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A state appellate court has upheld multiple convictions against a town of Pamelia man serving eight years in state prison stemming from 32 convictions in connection with three separate incidents.
Shawn G. Granger, 39, was sentenced to prison in May 2010 after pleading guilty in Jefferson County Court to drug sale and possession charges, assault, reckless driving and miscellaneous other charges.
He pleaded guilty to, among other things, charges that he conspired with a Bronx man to bring cocaine from New York City for sale in Jefferson County; led Watertown police on a high-speed chase and then injured an officer after his vehicle was halted on Clinton Street and he was found to be in possession of about 13 grams of cocaine; and possessed cocaine, drove while ability impaired by drugs and drove recklessly during an incident in which he left the scene of an accident in which his vehicle had struck an ambulance on Francis Street.
He appealed the judgments based on a variety of arguments to the state Appellate Division, Fourth Department, which on Friday rejected each argument. In one instance, he contended he never admitted in court that he had struck the police officer, but the appellate court ruled that sufficient inquiry was made in County Court as to the circumstances in which the officer was injured. He also contended in two appeals that he had ineffective counsel, but the appellate court ruled that his attorney had negotiated advantageous plea agreements.
The appellate court further ruled that his sentences were not unduly harsh.