By JULIE JETTE
The Patriot Ledger
DEDHAM - Henry Ochoa, a repeat drunken driver from Weymouth who seriously injured two young Rockland women in a collision last year, will serve his full two years in prison after all.
A clerical error that could have freed Ochoa next month, a year before his jail sentence ends, was significantly compounded by difficulties in getting a transcript to prove his sentence.
Jill O'Bryan and her friend Denille Fedor, both 21, were injured in the crash. O'Bryan, who spent months in a wheelchair and underwent 14 operations, learned of Ochoa's possible early release from a victim's advocate in August.
O'Bryan was notified that Ochoa would begin a community service program and she found out about his mysteriously shortened sentence when she asked why he was starting the program so early.
''I was furious because I wasn't really sure if he was going to get out,'' she said.
Ochoa was sentenced last March to serve two consecutive one-year sentences, but documents prepared in the court clerk's office showed the sentences as concurrent, meaning Ocho would serve only one year.
Norfolk County assistant clerk Janice Uguccioni said that when such errors occur, they are typically cleared up after a prosecutor files a motion to correct the sentencing document.
When there's doubt about the accuracy of a sentence, a judge will refer to the transcript of the sentencing hearing.
In this case, it took months for the court and prosecutors to get the transcript because the court reporter who took it had been ill, Uguccioni said. Transcripts of hearings and trials, saved as speech on tapes or discs, are typically not written out unless a transcript is requested.
Court reporters are independent contractors who do not work directly for the courts.
Yesterday in Norfolk Superior Court, Judge Judith Fabricant granted the motion to correct the record after viewing the transcript.
''The DA worked hard to get the court to rectify this before the projected release date in January, and we're very glad that has come to pass,'' said David Traub, a spokesman for Norfolk District Attorney William Keating's office.
O'Bryan testified last year at legislative hearings on Melanie's Bill, which imposed new penalties for repeat drunken drivers when it was enacted in October. Ochoa was not affected by the law because the crash occurred before it was passed.
Julie Jette may be reached at jjette@ledger.com .
Copyright 2006 The Patriot Ledger
The Patriot Ledger
DEDHAM - Henry Ochoa, a repeat drunken driver from Weymouth who seriously injured two young Rockland women in a collision last year, will serve his full two years in prison after all.
A clerical error that could have freed Ochoa next month, a year before his jail sentence ends, was significantly compounded by difficulties in getting a transcript to prove his sentence.
Jill O'Bryan and her friend Denille Fedor, both 21, were injured in the crash. O'Bryan, who spent months in a wheelchair and underwent 14 operations, learned of Ochoa's possible early release from a victim's advocate in August.
O'Bryan was notified that Ochoa would begin a community service program and she found out about his mysteriously shortened sentence when she asked why he was starting the program so early.
''I was furious because I wasn't really sure if he was going to get out,'' she said.
Ochoa was sentenced last March to serve two consecutive one-year sentences, but documents prepared in the court clerk's office showed the sentences as concurrent, meaning Ocho would serve only one year.
Norfolk County assistant clerk Janice Uguccioni said that when such errors occur, they are typically cleared up after a prosecutor files a motion to correct the sentencing document.
When there's doubt about the accuracy of a sentence, a judge will refer to the transcript of the sentencing hearing.
In this case, it took months for the court and prosecutors to get the transcript because the court reporter who took it had been ill, Uguccioni said. Transcripts of hearings and trials, saved as speech on tapes or discs, are typically not written out unless a transcript is requested.
Court reporters are independent contractors who do not work directly for the courts.
Yesterday in Norfolk Superior Court, Judge Judith Fabricant granted the motion to correct the record after viewing the transcript.
''The DA worked hard to get the court to rectify this before the projected release date in January, and we're very glad that has come to pass,'' said David Traub, a spokesman for Norfolk District Attorney William Keating's office.
O'Bryan testified last year at legislative hearings on Melanie's Bill, which imposed new penalties for repeat drunken drivers when it was enacted in October. Ochoa was not affected by the law because the crash occurred before it was passed.
Julie Jette may be reached at jjette@ledger.com .
Copyright 2006 The Patriot Ledger
