By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
Plea deals and guilty pleas resulted in three prison sentences Wednesday in Crawford County Common Pleas Court.
The initial sentence was for nine months and given to Matthew Burchett. The 33-year-old Galion man admitted to violating probation by possessing drug abuse instruments, refusing to take a drug test and failing to complete a treatment program.
Judge Sean Leuthold told Burchett he did not enjoy sending him to prison, but, “I have to hold you accountable for your actions.”
Burchett was part of the ISAT treatment program in Common Pleas Court. He was originally placed on the Intervention program on a drug possession charge in 2014. He was terminated from that program and placed on community control in 2015 prior to his latest legal problems.
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Twenty-six-year-old Nicholas Hall of Galion pleaded guilty to fifth-degree felony drug possession. The recommended sentence for Hall is five years on community control, treatment for drug and alcohol addiction, a $1,250 fine and a six-month driver’s license suspension.
Hall’s $50,000 bond was continued while the court conducted its pre-sentence investigation.
Fifty-four-year-old Ruth Ann White of Crestline pleaded guilty to fourth-degree domestic violence charges. Leuthold sentenced White to a flat nine months in prison without fining her. White is to have no contact with the victim.
The judge noted in perusing White’s record that her problems stemmed from drinking and said he hoped that nine months of sobriety would be the opportunity she needed to turn her life around.
Janette Moore was sentenced to prison, but had the formal sentencing delayed 30 days following her guilty plea because of medical issues. Moore, 46 and from Galion, entered the courtroom in a wheelchair holding her hand which was extremely swollen and discolored.
Moore pleaded guilty to fifth-degree felony drug possession and fifth-degree felony drug trafficking. Both carry maximum sentences of 12 months in prison. The recommended sentence in Moore’s case is 11 months on each count to run concurrently, a $2,500 fine and six-month driver’s license suspension.