By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
For felony crimes, four out of four isn’t bad on prison eligible cases for a Wednesday afternoon.
Twenty-seven-year-old Derek Snyder was sentenced to a total of 30 months in prison. Snyder previously pleaded guilty to two counts of receiving stolen property and one count of having weapons under disability.
Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold felt a prison sentence was appropriate in Snyder’s case. “You’ve had opportunities. You’ve squandered them,” Leuthold told Snyder.
The judge sentenced him to 12 months in prison in the first case and 18 months on the second. The sentences will be served consecutively for a total of 30 months.
An amended charge may have saved 21-year-old Tyler Steele of Bucyrus extra prison time. Steele pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, a fourth-degree felony, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. The original charge was second-degree robbery.
“You made a terrible, terrible decision in this case,” Leuthold said.
After revealing that Steele had lured the victim into a situation where violence occurred, Leuthold felt that anything less than a maximum sentence on the felony would demean the seriousness of the crime.
Kenneth Grimes chose a straight prison sentence when he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence. The felony four crime netted the 46-year-old Crestline man 12 months in prison, a $2,000 fine, a lifetime driver’s license suspension, and drug and alcohol treatment.
“Clearly alcohol is a major problem in your life,” Leuthold said. “I’m going to urge you to get the help necessary to get rid of this problem.”
Three people pleaded guilty to bills of information but only one will be doing any prison time.
Joseph Orewiler pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine on June 29. He was sentenced to seven months in prison, fined $1,250, had his driver’s license suspended for six months, and must forfeit drug-related property and $351 seized to the Bucyrus Police Department.
Samantha Sadowski was thankful that she was getting a second chance. The 20-year-old Bucyrus woman pleaded guilty to drug possession in June and was placed on community control for five years Wednesday. In addition she will be placed on the Intensive Supervision and Treatment program, was fined $1,250, and had her driver’s license suspended for six months.
Lindsay Atwood and Harlie Witten both pleaded guilty to bills of information on felony five drug possession. In both cases, the women are expected to be placed on community control for five years, fined $1,250, and have their driver’s licenses suspended for six months. Leuthold ordered pre-sentence investigations and continued bond for both women.
Leuthold felt there was a high chance of recidivism when it came to Amanda Hutchinson but state law did not allow him to send the 24-year-old Galion woman to prison despite her misdemeanor record.
Hutchinson was sentenced to five years on community after pleading guilty to two counts of drug possession. She was fined $2,500, had her driver’s license suspended, and ordered to be placed on intensive supervision with frequent drug testing. If Hutchinson fails on community control she could be sentenced to prison for a total of 24 months.