Restaurant owner gets four years in prison for selling cocaine

CANTON — The owner of a Jamaican restaurant will serve four years in state prison for selling cocaine at his business.

Ainsley N. "Matthew" Edwards,26, of 55 Sweeney Road, Potsdam, was sentenced Monday in St. Lawrence County Court by Judge Jerome J. Richards on second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, a felony.

Mr. Edwards, who didn't say anything before sentencing, also received five years of post-release supervision. He could have received a 10-year prison term.

He admitted selling about 3 ounces of cocaine May 1 to a female confidential informant for $5,100 at Leonie's Jamaican Cuisine on Miner Street.

Judge Richards also ordered him to pay $3,300 in restitution.

His codefendant, Rafael Santos, 26, of 214 Randall Road, Lisbon, was sentenced last month to four years in prison for having 12 ounces of cocaine when St. Lawrence County Drug Task Force members raided his home in May.

The drug task force in all reportedly seized 17 ounces of cocaine.

In other court proceedings:

Mark A. Simonds,30, of 280 County Route 41, Winthrop, was sentenced to 120 days in St. Lawrence County jail.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal sexual act. He admitted having sex with a then-14-year-old girl in December 2008 in the town of Lawrence.