Judge puts 10 in prison in single day – four in the afternoon

Monday afternoon’s session in Crawford County Common Pleas Court picked up where the morning session ended – with people being sentenced to prison.

By Jordan Studer
jstuder@wbcowqel.com

Monday afternoon’s session in Crawford County Common Pleas Court picked up where the morning session ended – with people being sentenced to prison. Four defendants joined the six sentenced to prison in the morning for a total of 10 on Monday.

The afternoon began by sending Aaron Keister, a thirty-six-year-old from Crestline, to 59 months in prison.

The state made Keister a written offer to drop the charges of burglary, a second-degree felony, and drug abuse instruments, a second-degree misdemeanor. These charges would only be dropped if he pleaded guilty to his two counts of possession of drugs, both fifth-degree felonies, and having weapons under disability, a third- degree felony.

Keister pleaded guilty to all three charges and the charges of burglary and misdemeanor were then dropped. Keister was then sentenced to 11 months in prison for the first charge of possession of drugs, 12 months in prison for the second count of drugs, and 36 months for having weapons under disability, all sentences to be served consecutively.

Keister was also sentenced with three years of non-mandatory post-release control. It was then agreed upon that if Keister keeps a good record while in prison, when one year of his sentence is up, if a motion for judicial release is made, he may be moved to a community based correction facility.

Forty-six-year-old Phillip Turner II, of Galion, also pleaded guilty to the charge of aggravated vehicular assault, a third-degree felony. An agreed negotiated plea took place to take away an additional charge of another aggravated assault as well as an OVI (operating vehicle while intoxicated), therefore leading to a maximum penalty at sentencing.

Turner was then sentenced with 36 months in prison, a $5,000 fine, and three years of mandatory post release control. In addition, Turner also must pay a lifetime license suspension and entrance into a mandatory drug and alcohol treatment program.

Because of Turner’s accident, he suffered injuries, and has been in physical therapy. It was agreed upon that he could finish physical therapy before entering prison. Judge Leuthold ordered that Turner report to Crawford County Jail at 7 p.m. on Aug. 22 and he would be transported to prison at that time.

Ronald Agin, a 24-year-old from Bucyrus, pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary, a second-degree felony, and theft, a third-degree felony. Agin was then sentenced to four years in prison for his first charge and nine months in prison for his second charge, to be served consecutively.

Following the two prison sentences, Agin is to serve three years of mandatory post-release-control. Restitution will be determined at a later date if necessary.

Jeremiah David Cottrell - probation violation — Jeremiah Cottrell

Jerimiah Cottrell, a 31-year-old from Galion, pleaded guilty to the charge of possession of drugs, a felony of the fifth degree. Cottrell tested positive for the use of cocaine and opiates, therefore violating his probation.

Judge Leuthold questioned Cottrell as to how he committed his violation. Cottrell’s reply was that he snorted them both. Judge Leuthold then explained how snorting both cocaine and opiates has killed more people than cancer. Judge Leuthold then told Cottrell that he hopes he can get turned around in prison, but it was completely up to Cottrell to fix that.

“You look like hell, quite frankly… if you’re bound and determined to kill yourself, go ahead,” Leuthold said to Cottrell.

Cottrell was then sentenced to nine months in prison with three years of post-release control. Failure to successfully complete both of those could lead to more restrictive sentencing.

Fifty-six-year-old Rodney Carroll of Tiro pleaded guilty to a charge of forgery, a fifth-degree felony. The recommended sentence was 30 days in jail, but because Carroll had the money to pay his bond that day, he was released and Judge Leuthold suspended all 30 days.

Judge Leuthold granted judicial release for Weston Mulvaine, a 23-year-old from Mansfield. Mulvaine originally pleaded guilty to having weapons while under disability, a felony of the third degree. Mulvaine was released from prison and Judge Leuthold sentenced him to five years of community control.

Drew Spigener, a 25-year-old from Galion, pleaded guilty to the charge of passing bad checks, a fifth-degree felony. Judge Leuthold, however, did not enter a guilty plea and ordered Spigener to be entered into a two-year diversion program.

“Mr. Spigener, I’ve seen you in muni court. Between you and I, I don’t have a whole lot of faith in you. I hope you prove me wrong,” Judge Leuthold told Spigener when he gave the man his sentence.

Judge Leuthold commented that Spigener’s time in the diversion program could be extended to four years. It was then made clear to Spigener that he must reimburse the county for the cost of the diversion program and fees.

Spigener was assured that failure to successfully complete the diversion program would lead to five years of community control. Failure to complete community control would lead to up to 12 months in prison.

Fifty-three-year-old James Baldwin of Caledonia pleaded guilty to his seven counts of theft, all fifth-degree felonies. Baldwin runs a tree cutting business and all seven counts were committed by Baldwin for not completing the work his clients had paid for. Therefore, he was taking money, though in little amounts, that was not rightfully his.

The recommended sentence was five years of community control due to the fact all his counts were all first offenses, and therefore he is not eligible for prison. Baldwin had been in jail 70 days before his trial on Monday. Judge Leuthold said that due to the nature of Baldwin’s charges of theft, he did not find Baldwin to be a big threat to the community, so a PR bond was set for each case.

Although Baldwin was not sentenced to prison, Judge Leuthold warned him that if he committed any more thefts, he would not hesitate to give a more restrictive punishment.

“I want to be blunt with you, I’m a very blunt man. You ripped off a bunch of old folks… You do not want to violate my bond… Do not test me on this,” Leuthold warned Baldwin.

Twenty-six-year-old Joshua Smith of Mansfield was arraigned on violation of his probation.

Judge Leuthold said that Brad Starkey would be reappointed as Smith’s attorney and bond would be set at $100,000. The hearing is to be set at a later date.

Twenty-year-old Anthony Burns of Bucyrus was also arraigned on the charge of initial probation violation. Judge Leuthold reappointed Brad Starkey as Burns’ attorney and bond was set at $150,000. The hearing is to be set for a later date.