BUCYRUS — According to Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold, several changes are coming to the method that felony probation is conducted in Crawford County.
“The State of Ohio has decided it will no longer provide probation officers for court related purposes,” Leuthold said. “Because of this, all felony offenders will be supervised by our county probation officers.”
Crawford County received a $450,000 grant that will allow for the expansion of the probation department.
“I’m certainly happy that we have former Galion detective Eric Bohach as Chief Probation Officer and former retired Crawford County Sheriff Detective Chris Heydinger working with the probation department,” Leuthold said. “Their knowledge of the county and the drug trade has been invaluable for this court. In a show of force, county probation officers conducted a series of surprise nighttime visits.”
Bohach and Heydinger recently conducted those unannounced nighttime home visits at several locations in Galion and Bucyrus. They were assisted by the Bucyrus Police Department, Galion Police Department and the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office. The visits resulted in 13 arrests of probationers and two new drug busts on non-felons resulting in felony drug charges. They also seized drugs, drug paraphernalia, weapons, a gun and ammunition.
“This was successful because of the joint efforts of law enforcement in Bucyrus and Galion as well as the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office,” Heydinger said. “We all share the same goal: holding offenders accountable and keeping our community safe.”
Bohach was also grateful for the support they received from local law enforcement.
“The probation department plans to continue with the unannounced visits,” Bohach said. “Probationers must understand that probation in Crawford County is serious business. Violators will be caught and held accountable.”