Seven sentenced to prison during Tuesday court proceedings

By Gary Ogle and Krystal Smalley
gogle@wbcowqel.com; ksmalley@wbcowqel.com

There were a lot of comings and goings Tuesday for defendants in Crawford County Common Pleas Court and a good many were going to prison. Seven people were sentenced to prison by Judge Russell Wiseman on various unrelated charges ad an eighth was returned to prison to finish serving a sentence imposed in Seneca County.

Thirty-four-year-old Justin Barger was given a 24-month sentence for felony domestic violence but can apply for judicial release after six months. Barger has two previous convictions for domestic violence.

Thirty-three-year-old Justin Blankenship of Bucyrus was sentenced to 36 months for failure to comply. Blankenship refused to pull over for a traffic stop. Blankenship can apply for judicial release after serving 12 months.

James Will was sentenced to 48 months in prison after he admitted to violating community control by twice selling heroin in Wyandot County. Will has already admitted to charges in Wyandot County stemming from those incidents and is scheduled to be sentenced there as well.

Joshua Smith was out of prison on judicial release but will be returning to serve out the remainder of his sentence, approximately five months. Smith admitted to violating community control by testing positive for drugs and possessing drug paraphernalia. He also failed to report to his probation officer. Smith was originally convicted of burglary and sent to prison the first time for violating community control.

Shannon Evans pleaded guilty to two charges of drug possession and was sentenced to 12 months in prison on each with the sentences to run concurrently.

Avoiding prison was not an option available to Kyle Gardner. The 33-year-old Galion man pleaded guilty to the illegal assembly of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs, a felony two conviction, in Crawford County Common Pleas Court Tuesday afternoon.

Gardner admitted to possessing chemicals for the manufacture of methamphetamines while in the vicinity of children between Jan. 1 and April 30.

Gardner was sentenced to a mandatory prison term of three years with credit for 105 days already served in the county jail. His license was also suspended for six months and he must pay a mandatory $7,500 fine. Gardner was also ordered to forfeit any drug-related property to the Galion Police Department. Once he has served his full prison term Gardner will be on post release control for three years.

A first degree felony of illegal manufacture of drugs was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Twenty-nine-year-old Jennifer Mink of Mansfield pleaded guilty to the illegal conveyance of drugs onto a detention facility, a third-degree felony. Mink had attempted to sneak prescribed Xanax into the county jail on Feb. 1.

Mink was sentenced to 36 months in prison but will be credited for 69 days already served in the county jail. She could receive judicial release after serving six months beginning from the date of her arrest on June 5. Once released from prison Mink must undergo a drug and alcohol treatment program. She was also fined $750.

Timothy Heefner believed he needed some kind of structure in his life to get on the straight and narrow and he hoped a court program may be the answer. Heefner, 31, admitted to his community controls violations Tuesday afternoon, which included possessing Suboxone and Oxycodone, admitting to using heroin, and operating a vehicle while his license was suspended. As part of his admission to the violations, Heefner was continued on community control and may be placed in the Common Pleas Drug Court Medically-Assisted Treatment program. He will be held in the county jail until admission into that program or one equal to it.

Heefner had served time on a 2013 burglary charge before being placed on community control.

Thirty-year-old William Moore of Galion was placed on community control for three years after pleading guilty to drug possession. He admitted to possessing heroin on July 13.

In addition to Moore’s community control, he will also be screened for entry into the Crawford County Common Pleas Drug Court Medically-Assisted Treatment program and must complete a drug and alcohol assessment and any follow-up treatment. Moore was fined $1,250 and had his license suspended for six months. He must also forfeit any drug-related property to the Galion Police Department.

Andrew Kuenzli’s continued actions may keep him in jail for a while longer. The 23-year-old man had been granted judicial release in December of 2012 after serving time for aggravated vehicular assault.

Kuenzli recently ran into trouble in Seneca County when he operated a motor vehicle while intoxicated and failed to comply with the order of the police officer in Seneca County on March 27. He also failed to report to an office visit with his parole officer on May 7. With Kuenzli currently serving time in prison on the Seneca County charges, he was issued a personal recognizance bond for the community control violations.

Matthew Witten was granted judicial release Tuesday afternoon and was placed on community control for three years. Witten had served time after pleading guilty to receiving stolen property and breaking and entering in February.

Christopher Schradely will not go to prison but he will go to the county jail for 30 days. Schradely admitted to violating community control by failing to report to his probation officer and not complying with a substance abuse program.

Kayla St. Clair pleaded guilty to theft and was placed on community control for three years and will be considered for the county’s drug court and MAT program. St. Clair must also pay $150 in restitution.

Christopher Grandstaff admitted to burglarizing a house on South Spring Street in Bucyrus and was placed on community control for three years. Grandstaff must also complete a drug and alcohol assessment plus any follow-up treatment. If Grandstaff does not successfully complete community control he will be sentenced to 18 months in prison.