Published: October 15, 2008 12:37 am            

CITY OF TONAWANDA: Gabrys sentenced to probation for neglect

While noting that her behavior was “not normal,” Tonawanda City Court Judge Joseph J. Cassata on Tuesday spared Pamela Gabrys jail time for neglecting to care for her disabled boyfriend for a month last spring.

“This is not normal behavior. A normal person doesn’t do what you did,” Cassata told Gabrys, 52, after sentencing her to one year probation and ordering her to successfully undergo treatment and counseling from Horizon Health Services.

In addition, the judge issued a modified order of protection barring Gabrys from having any offensive contact with the 54-year-old victim, who was recently released from Erie County Medical Center and placed in a skilled nursing facility.

“All things considered, we think it’s best for her and the person involved,” Gabrys’ attorney, Alan Donatelli, said after the sentencing.

Gabrys and the victim had been living together on Canton Street for 10 years when he suffered a stroke last March. The ailment rendered the man helpless, and he was left on the bedroom floor for a month in his own urine and feces before Gabrys called police for help.

Gabrys told police that she waited so long to call for help because her boyfriend told her that he didn’t want to go to the hospital.

As a Class A misdemeanor, Gabrys could have faced 90 days in jail for the charge of attempted endangering the welfare of an incompetent person.

“I gave this tremendous and long thought, because it’s a very serious charge,” Cassata said. When Gabrys appeared in court in July, Cassata requested a recommendation from the state Probation Department on whether Gabrys should receive probation, which her attorney requested.

The Probation Department’s report, Cassata said, indicated that Gabrys acted the way she did because of a “special and unique set of circumstances” and that she would not be “a significant risk of re-offending.”

Contact reporter David J. Hill at 693-1000, ext. 115.

        

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