BUCYRUS — On Friday, August 7, after more than five hours of deliberation by a jury of his peers, Jason Tupps of Galion was acquitted on six of the seven charges he was facing including improper handling of a firearm, abduction, OVI, using weapons while intoxicated, aggravated menacing, bribery and falsification.

He was found guilty on the falsification charge, which is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable with up to 180 days in jail and a $1000 fine.

Tupps, 45, had served as a corrections officer in the Crawford County Jail for more than 20 years. While it was made clear at trial that Tupps never had duties as a road patrol deputy, he did perform transports of inmates to and from the jail to court and various appointments. He also served in special duty capacity at events like the fair and Bratwurst Festival.

During the course of the trial, the jury had the difficult task of separating the various charges and trying to process the very complex relationships between the defendants, the witnesses, law enforcement, a witness in plea agreement and a defendant charged but not yet tried.

Important testimony came from Lt. John Schoenfelt, a 23-year veteran of the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department. Schoenfelt oversees the road deputies.

Schoenfelt testified that he was called to the scene of the incident where Tupps had been holding a woman at gunpoint. Schoenfelt turned his body cam on before he got to the scene and testified that Tupps was arguing with Officer Grant when he arrived.

Prosecutor Margaret Tomaro played his bodycam for the jury.

“Tupps, it’s 7:31pm man, why are you still in uniform?” Schoenfelt asked.

Tupps relayed everywhere he had been than day but did not disclose that he had been to a drive thru in Galion.

Schoenfelt can be seen leaving Tupps and speaking with the victim Abbey Dickman. Schoenfelt tells Dickman to go in her house and cool off and he would be back to speak with her.

He returned to Tupps who can be heard repeatedly asking to go back to the scene of the incident. Tupps insists Dickman was break checking him. Schoenfelt can be heard telling Tupps he will go back to the scene.

On cross examination, James Mayer III pointed out some big mistakes Schoenfelt made at the scene and then later in his written accident report.

Mayer got Schoenfelt to concede that Tupps was roaming around the scene trying to tell his side of the story. Mayer pointed out that Tupps’ timeline had been confirmed by BCI.

Schoenfelt said that there was no contraband in plain sight when he moved Tupps’ vehicle out of the driveway and onto the road. He also confirmed that police did not inventory the car or search it at the scene for alcohol or contraband.

“So, if those two Buzz Balls were thrown into the console, you can’t open up that console and look without a search warrant, can you?” Mayer asked Schoenfelt.

“Plain sight means plain sight counselor. If it’s not visible, I can’t look in glove boxes or consoles,” Schoenfelt said.

Schoenfelt insisted that he smelled a moderate amount of alcohol on Tupps’ breath and was blunt with Tupps about it.

“I’m not gonna blow smoke up your butt, I smell alcohol. Have you been drinking?”

Tupps said he had not.

By this time into the investigation, Tupps had refused to be tested by the Galion Police Department because he did not trust them.

Schoenfelt is seen on bodycam calling Sherriff Scott Kent. Kent is not audible, but Mayer pointed out the inconsistency of what he said to Kent.

“He said he had 1-2 beers,” Schoenfelt told Kent.

Schoenfelt told Mayer he later called Kent and did not put that in his report. He said it was a simple mistake because he is used to hearing that from motorists who have been drinking when they are stopped by police.

“Why do you suppose that is? It’s because 1-2 drinks don’t render a person impaired, right?’ Mayer asked. Schoenfelt agreed.

In the crash report filled out at the scene and prepared for the record and for the insurance companies involved, Schoenfelt identified Tupps as appearing normal to the exclusion of being drunk. Again, Schoenfelt said they were simply mistakes that he had made in the report.

On redirect, prosecutor Tomaro asked Schoenfelt if Tupps was rational at the scene. Schoenfelt said Tupps did not seem rational and that he indeed smelled a moderate amount of alcohol on his breath.

Schoenfelt said that later at the Galion Police Department, upon the advice of his attorney Adam Stone, Tupps refused a breathalyzer test.