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Judge gives hard-luck drug defendant a break

By JAMAL THALJI
Published June 16, 2006

NEW PORT RICHEY - Joshua Dean Melvin and his family have never had it easy. His mother had to care for and raise nine children on her own. Cancer took their father. They had no electricity, no running water. And after an auto accident, one less older brother.

That's why the boy fell into drugs, his lawyer said, and also why he shouldn't go to prison for it.

It's a sad story judges hear all the time.

Circuit Judge Stanley Mills heard Melvin's sad tale Thursday - and he believed it.

"I don't buy any of the crap that you're not a drug dealer," the judge said. "It's just dumb luck you have a judge somewhat familiar with the circumstance of your growing up.

"But this is your last chance."

The plight of the Melvin family is known to the judge because it's known to his wife. Before she retired after 31 years as a teacher, one of Jeanne Mills' assignments was Hudson Elementary School. The Melvin family's struggles are well known there.

It's also why when Melvin threw himself at the mercy of the court, the court chose to show some.

The 21-year-old Hudson man pleaded guilty to a felony charge of possession of cocaine and misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and paraphernalia. The prosecution wanted 18 months in prison for Melvin. Instead, the judge sentenced him to six months of community control - house arrest - and after that, 18 months of drug offender probation with a strict 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

The judge found Melvin guilty of the misdemeanor charges, but did not adjudicate him guilty of the felony. Melvin was spared becoming a convicted felon, the judge said, because it was his first felony arrest. Melvin, who dropped out of school in the seventh grade, has several misdemeanor arrests on his record, including a battery charge when he was 14. He also has several pending traffic violations.

But Melvin does stucco work now, defense attorney Ronald Tulin said, and is getting help through Narcotics Anonymous. "He deserved a break," the lawyer said. "He's had a rough life."

The judge agreed, recalling not just the Melvin family's story, but how they coped, too. The school's staff noted how clean the children were, despite their water situation. The mother made sure their clothes were literally "hand washed," as the judge put it.

Assistant State Attorney Jim Goodenow was concerned with the thick wad of money and 25.5 grams of cocaine sheriff's deputies found Melvin with in 2005.

"Mr. Melvin is a drug dealer," the prosecutor said. "He had $3,000 cash on him, and was 2.5 grams short of a trafficking charge."

A trafficking charge would have meant a mandatory three-year prison stint for Melvin.

"He lives in a one-bedroom trailer," Tulin said. "It doesn't exactly back up what the state is saying."

"(Having) $3,000 in cash doesn't exactly back up what you're saying, counselor," the judge said.

The judge believes Melvin's story, but only up to a point. Don't violate your probation, the judge warned him, and don't come back.

"If you want to do some low-rent version of Miami Vice in Pasco County," Mills said, "I'll show you a low-rent version of state prison."

[Last modified June 16, 2006, 07:33:01]