LIVINGSTON COUNTY – A judge once again sentenced the Dansville woman who served six months in jail for trying to run over her husband. This time, the sentence is to state prison.
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County Court Judge Robert Wiggins sentenced Lois Mark, 53, to 1 to 3 years in prison for a Violation of Probation over her tearful request to stay in local jail. She admits that less than a week after she finished her 6 months at the Livingston County Jail for felony Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree, she illegally contacted her husband, who had an active order of protection against her.
“I know if I go to prison I will not make it,” said Mark through tears. “I’ve had a very hard time as it is. I was 185 when I went in and now I’m 130 pounds. My nerves are killing me. I can’t stop thinking about all of the dumb stuff that I’ve done.”
When she pled guilty, Mark said that she saw her husband on a motorcycle with another woman, became ‘angry and upset and mad’ and tried to run him over.
Assistant District Attorney Josh Tonra, who prosecuted the case, requested that the Judge sentence Mark to prison.
“Your Honor, within a matter of days Ms. Mark violated the order of protection,” said Tonra. “She has mental health issues which are not being sufficiently addressed. She is a danger to herself, her estranged husband and anyone her husband is fraternizing with or dating. We ask that she be sentenced to 1 to 3 in DOCCS [prison.]”
Mark’s defense attorney, Assistant Public Defender Lindsay Pratt Quintilone, asked the Judge to sentence her client to the Livingston County Jail.
“I would agree with one thing that Mr. Tonra has said, and that’s that Ms. Mark needs mental health services that are not being addressed while incarcerated,” said Quintilone. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that this has been a very confusing time for her, as it would be for anyone in her position. The man to whom she was married for 27 years, who requested an order of protection for her, has not indicated in his actions that he has any intention of ceasing to contact her. In jail she was written by her husband. He put money in her commissary, none of which he reported to law enforcement. We’ve had lengthy conversations about how she needs to move past her husband and look for support from her friends, family and mental health counselors. […] Sending her to DOCCS is not the right answer in this case. We ask that you sentence her to a local jail sentence and not send her to state prison, where her family cannot be close to her and support her.”
Wiggins explained his decision to send Mark to prison as she broke down in tears.
“This court and I think every court has always been sympathetic for what has happened in your life and pushed you over the edge so to speak, for lack of a better phrase,” said Wiggins. “The problem is that I also have an obligation to protect the community. I don’t have the right to experiment with you at the risk of someone else. […] From the bottom of my heart, ma’am, I wish you the best. I hope you get turned around.”