By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Torin Jones has just over a week to go before his jury trial, but he has already been sentenced to 60 days in the county jail for contempt of court.
Forty-four-year-old Jones, of Bucyrus, is set for a two-day trial Feb. 11 and 12 on three cases, two of which involve drug possession and one involving intimidation. The prosecutor’s office filed a motion to consolidate the two drug cases while Jones’ attorney, Andrew Motter, filed a motion for a District V evaluation, which would determine if Jones was competent to stand trial.
Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold granted the state’s motion to consolidate the drug cases after hearing arguments from assistant prosecutor Ryan Hoovler and Motter.
Hoovler contended that the heroin involved in the newest charge had been confiscated during Jones’ original traffic stop on Oct. 12. He said that while three pill bottles and a single pill were found in the vicinity of Jones during the stop, two of the bottles contained pills and alleged heroin. The bottles, Hoovler alleged, where stored in two different places and had been weighed and tested separately.
Leuthold believed that, since the bottles were stored and found in two different places, it was enough to conclude two separate charges and approved the motion to consolidate the cases. He added one stipulation for the prosecution, however.
“The court would not look kindly at another possession charge to consolidate,” Leuthold warned Hoovler. “Any additional charges would make it impossible for Mr. Motter to argue.”
The stickier situation came just minutes later when Leuthold began questioning Jones to determine whether or not to order a District V evaluation. Motter said his client had been suffering from blackouts and confusion before the hearing and after his arrest.
Jones, who acknowledged he was only on blood pressure medication, said he suffered a head injury a few months before his arrest when he was hit in the head with a meat cleaver. He said he was treated at Galion Community Hospital where he received staples in the back of his head before leaving the emergency room. He added that he did not know he was in the county jail for two days and often lost focus because of his injury.
Leuthold then questioned Jones on the job of a defense lawyer, the prosecution, the jury, and even what a judge’s role was in a trial.
Hoovler called Jail Administrator Kent Rachel to the stand as his only witness. Rachel stated that since Jones was booked in on Oct. 12, the defendant never made a request to see a nurse about his blackouts. Rachel believed Jones was aware of what was going on while there.
Motter questioned Rachel if he knew Jones had a traumatic brain injury. Rachel said they would not know if Jones had such an injury if he did not tell the jail.
When asked by Leuthold, Motter said he did not have any evidence of a traumatic brain injury as his client did not make him aware of the issue until the morning of his hearing.
Leuthold said he liked to err on the side of caution in the case of a District V evaluation, but noted that such a request could also be a tactical decision by the defense.
“(There is) little or no evidence that there are competency issues here,” Leuthold said. “Every case I’ve ever had with Mr. Jones in this courtroom, he has actively participated in his case. He’s never shown an inability to understand what’s going on.”
Leuthold added the Jones understood what a trial was and what was going on in the proceedings.
Jones, who had mumbled most of his replies and gave perplexing answers up until that point, fired off accusations in the wake of Leuthold’s decision.
“Man, this lawyer is fired,” Jones argued. “I don’t want this lawyer.”
Leuthold held Jones in contempt for 30 days after his first outburst and denied Jones a new lawyer, noting that Motter was the third attorney offered to Jones in his recent cases. Thomas Nicholson served as the first court-appointed attorney before Jones requested a new one. The court offered to appoint Adam Stone, but Jones refused the offer and settled with Motter.
When Jones called the proceedings “political bulls—” and accused the court of “trying to put fake cases” on him, Leuthold once again held Jones in contempt for a total of 60 days.
“Take him out. He is done,” Leuthold ordered the Sheriff’s deputies as he slammed his gavel down.
Leuthold denied the District V evaluation, but granted the motion to consolidate the two drug cases. He added that the court may need to make special arrangements for Jones’ trial next week in case the defense Jones committed outbursts again and influenced the jury against him.
This will be the second time in less than a year that Jones will face a jury trial relating to drug charges. He was found not guilty of drug possession in September when the prosecution failed to show beyond a reasonable doubt that the 9.825 grams of crack cocaine laying near Jones was his.
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