CORUNNA — Thirty-fifth Circuit Court Judge Matthew Stewart sentenced a methamphetamine dealer to at least five years in prison Friday morning — and the judge wanted to send a message to the community by passing down that sentence.
“You are a drug dealer,” Stewart told Alan Buck before announcing his sentence. “You deal the worst kind of drugs we see here in Shiawassee County. This court will go out of its way to help somebody afflicted with drug addiction and mental health when it can. But that’s not you. You may be an addict but you’re also a dealer.”
Buck pleaded guilty last month to two felony counts of delivery/manufacture of meth and one count of meth possession.
He was credited with 203 days served toward his sentence, and ordered to undergo substance abuse and mental health counseling while serving his sentence with the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Defense attorney Amy Husted asked the court to impose a sentence that included substance abuse counseling and probation.
“Mr. Buck has a substance abuse issue,” Husted said. “He was occasionally sharing with some friends, and using a large amount, up to a gram a day. He would like to get inpatient treatment, and he feels he might have an undiagnosed mental health issue.”
Shiawassee County Assistant Prosecutor Graham Leech noted that meth is a significant problem in Shiawassee County, and was sympathetic to the loss of Buck’s family members, the court should take into account dealing drugs.
“This isn’t just a case of him dealing with his grief,” Leech said. “He was contributing to the meth problem within the community.”
Buck said in a short statement that he should have known better than to even try an addictive substance in the wake of the deaths of family members.
“I didn’t know anything about meth,” Buck said. “I shouldn’t have touched it in the first place. I should have done better.”
“Anything else then?” Stewart asked before telling Buck he was a drug dealer.
“Baggies, scales, powder, pill bottles. You began working for these people. You’re a drug dealer. When drug dealers come before this court, drug dealers generally go to prison. And I don’t see any reason why you should be an exception. I’m going to let the community know that we’re not going to tolerate it. And when we can stop it, we will.”
