A Malta man who was driving drugged in Guilderland was sentenced on Jan. 8 to one to three years in state prison by Judge Gerald W. Connolly in Albany County Drug Court.

The Albany County District Attorney’s Office said in a release that events unfolded this way:

Troy Labelle, 24, was arrested on March 9, 2016, at about 10:49 p.m., on I-90 for driving while impaired by marijuana and heroin and while his license was suspended or revoked.

State Police saw him driving erratically at the toll plaza in Guilderland. When he was stopped, Labelle had signs of impairment, failed field sobriety tests, and had about 1.6 grams of heroin in his car. He admitted he’d smoked marijuana and later admitted that the heroin was his.

A test confirmed marijuana and morphine in his blood. Labelle had two previous driving-related convictions; his license was suspended at the time of the incident.

On Oct. 24, 2016, Labelle pleaded guilty before Judge Connolly to driving while ability impaired as a felony, and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, also a felony. At that time, Labelle agreed to participate in the Albany County drug-court program and signed a drug-court agreement stating that, if he were unsuccessfully discharged from the program or violated the terms of probation, he would be sentenced to a term in state prison.

Labelle violated the terms of the participation agreement by failing to appear in court or for drug-court meetings with drug-court staff for several months. He also failed to inform drug-court staff of his current address, and remained out of contact with the court for over 11 months. An arrest warrant was issued and Labelle was subsequently taken into custody.

The case was prosecuted by Vehicular Crimes Bureau Chief Mary Tanner-Richter.