Advertisement Former police officer back in jail Coco had been on work release after serving 72 days of 1-year sentence Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A former Manchester police officer on work release while serving a sentence in a hit-and-run case is back in jail following a judge's ruling.Click to watch News 9's coverage.Stephen Coco was sentenced to one year in prison for a hit-and-run crash in which he injured two Bedford teens. But he was allowed to return home on work release after serving 72 days in jail.Coco was released under a state statute that gives jail superintendents discretion to determine whether an inmate should be released for the purposes of work after serving at least 14 consecutive days in jail. But the decision drew criticism, and prosecutors called for a judicial review.In her ruling ordering Coco to return to jail, Judge Gillian Abramson called his release inappropriate because work release is a rehabilitative program, and Coco was in jail for punishment, not rehabilitation."This is a defendant who requires punishment and deterrence, goals of sentencing not served or met by release after just 72 days in jail," Abramson wrote. "His conduct merits nothing less than the original sentence imposed."Coco was back in jail Friday, officials confirmed.Abramson said allowing Coco to continue in the work release program was functionally equivalent to being released from custody. He did have to check in with corrections officials daily and was subject to drug and alcohol checks.Coco's attorney, Mark Howard, said the superintendent's decision should be respected."(Coco is) obviously very disappointed," Howard said. "He thought he had proved himself to the superintendent and deserved to be in their program. The superintendent felt the same way, so obviously he is disappointed, and his family is disappointed and upset."Howard filed for a stay of the decision and said in the motion that he will ask for an expedited appeal of the decision to the state Supreme Court.Howard said Coco should be put back into work release while the appeal is filed because the appeal process could take so long that even if the Supreme Court rules in his favor, he would end up serving the bulk of his sentence in jail.The motion said the appeal will focus on whether Abramson's decision violates the principal of separation of powers.In her decision, Abramson discussed the part of the law that allows a judge to examine a superintendent's decision if the prosecutor objects to it and asks for a hearing.She said sentencing is a function of the judicial branch, and it's appropriate for the court to review actions to make sentences are appropriately carried out.Under state law, Coco will be credited with serving 107 days of his sentence -- the 72 days he served in jail and the 35 days he was on the work release program.