NORTHAMPTON — The kindly woman listened in court Tuesday to accounts of how sorry the man who stole from her was and how he desperately wanted to do better. Just as she’d done so many times before, she told the judge.
Susan Parker, 67, sat in Hampshire Superior Court as Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Jayme Parent explained to a judge that the man Parker rented an apartment to last year ravaged her home — in the same building — and cashed more than $3,000 in her own checks he wrote to himself.
Torin M. Traynor, 30, pleaded guilty to two counts of larceny greater than $250 from a person older than 60, two counts of check forgery, two counts of uttering a false check and daytime breaking and entering. Parent called on Judge Richard Carey to come down on Traynor with prison time, as the man faced a maximum of 10 years in state prison for each charge.
“He’s an individual who’s shown he’s not taking this seriously,” Parent said in court, citing Traynor’s history of violating previous probation terms. “He continues to commit crimes while on probation.”
This is a crime, Parent continued, that changed Parker’s “entire outlook” on people.
“She’s really at a point now where she’s a different person,” Parent told the judge.
But Traynor’s attorney, Lisa Lippiello, said any crime the judge could point to was directly related to her client’s history of substance abuse. He wasn’t a criminal, Lippiello said. He was a drug addict who did criminal things.
Lippiello told Carey about Traynor’s protracted journey, shuffling from jail to probation to treatment programs and how none of it had worked. But this time, she assured the judge, Traynor really could change, so long as he was admitted to specialized treatment at Wyman Community Re-entry Program, where he would spend at least three months after his time behind bars.
“Some people just can’t (recover) alone,” she said, “and he’s one of those people.”
Before Carey sentenced Traynor, he called on Parker to address the court.
Parker, who was seated with a victim advocate, rose slowly from her court bench, gripping the divider in front of her to maintain balance.
She told the court that this was a man she wanted to see the best in — a man who in spring 2015 was down on his luck and fresh out of his most recent treatment program. So she allowed him to perform light maintenance outside the complex she owns on Graves Avenue in exchange for a reduced rent.
Eventually, Traynor began neglecting the work and fell behind on his rent, Parker said. He wrote letter after letter, each one an outpouring of apologies, begging her not to “give up on him.”
Parker said she realized the crimes Traynor admitted to were factors of addiction, but that didn’t mean he shouldn’t be held accountable. She implored Carey, when handing down a sentence, to attempt to strike a balance between what was justified and what would help Traynor rehabilitate.
Parker told the court that, aside from her money, she was robbed of the right to feel safe in her own home. She told the court of the needles and wrecked apartment Traynor left in his wake.
“This is what was brought into my life,” Parker said. “I can hardly stand here without shaking.”
The judge echoed Parker’s sentiments and sentenced Traynor to two years in the House of Correction, with credit for 90 days served, followed by three years probation. As part of the conditions of his probation, Traynor must also participate in the Wyman program pending admission.
The jail sentence will begin after Traynor completes a 2½-year sentence he is serving for violations of probation.
All things considered, Lippiello said after the hearing, this was a sentence she thought struck a fair balance.
“He doesn’t want to get out (of jail) to be out,” she added. “He wants to get out when he’s ready to be out.”
Leaving the courthouse Tuesday, Parker tried to articulate to a reporter her emotional state in that moment.
“My friends are upset with me because I’m not more angry,” Parker said. “I’m sad.”
In her time getting to know Traynor — even after she was let down or lied to time after time — she just kept wanting to help however she could, she said.
“It sucks you in,” she added. “Some of us want to believe the best in people.”
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com or 413-585-5234.