Judge dismisses Sean Sutton drug case

[boksooner]

TULSA, Okla. -- The drug case against former Oklahoma State basketball coach Sean Sutton has been dismissed by a judge and his record has been expunged.

Sutton's attorney, Trace Morgan, confirmed Friday that Payne County Associate District Judge Stephen Kistler had granted Sutton's motion to speed up his deferred sentence.

Sutton was arrested in February 2010 after agents from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs said he picked up a shipment under another person's name that included about 40 pills, including the anti-anxiety drug clonazepam and two forms of the stimulant adderall.

The agency had previously placed Sutton in a drug rehab program but, according to court documents, he ended up meeting two people who would become his suppliers after he got out.

Sutton was sentenced a year ago to three years of probation and the possibility he would be cleared of any charges and a felony conviction if he stayed clean through Aug. 9, 2013. He pleaded guilty to four charges tied to illegally obtaining prescription drugs, admitted he had a drug problem and then checked into a rehabilitation center after his arrest.

As part of his plea deal, Sutton agreed to testify against two people who allegedly supplied him with drugs. He was also ordered to pay more than $2,850 in fines, perform 100 hours of community service and complete more drug treatment.

Sutton is the son of Eddie Sutton, the former basketball coach who won more than 800 games in a career that included a stint at the Betty Ford Center to fight an alcohol addiction between his time at Kentucky and his return to Oklahoma State, his alma mater.

Continued

 

[coolm]

pretty much defeats the purpose of expungement when your conviction is carried by every member of the local media.

 

[bocabull]

We always knew he was a rat. Testified against suppliers as part of his plea.

Sutton clan is 100% pure no class white trash.

 

[SuperHoops]

He didn't testify against them.

 

[tycat947]

I'm surprised his record would be expunged. I'm not sure that if any "Joe" from the street had experienced the identical circumstances, would they have had their record cleared as well?

 

[coolm]

truthfully he doesnt need his expunged like regular folk might...unless he's planning to get another.

 

[garyeb2]

I'm surprised his record would be expunged. I'm not sure that if any "Joe" from the street had experienced the identical circumstances, would they have had their record cleared as well?

Any "Joe" off the street would still be in jail. But, the reality is that anyone with money and no priors could have worked the same deal.

The criminal justice system works like this: You are guilty until proven innocent. If you have money, you are innocent.

I'm not saying that is a particularly bad system. It is just not the way it is advertised.

 

[sdcloud9]

The newspaper I work for is currently covering a city official who is facing the same charges that Sutton faced.

It will be interesting to see if the result is the same.

 

[sooner333]

Generally if you get a deferred sentence, the court record gets expunged upon successful completion (technically the case is dismissed and there is no conviction). What is happening is the norm, except that it's fairly rare that a deferred would be reduced like that.

Now if you want the arrest off your record, that's a different story.

 

[PasoPoke]

We always knew he was a rat. Testified against suppliers as part of his plea.

Sutton clan is 100% pure no class white trash.

Is this supposed to be in blue?

So protecting drug dealers is the stand up thing to do?