ELIZABETHTOWN — One of the two men who pled guilty to manslaughter in January for the death of Kenneth Darrah at AuSable Chasm last year was sentenced in Essex County Court Monday.

Michael J. Rougeau, 49, of Plattsburgh, was handed down a 25-year determinate sentence with a 5-year post release supervision by Judge Richard Meyer for his connection to Darrah’s murder.

The other man connected to Darrah’s murder, Michael A. Nastasia, 31, had his sentencing postponed to April 22 after he requested a different attorney from his current one, Marc Zuckerman.

This was a “horrific, disgusting act on your part,” Meyer told Rougeau before handing down the sentence.

“As much as I tried to, I can’t find a reason for doing this to another human being.”

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2023 Death

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As previously reported by the Press-Republican, Darrah’s body was found on the bank of the Ausable River on March 20, 2023 and an autopsy showed he died from loss of blood from multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma.

State Police said the three men had a late-night altercation before Darrah was killed.

Rougeau and Nastasia, who were accused of stabbing Darrah and throwing him off the Ausable Chasm Bridge in Chesterfield, had both entered pleas of guilty to manslaughter in the first degree in January.

Thanks to that plea agreement, both men revealed “why” they killed Darrah. Essex County Assistant District Attorney Mike Langey recounted that “why” in court Monday.

Langey said the two men believed Darrah, 37, of Keeseville, was a “snitch” and providing information to police about people they knew.

“They decided he deserved to die,” Langey said ahead of sentencing. “And he did die: one of the most tragic, violent deaths I’ve seen in 26 years.”

The 25-year determinant sentence was the maximum requested by Langey. He said this sentence will ensure Rougeau, who was represented by Essex County public defender Emily Evatt, does all 25 years.

“Unfortunately, that’s the most I can do in this case,” Meyer said.

He then said under no circumstances, under his view, should Rougeau be granted parole from the sentence. Meyer said he should have to “serve every single day.”

Nastasia, in addition to requesting a new lawyer, and in a bit of a surprise to the court, wanted to withdraw his guilty plea before his sentencing.

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‘I was a driver’

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Nastasia claimed he had been given physical evidence sent to him in the mail that may help prove his innocence and now wanted to go to trial.

“I know I’m being railroaded,” Nastasia claimed.

“I had nothing to do with the murder; I was a driver,” he said.

Meyer, however, said it seemed like Nastasia was just having second thoughts about going forward with the guilty plea agreement, which would also presumably have him sentenced to the same 25-year determinant sentence.

There’s “no reason to withdraw the guilty plea,” he said.

Meyer added that there was significant evidence Nastasia was present at the time of the incident as well, and pointed out when Darrah was found, Nastasia was able to identify a body at the bottom of the chasm from the bridge that state troopers could not even see with their high-end flashlights looking down.

Because there was no evidence of coercion or fraud when Nastasia entered his guilty plea, Meyer said it was at his “sole discretion” to decide whether or not to withdraw Nastasia’s guilty plea.

Meyer then denied his request to withdraw.

“It is my right (to a trial) … you’re breaking your own laws,” Nastasia said.

After some back and forth with the judge, Nastasia was then placed in contempt of court by Meyer, of which Nastasia now may face six months of jail time and a $1,000 fine.

“Do what you got to do,” Nastasia then told Meyer before being taken out of the courtroom.

“Have a nice life.”

District Attorney Kristy Sprague said after the court appearance was over that unless there is coercion, he was mistaken for some reason, or he can show that he didn’t enter the plea knowingly, intelligently, voluntarily for whatever reason, if there’s a basis in the law to do that, then Nastasia can withdraw his plea.

“Right now that is not there. That is not on the record,” Sprague said.

“There’s nothing that he said today that would make that a viable option to withdraw. To be quite frank, I think for the families … their best interest is not to go to trial, but every fiber in me wanted to stand up and say ‘let’s go to trial,’ because there’s no indication that he was being railroaded as he said.”

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‘He’s got to be sentenced’

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Sprague said Nastasia was afforded the opportunity to have a trial but waived that right by taking the plea.

“We can’t uproot every plea offer or a plea that has been entered under oath with counsel knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently just because someone changes their mind and decides that ‘well, I don’t want that sentence,’ she said.

“Just as we can’t go in as a prosecutor and say, ‘Oh, we changed our mind. We want to give you more time,’ or ‘We don’t want you to plead to that, now we want you to plea to this.’ You can’t do that. The system is set forth where you enter into an agreement and you do that knowingly and intelligently and it needs to be honored and that’s where we were at today. and he had a different version of how he wanted things to go.”

Sprague now expects the sentencing in April to proceed forward with or without Nastasia’s cooperation.

“We’re at the point where he’s got to be sentenced,” she said.

“So it’s either that or not and then he can try to file an appeal — the limited amount of appeal that he can file but he’s going to try to do everything I think at this juncture. Part of me just wants to say let him; let’s go to trial. We’re ready for trial. I don’t have any qualms about the proof in this case and now that we have Rougeau … part of his offer was to cooperate fully so we would have him testify as well in trial.”