jriddle@thealpenanews.com
News Photo by Julie Riddle
Judge Ed Black presides over Alpena s 26th Circuit Court on Monday.
ALPENA An Alpena County man who turned his life around once should have a chance to do it again, Judge Ed Black said in Alpena’s 26th Circuit Court on Monday.
Though he planned to sentence Jason Obuchowski, of Ossineke, to two years in prison for multiple drug possession charges, Black told the court he was moved to keep the defendant in county jail after an impassioned plea by defense attorney Mike Lamble.
Convicted of crimes in the past, Obuchowski moved past assaultive behavior and addiction before falling into methamphetamine use and getting caught in possession of the drug in fall of 2020, Black said as he contemplated what sentence to impose.
jriddle@thealpenanews.com
Courtesy Photo
A Huron Undercover Narcotics Team detective holds 10 grams of methamphetamine. The drug was involved in at least 11 recent HUNT arrests, including one seizure of nearly 100 grams of the narcotic.
ALPENA Methamphetamines have become a strong presence in Northeast Michigan, law enforcement leaders said at a board meeting for the Huron Undercover Narcotics Team on Friday.
A spate of HUNT arrests at the beginning of the year point to the increase in trafficking of the drug into the area, 1st Lt. John Grimshaw told the board.
Grimshaw, commander of the Michigan State Police-Alpena Post and chairman of the HUNT board of directors, said five or six years ago methamphetamines didn’t have much of a presence in Alpena.