Six-year path to suspended sentence on 40+ charges doesn't sit well with Velardi

A courtin' too slow: Strafford County Attorney Tom Velardi says 'constant judicial intervention' allowed the case against Stephanie Lee MacDonald to drag on and on. (Velardi, courtesy; MacDonald, Rochester Police photo)

DOVER - County Attorney Tom Velardi believes mental health or drug issues shouldn't be a "ticket out of responsibility for criminal behavior," but that it was in the case of a local transient who drew a suspended sentence after pleading guilty last month to more than 50 crimes including felonies.

Stephanie Lee MacDonald, 40, was living on Franklin Street in Somersworth when she was arrested three times for trafficking drugs including heroin and crack in July and August 2015.

Those 2015 arrests were among those adjudicated on July 30 when MacDonald pleaded guilty to more than 50 separate charges including drug possession, theft and assaults over a six-year period.

What vexes Velardi most is that he's "tried for over a year and half to have her held accountable with jailtime" for her repeated offenses, he said on Monday.

"Most of these acts were committed while she was out on bail," he added in frustration.

Velardi said never in his career had he seen a case like this, calling it an "outlier."

He said he fought for jail time, but "constant judicial intervention" made it clear the court had no appetite for incarceration, instead seeking treatment options.

The 2015 case, which comprises 11 pages of plea dates, failures to appear, bail infractions and arrest warrants, was the oldest of the more than 50 complaints disposed of on July 30.

Many of the arrests were for minor infractions, Velardi agreed, but the sheer volume called for prison time, he said.

"Because she committed 50 crimes, at some point when thy commit that many crimes they become a danger to the community even though they aren't major crimes," he noted, adding the public should not have to continue to suffer from her bad acts.

Velardi stressed that he had no complaints about defense counsel saying they were just doing their job.

If anything he was disappointed with judges, several of whom have handled the case over the six years.

"I respect judges, but I do not agree with this outcome and the way they were handled by the court," he said.

He said after many bail infractions, the court did finally allow MacDonald to be held at Strafford County Jail, where she spent 78 days straight prior to her release after the July 30 plea.

In the years since 2015 she had been processed into the jail some 27 times with stays anywhere between three and 77 days each, jail personnel said today.

Velardi said fruition of the July 30 plea and sentencing, even though it included no additional jail time, still took roughly a year and a half of negotiations with defense counsel and the court.

Strafford County Assistant Attorney Hannah Carlson, who prosecuted the case, said MacDonald will also have to pay restitution for any applicable theft charges.