Published: May 15, 2008 07:56 am      

London man pleads guilty to drug charges

Madison Circuit Judge Julia Hylton Adams told a London man Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to multiple charges that she would grant him probation if he would take responsibility for his own health.

Tyson Meyer, 32, entered a guilty plea in Madison Circuit Court to misdemeanor charges of possession of drug paraphernalia (a pen casing) and second-degree fleeing and evading law enforcement. Meyer admitted to being in possession of the pen casing when he reportedly attempted to run from Richmond Police Officer Marti Burton in November 2006 after she told him to stop.

The charges stemmed from an incident at Casa Fiesta restaurant where the business owners were complaining of a theft of services. When Burton responded, she said previously that Meyer started to walk away from her and in an attempt to stop him, she cuffed one of his hands. He began to run and after chasing him around several businesses, Burton got him to the ground, but he got up again.

Burton never let go of the cuff, which still was attached to Meyer’s wrist, she said. The two went down an embankment to a car wash, where Burton was able to get him to the ground again. By that time, Burton said more officers had arrived at the scene and helped her to finish cuffing Meyer and arresting him.

As a result of the incident, Burton suffered a broken arm and minor shoulder separation. Charges of third-degree assault on a police officer were dismissed by a previous grand jury.

Meyer was indicted in February 2007 on felony charges of first-degree possession of heroin, first-degree possession of oxycodone and methadone, second-degree possession of hydrocodone and third-degree possession of Diazepam after the pen casing was tested for drugs and returned evidence of the aforementioned narcotics. When tested at Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center following his arrest, Meyer tested negative for having any of the drugs in his system.

Meyer entered no contest pleas, also called an Alford plea, to those charges, admitting that the commonwealth had enough evidence to successfully prosecute him on the charges while still not pleading gulty. The resisting arrest and persistent felony offender charges were dismissed by the commonwealth.

Assistant Common-wealth’s Attorney Moriah Greer recommended that Meyer receive a two-year sentence on each of the first-degree possession charges as well as 12 months each on the remaining four charges. She recommended that the sentences be served at the same time for a sentence of not more than two years and had no objections to Meyer’s probation.

Benefit of the doubt

After Adams accepted Meyer’s guilty plea, public defender Scott West requested that formal sentencing for his client be waived and that Adams address Meyer’s sentencing Wednesday.

At that time, West explained that since being incarcerated, Meyer has been diagnosed with several, severe illnesses, including a cyst at the bottom of his tailbone filled with infection, a chest wall abscess and a painful lump on his scrotum.

Meyer is taking 14 drugs, including several antibiotics, for his condition. While he was found competent to proceed with trial, West said Meyer was so focused on his medical condition that he could not focus on the legal issues before him.

West also argued that the length of time the case has been lingering in the court system, in part, because of Meyer’s medical issues.

“He would have been out a year ago,” West said, had Meyer not been battling his illnesses.

From a wheelchair, Meyer told Adams that dealing with his medical condition while serving out time at the Kentucky State Reformatory for violating his parole has been “a nightmare.”

“It is just a horrible place,” Meyer said. “There are people there basically dying every day.”

Meyer contended that he could not get proper medical treatment in the state’s prison system and that he had lost his self dignity as a result of his illness.

Adams disagreed.

“This disease has not robbed you of your self dignity,” she told Meyer. “You did that yourself when you took off when the police officer said stop. I know you are very capable of dramatic behavior. I know you are a very intelligent man. It is also clear to me that the only person in your world that matters is you.

“I am not your mother,” Adams said. “To say I don’t care about how you feel would be an understatement. It does not impress me one way or another. ... Give it up. You will be as well as you put your mind to.”

With that said, Adams told Meyer she was going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“I am going to treat you like you are the only person in the world,” she said. “I will probate your sentence ... for a period of one year. If you have medical issues, you need to take responsibility for them and tend to them yourself.”

As part of his probation, Meyer will have to obtain and maintain full-time employment once he takes care of his medical conditions, be supervised by probation and parole and live by their rules, including being tested for drugs and alcohol.

“I really have no doubt you can do this,” Adams said. “You want me to care about your health. I want YOU to care about your health. Do something about it. If I see you back in here, I will be greatly disappointed.”

Kelly Foreman can be reached at kforeman@richmondregister.com or 624-6694.