By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
The charges leveled against Brianna Thoman were drastically different than the ones she pleaded guilty to Monday afternoon.
The 19-year-old Bucyrus woman was originally facing up to 11 years in prison for aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony.
The facts in the case, however, saw the Crawford County prosecutor’s office putting an offer on the table for criminal trespassing and persistent disorderly conduct, both fourth-degree misdemeanors.
Thoman snapped up the agreement, which included a total of 60 days in the county jail and a $250 fine.
Thoman’s change in good fortune stemmed from an incident on Feb. 18. According to Judge Sean Leuthold, an earlier altercation saw a group of people walking across town to another’s home on Failor Street in Bucyrus. Though part of the group went into the home to start a fight, Thoman stayed outside. She did, however, get into an altercation with a person.
A major fight spawned from the incident, causing serious injuries.
“This was practically a mob fight to a certain degree,” Leuthold said.
Leuthold noted that the prosecutor’s office was still pursuing burglary charges against Thoman’s co-defendants, Kaylee Clark and Tahshawn Jones.
“This is a significant reduction,” Leuthold told Thoman before calling the event “one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.”
When Thoman admitted that her group had a long walk to the place where the fight occurred, Leuthold could only shake his head in dismay at her decisions.
“You had all that time to figure out that was a bad idea and go back home,” he told her. “By golly, you got in a fight . . . You’re just a kid who darn near got herself sent to prison in one of the dumbest things I’ve heard.”
RELATED CONTENT: Aggravated burglary case draws three $250,000 bonds
Clifton Lane appeared in court for an arraignment hearing. Lane was charged with felonious assault, a second-degree felony, and was released on a personal recognizance bond.
“The court does look at bar fights a little differently,” Leuthold admitted to Lane.
Lane, who does not have any criminal history, retained counsel for his case and has ties to the community, which led to the prosecutor’s office agreeing to a personal recognizance bond.