators believed they had probable cause to ask the magistrate to uphold those charges.”

“I’m not even sure where to begin,” said District Attorney Rob Greene during Friday’s sentencing. “The defendant seems to state that he’s taking full responsibility,” in a letter to Judge Skerda in which Ecker explains his responsibilities and hopes to better himself in the future, But, said Greene, “this letter contains a lot of ‘I’ statements… not one single word about the victim in this case that died, but for Narcan. I don’t believe Mr. Ecker has taken any responsibility. Heroin is an evil in this community that needs to be stamped out.”

Judge Skerda said before handing down Ecker’s sentence that, “there’s really no regret or remorse in terms of the victim, but that’s not why you’re here.”

Skerda said that in Ecker’s letter and during sentencing both he and his attorney “use the word mistake over and over. I don’t sentence people on mistakes. You may feel it’s only a mistake, but you’re (being) held accountable for a crime.”

On possession with intent to deliver, Ecker was sentenced to 12 to 36 months in a state correctional institution, with credit for 254 days served.

On the count of criminal use of a communication facility, Ecker was sentenced to a consecutive nine to 18 months in a state correctional facility.

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