Hunterdon County authorities announced Tuesday that Cassandra Durkin, age 22, of Hamilton, had been sentenced Feb. 28 to three years probation and 364 days in the Hunterdon County Jail for multiple crimes committed in Lambertville.
In a press release, Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns, III and Chief of Detectives John J. Kuczynski announced the sentencing after Ms. Durkin pled guilty to a burglary in which she entered her former employer’s business and took cash to support her drug habit.
At the time of this crime, Ms. Durkin had been enrolled in a pretrial intervention program for credit card theft. In the theft case, Ms. Durkin had stolen her mother’s credit card with the proceeds also used to support her drug habit. She had also previously pled guilty to the credit card theft, authorities said. As a result of the burglary, she was subsequently terminated from the PTI program for the violation, according to the press release.
Ms. Durkin also pled guilty to attempted uttering of a forged instrument from a Mercer County matter that was consolidated with the charges in Hunterdon County. In the Mercer County case, Ms. Durkin attempted to cash a forged check at a TD Bank when an alert bank teller became suspicious of the transaction, per the release.
Ms. Durkin has remained in the Hunterdon County Jail since October awaiting a transfer to an in-patient drug treatment program. Her drug treatment program will be monitored as part of the three- year term of probation. She has also been ordered to pay mandatory fines, penalties and restitution to the victims.
In the event she violates her probation, authorities said, she faces up to five years in state prison for the third degree charges. She additionally was sentenced to a fourth degree crime, which has a maximum sentence of up to 18 months in prison.
According to Prosecutor Kearns, the case presents an all to familiar case of drug additiction leading to property crimes.
”We hope Ms. Durkin completes her in-patient drug treatment program and takes the steps necessary to turn her life around,” he said. “Those convicted of such crimes find that a period of incarceration, immediately followed by professional in-patient treatment, provide the best roadmap to recovery. The New Jersey Drug Court program continues to expand to meet the rise in crimes associated with drug addiction.
”Hunterdon County has a model drug court program and several treatment based providers to assist those defendants with substance abuse issues,” he added.
Anonymous tips to law enforcement can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-321-0010 or by going to www.crimestoppershunterdon.com, or text messaging “HCTIPS” plus your tip message to 274637 (CRIMES).
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