By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
Crawford County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold has often pointed out the connection between drugs and prison in his courtroom. That connection was made again on Wednesday for two more men.
Both 30-year-old Clifford Stanley of Bucyrus and 30-year-old Dustin Angel of Oceola pleaded guilty to fifth-degree drug possession charges. Angel also admitted to violating community control stemming from a conviction on a 2014 case for drug possession.
The judge told Stanley, “If you’re going to mess around with drugs, you’re probably going to end up in prison.”
Stanley was sentenced in conjunction with a plea recommendation from the Crawford County Prosecutor’s Office to eight months in prison. Stanley also received the mandatory $1,250 fine and six-month driver’s license suspension. He must also forfeit all drug-related items seized by the Bucyrus Police Department.
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Angel was sentenced to consecutive sentences for eight months on the possession charge and six months for violating community control for a total of 14 months. Angel admitted to refusing a required drug screen and using marijuana.
“I think you have potential. I think you can get out of prison, put all the drugs and crimes behind you, move on and be successful,” Leuthold told Angel. “I know you have potential and the chance to do some good things in your life.”
Angel was also fined $1,250, had his driver’s license suspended for six months and ordered to forfeit drug-related items to the Bucyrus Police Department.
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Forty-five-year-old Tina Rotermund was formally sentenced Wednesday. There were no changes following the pre-sentence investigation conducted in lieu of a guilty plea fifth-degree drug possession in April.
“Thank you for the opportunity to learn a lesson, the hard way,” Rotermund said to the judge.
Rotermund was sentenced to five years of community control and placed in the court’s ISAT program. She was also fined $1,250 and had her driver’s license suspended for six months.
The judge, while stating he believed Rotermund was an excellent candidate for the ISAT program, also sternly warned her it was not a free pass.
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Forty-nine-year-old Ronald Lewis of Galion pleaded no contest to a felony four charge of aggravated assault. The charges were amended from second-degree felonious assault.
The Prosecutor’s Office recommended a sentence of five years on community control, a $750 fine and mandated participation in an approved drug and alcohol treatment program.
The victim received head wounds including a fracture from the incident that occurred April 3 at Lewis’s Galion residence. However, the judge noted for the record that the victim went to Lewis’s residence and was largely responsible for instigating the altercation between the two men.
Leuthold ordered a pre-sentence investigation and released Lewis on a personal recognizance bond.