By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Apparent legal advice between two defendants shot a plea deal dead in the water Wednesday morning.
It was smooth sailing for 46-year-old Brian Wilson, of Bucyrus, as he pleaded guilty to felony 5 drug possession and received five years on community control and a $1,250 fine. That changed 10 minutes later.
A conversation between Crawford County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold and Adam Stone, attorney for Nathan McIe, saw the judge demanding that Wilson be brought back into the courtroom to answer for some allegations. Leuthold angrily questioned Wilson if he gave legal advice to McIe while the two men sat in the holding room between hearings. Wilson allegedly talked about evidence with McIe, told him what to do, and accused Stone of being a bad attorney.
“Let me give you some advice: shut your mouth to other defendants. That’s a crime,” Leuthold told Wilson. The judge warned Wilson he could be held in contempt as the defendant left the courtroom, stomping and shaking his head.
McIe, who was expected to take a plea deal Wednesday, immediately followed Wilson’s appearance.
“The case got even more complicated,” Leuthold said. “It absolutely amazes me how someone sitting in jail with a felony record is giving legal advice.”
The judge reminded McIe of the offer on the table, but McIe refused the deal and chose to go to trial. Which that decision made, Leuthold cautioned McIe that he could face life without parole as a maximum penalty.
McIe, a Crestline resident, has been charged with first-degree rape.
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Skyler Gearhart will be finishing up his 18-month prison sentence after he admitted to violating his community control.
The 20-year-old Mansfield man admitted to operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and having a blood alcohol level of .108 on Jan. 28. Leuthold re-imposed Gearhart’s original prison sentence, which the defendant will serve the remaining nine months.
Gearhart originally pleaded guilty to an amended charge of aggravated assault in 2015.
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Two women appeared in court for initial hearings on community control violations.
Twenty-six-year-old Lorianne Bright, of Fremont, allegedly possessed methamphetamines, smoked marijuana, and associated with two convicted felons. Leuthold appointed Brian Gernert as her attorney and set bond at $100,000.
Bright pleaded guilty to drug possession and endangering children in October 2016. She served 180 days in the county jail before being placed on community control.
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Forty-six-year-old Tina Rotermund, of Galion, allegedly failed to report to the court’s Intensive Supervision and Treatment program and tested positive for buprenorphine and cocaine in urinalyses. Leuthold appointed Grant Garverick as her attorney and set bond at $100,000.
Rotermund pleaded guilty to felony drug possession in April 2016. She was placed on community control.
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