Syracuse, NY — A Syracuse woman, accused of driving under the influence of drugs in a fiery crash on Erie Boulevard East that killed her passenger, spent the weekend in jail after checking herself into rehab for continued drug use.
Aeriel Freeman, 30, was surprised last week after a judge took her into custody for, among other things, leaving town to participate in a voluntary drug detox program in Binghamton. That trip violated the terms of her pretrial release, which forbid her from leaving Onondaga County.
On Monday, defense lawyer Eileen Walsh protested her client being “punished for getting treatment.”
She wasn’t being punished for getting treatment, prosecutor Chris Bednarski responded. She was sent back to jail for leaving the county and admitting that she had used “spike,” also known as synthetic marijuana, which is an illegal drug. (Freeman told authorities that’s why she sought treatment; she wasn’t criminally charged with more drug use.)
Still, Bednarski argued that Freeman’s drug use had already cost a life. She’s accused of being high on drugs at the time of the December 2020 crash that killed Tyshawn East, 24. The high-speed crash east of downtown sent the vehicle bursting into flames and investigators found spent needles in the vehicle afterward.
“The consequence isn’t for seeking treatment,” the prosecutor said. “The consequence is for continuing to do drugs.”
This was the second time Freeman had relapsed and sought treatment in a matter of months, state Supreme Court Justice Rory McMahon said.
Still, Walsh noted that Freeman hadn’t skipped court and hadn’t disappeared. In fact, Freeman had notified her lawyer that she was checking herself into a program at Helio Health, which then sent her to Binghamton for treatment.
Freeman has had a drug addiction problem since she was a teenager and continues to battle it, Walsh told the judge.
“She is truly doing the best she can,” Walsh said. “When she struggles, she goes to treatment.”
Freeman is also awaiting knee replacement surgery; she was brought to court Monday in a wheelchair.
At the time Freeman was sent to jail last week, reports showed that she may have had even more drugs in her system. But Bednarski said Monday that further tests showed those were false positives from legal prescriptions that Freeman was taking for health issues.
McMahon decided Monday to let Freeman go again until trial. She faces up to 7 years in prison if convicted in the fatal crash.
“Ma’am, this is your last chance,” the judge told her.
Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or (315) 470-6070.
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