By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com

The possession of an illegal pill led to a prison sentence for a Bucyrus man.

Twenty-five-year-old Jeffrey Geist pleaded guilty to drug possession, a fifth-degree felony, in Crawford County Common Pleas Court Monday afternoon. Geist received an eight-month prison sentence, a six-month driver’s license suspension, and a $1,250 fine for the plea. He was also ordered to forfeit any drug-related property being held to the Bucyrus Police Department.

Though there was no violence involved in the crime, past felonies made Geist eligible for prison. Geist also pleaded guilty to breaking and entering, another fifth-degree felony, in Crawford County Common Pleas Court in 2012.

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Sixty-two-year-old Donald Estep of Galion may have admitted to his crime from the beginning but that didn’t mean Judge Sean Leuthold would skip the reprimand.

Estep, who pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony of tampering with evidence, received a five-year community control sentence with the condition that he complete and drug and alcohol assessment program. Estep will have to forfeit all seized property to the Galion Police Department.

“It won’t happen again,” Estep told Leuthold, who seemed skeptical after reviewing Estep’s pre-sentence investigation.

“Quite frankly, you have not lived a very responsible life,” Leuthold said, referring to Estep’s numerous traffic matters and misdemeanor criminal cases as a “monstrous amount of irresponsible behavior.”

If Estep fails on community control, he could be sentenced up to 36 months in prison.

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Kristi Kitts pleaded guilty to drug possession, a fifth degree felony. After a pre-sentence investigation is completed, the 30-year-old Galion woman could receive five years on community control, a six-month license suspension, and a $1,250 fine plus entrance into a drug and alcohol treatment program. Her bond was continued.

An initial hearing for community control violations alleged that 39-year-old Stacy Hicks of Willard tested positive for opiates and benzodiazepines, operated a motor vehicle under the influence with a blood alcohol content of .113, operated a motor vehicle without a license, and changed her address without notifying her supervising officer. Hicks, who lives in Huron County and was being supervised there when the alleged incidents occurred last month, was released on a personal recognizance bond and was appointed Geoffrey Stoll as her attorney.

Hicks pleaded guilty to assault, a felony of the fourth degree, in 2012 and placed on community control for three years. That sentence is set to expire on Nov. 25 unless tolled as she awaits additional hearings.