An Elkins man was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to a heroin-related charge in Randolph County Circuit Court.
Anthony Francis Silvester III, 32, entered a guilty plea in May to delivery of a controlled substance, a felony. According to the indictment, Silvester allegedly delivered four "stamps" of heroin on April 28, 2010.
During the May hearing, Silvester told Circuit Judge Jaymie Godwin Wilfong that he is currently serving a two to 15 year prison sentence on two felony uttering convictions and a conviction for fleeing from a police officer.
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Silvester
On Thursday, Silvester said he had been transferred to a work release facility and will go before the parole board on July 6. He said that prison gave him the wake-up call needed to turn his life around.
"I was a very selfish, self-centered young man," Silvester said. "The true victims in this crime are my loved ones. I've neglected my family and my 2-year-old son."
Silvester said earlier he got hooked on opiates after having ankle surgery in 2006.
He has said he is a college graduate who previously worked in human resources for a pharmaceutical company, and then "lost everything" due to his drug addiction.
"My addiction saturated every fiber of my being," Silvester said. "I made a lot of poor choices."
His attorney, Raymond LaMora, said that Silvester has a job lined up in Elkins for when he's released from prison. Silvester has served nearly two full years in prison, LaMora said.
Wilfong sentenced Silvester to one to 15 years in prison, and suspended the sentence, placing him on five years of supervised probation.
Silvester must also participate fully in the Community Corrections program and Randolph County's upcoming Adult Drug Court program.
"If I felt you were a risk to the community, I would lock you up," Wilfong said to Silvester during sentencing. "I think you're able to be an asset to the community and I will hold you to that."
