The sentencing has been delayed for a Le Roy man who fled to South Carolina after being charged with assault in the second degree for punching and kicking another person in the head in October, 2010.
James Russell Kosiorek, 20, formerly of Myrtle Street, was scheduled to be sentenced today, but Noonan postponed his decision until a more current mental health report could be produced.
A fugitive for a year, Kosiorek was returned to Genesee County in August after a potential employer's background check turned up a warrant.
Last month, Kosiorek entered a guilty plea to the assault charge with an agreement that his bail jumping charge was also satisfied by the plea. The sentence cap is one to three years, but Noonan could impose a lesser sentence, including probation or local jail time for less than a year.
After a lengthy statement by Kosiorek, which he tried to read, but Public Defender Gary Horton had to complete after he broke down crying a couple of times, Noonan asked to speak to Horton and ADA Kevin Finnell in a sidebar.
After the private discussions, Noonan said the issue was about the apparent incomplete mental health report in the presentence report. There was no information about mental health treatment -- or not -- after 2008. Noonan said he couldn't determine an appropriate sentence without that information.
Kosiorek's statement, he said, was the product of much reflection and a sincere desire to do the right thing for his fiance and baby daughter.
"I've promised her a better life than I've had for myself," Kosiorek said. "I will make it happen for her no matter what it takes and in the proper manner."
Prior to the assault, Kosiorek had never been in trouble with the law. He said the assault was a mistake that he regrets.
According to Kosiorek, his older brother died in his arms when he was 13 and as a result he developed a negative viewpoint.
Running away after he was arrested, he said, was an immature reaction, which he regrets.
While in South Carolina, Kosiorek became a father, got a job, rented an apartment and stayed out of trouble.
"I love them both so much," he said.
He also started attending church regularly, he said, and became very devout.
While it was his ambition once to enter the military and make it a career, if a felony conviction means that's no longer possible, he said he intends to go to college and become a better person.
"I want to be somebody who does something that matters," Kosiorek said. "I know I was wrong."
