NEWFIELD MAN GETS 15 TO LIFE

$300,000 Worth Of Cocaine Was Seized From Dorm Room

ITHACA -- A Newfield man convicted of drug charges in the largest case of
cocaine possession in Tompkins County history has been sentenced to serve
15 years to life in state prison.

William Marshall, 20, was sentenced Wednesday by Tompkins County Judge M.
John Sherman.

Marshall was charged by the Tompkins County Sheriff's Department on Dec. 5
after at least $300,000 worth of cocaine was seized from his room in a dorm
adjacent to Tompkins Cortland Community College.

In addition to the 3.5 pounds of cocaine, 39 tablets of Ecstasy and scales
and packaging materials were found in the Cortland Hall dormitory.

Marshall and his three roommates were charged with drug possession
following the seizure. In an earlier interview with The Journal, District
Attorney George Dentes said charges against the roommates were dropped
because of insufficient proof.

Marshall was convicted May 30 in Tompkins County Court. A nonjury trial
found him guilty of all of the charges listed in a 10-count indictment.

Sherman sentenced Marshall to serve the following for the May conviction:

- - Fifteen years to life on each of three counts of first-degree criminal
possession of a controlled substance, a Class A-1 felony;

- - Five to 15 years on each of three counts of third-degree criminal
possession of a controlled substance, a Class B felony;

- - Three to nine years on one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of
a controlled substance, a Class C felony;

- - One year on one count of seventh-degree criminal possession of a
controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor;

- - One year on two counts of second-degree criminally using drug
paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor. Sherman ordered that Marshall's
sentences be served concurrently.

Marshall's sentence is the minimum under New York's Rockefeller-era drug
laws. He must serve at least 15 years before he is eligible for parole.

Tompkins County Sheriff Peter Meskill said he was elated to know that
Deputy Dawn Caulkins and Dryden Police Officer Dale Barhite made the drug
bust possible.

Caulkins and Barhite were the first officers to apprehend Marshall and
secure the drugs the night of his arrest.

"What it points out to me is that I have a lot of great people working for
me every single day," Meskill said. "They're working hard to rid our
community of this type of activity with normal, good, everyday police work."