Judge reviews rehab proposal
A Fayette County judge agreed Thursday to evaluate whether a Uniontown man could take part in a drug treatment program that relies upon a monthly injection that curbs cravings for alcohol and opiates. Attorney Angelo Papa Jr. said a shot of Vivitrol every 28 days would block Michael Hickenbottom from feeling the euphoric effects of opiates and alcohol, and stop his cravings for them.
Hickenbottom, 38, is currently serving prison time after his parole was revoked because he tested positive for marijuana.
The Uniontown native is serving a sentence for possession of marijuana, which he said during his trial last year he smoked daily.
Papa said Hickenbottom would continue to be monitored, and drug tested under the treatment program – for which Hickenbottom would be financially responsible. Additionally, Fayette County Adult Probation Office would also be able to supervise Hickenbottom.
He if doesn’t adhere to the program, Papa assured Judge Steve P. Leskinen that Hickenbottom would be back in court – without him as an attorney.
“It sounds like it is appropriate to me,” Leskinen said, noting that he wants to see a contract signed by Hickenbottom before making a final decision. “I don’t see why he should keep using the county’s money to keep him in prison when he can use his own money to stay out of prison.”
Papa, from the firm Signature Hill in New Castle, said that Vivitrol, and the accompanying drug treatment program is “total abstinence therapy.”
The drug, a brand name for the substance naltrexone, is not addictive like methadone or suboxine, two other drugs used to treat opiate addiction, Papa said.
Papa said the injection of Vivitrol would stop Hickenbottom, the father of a Uniontown boy who was shot and killed by police in 2000, from getting high off of marijuana or alcohol. While Hickenbottom’s parole violations stemmed from marijuana use, Papa said it’s not uncommon for people who stop using opiates to start drinking alcohol.
The problem comes when people who substitute alcohol for marijuana eventually drive, putting everyone at risk, he said.
When a judge in another county asked why this treatment program was different, Papa said he told the judge that it allows a person to take control of their body.
“When was the last time a person told their pancreas what to do, and it listened?” he asked.
The Vivitrol does that, Papa said.
Leskinen said if the program were inpatient treatment, he would have granted the motion to transfer Hickenbottom from prison to the program without a hearing.
The proposed treatment program is flexible and can be inpatient or outpatient, and could include an ankle bracelet that checks for alcohol consumption, Papa said.
“I almost always would like to have a defendant in inpatient treatment than prison when there’s substance abuse involved,” Leskinen said. “I don’t want to spend $30,000 keeping someone in prison when something else will work better.”
District Attorney Jack R. Heneks Jr. said he would not object to inpatient treatment in lieu of prison time.
Hickenbottom’s son, Michael Ellerbe, was 12 when he was shot while fleeing from police in the East End section of Uniontown. He sued police and initially won a $28 million verdict. After the appeal was filed, the case was settled for $12.5 million.