SPRINGFIELD - After hearing that defendant Jason Torres wanted to turn his life around, Judge Matthew Shea suggested a possible first step: Turning his T-shirt around.

"Drunk 1" proclaimed the logo on the front of Torres' shirt as he awaited sentencing Friday in Springfield District Court on drug and firearms charges.

"I'm not sure you grasp the gravity of what's happening here," Shea said before imposing a one-year jail sentence.

Torres, 22, of Springfield, was arrested two weeks ago when police raided his 6 Itendale St. home and seized a large bag of crack cocaine.



Along with three other defendants, he pleaded not guilty to possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of ammunition without a firearms identification card.



On Friday, he pleaded guilty to the same charges, in the same clothes he wore when he was arrested.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Prendergast said Springfield narcotics detectives began conducting surveillance on Torres' apartment after learning that someone named "Jay" was dealing crack cocaine there.

On April 23, Torres sold crack to an informant minutes before police launched their raid. As a detective knocked on the apartment door, voices inside began calling out "police...yo cops...police," the prosecutor said.

The detectives found Torres standing outside a bathroom as co-defendant Jordan Hill, 20, attempted to flush a bag of crack cocaine down a toilet.

The bag - containing four $50 rocks of cocaine and 14 $20 chunks - was retrieved by detectives, Prendergast said.

The prosecution and defense proposed a one-year jail sentence, and recommended that Torres receive substance abuse treatment and job training if possible.

Defense lawyer Kelly Auer said her client welcomed the sentence, and viewed it as an opportunity to change his life.

The defendant has a minimal criminal history as an adult, and his juvenile record reflected the troubled circumstance he faced growing up, Auer said.

As for the current charges, Torres has expressed "extreme remorse," the lawyer added.

At that point, the judge looked at the defendant.

"So what is the significance of the T-shirt?" he asked, referring to the red-and-white shirt, an apparent adult variation on the Dr. Seuss-inspired "Thing 1" T-shirts.

"Nothing," Torres said.

"He was wearing it when he was arrested," his lawyer added.

He had other options, including turning the shirt around or wearing the white T-shirt underneath the red one, the judge noted.

"I'm not sure this was the best choice," Shea added.