By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Only two people appeared in Crawford County Common Pleas Court Tuesday afternoon, but they received two very different sentences.
Forty-eight-year-old Steven Beale, of Galion, pleaded guilty to felony four driving under the influence. Though he was able to avoid the maximum sentence on the crime, Beale was not able to dodge all prison time. Judge Sean Leuthold sentenced him to 18 months in prison, fined him $1,350, and handed down a five-year Class 3 driver’s license suspension.
“I made a bad mistake,” Beale admitted during his hearing. He added that he had been sober for a month-and-a-half when the incident occurred.
“I understand mistakes. I truly do,” Leuthold responded. “Getting yourself a felony OVI – that isn’t a mistake.”
Thirty-year-old Adrianne Seitz, of Bucyrus, pleaded guilty to assault, a first-degree misdemeanor. The charge was amended down from a second-degree felony of felonious assault. She received five years on community control and was ordered to complete an anger management program.
“Simply put, we have two law-abiding citizens that got into an argument,” Leuthold explained for the reasoning behind the amended charge.
No major injuries resulted from the assault and the victim was in favor of the misdemeanor.