By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com

Some of those things your mother told you growing up really are true as 23-year-old Michael Rose found out – like being known by the company you keep.

Rose pleaded guilty in Common Pleas Court on Wednesday to an amended charge of third-degree felony robbery for his role in a robbery of the Galion Moto Mart last December. He was sentenced to 36 months in prison by Judge Sean Leuthold. Rose had no previous criminal record of any kind.

The original charge against Rose was first-degree aggravated robbery. Part of the reason the charge was amended was that Rose’s role was limited to driving the car in which his co-defendant Kenneth Higgins rode in to leave the scene. Higgins was sentenced to five years in prison earlier this month.

Rose must also pay $258 in restitution to Moto Mart and $1,065.90 to the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office for costs incurred in transporting him back to Crawford County from Florida where he and Higgins had fled after the robbery.

That was far from the only news coming from Crawford County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday and Rose was certainly not the only defendant who was sentenced to prison.

Michael Weaver and Teresa Guimmo were sentenced to prison at hearings charging them with violating the rules of their community control. Weaver’s original sentence stems from a 2010 case in which he was convicted for second-degree felony burglary. Weaver must serve the time remaining from that four-year sentence.

Giummo was sentenced to prison for two years. She was originally convicted in 2013 of second-degree felony burglary.

Chad Perdue’s recommended sentence didn’t include prison, but Perdue is now in the county jail after he showed up late to his change of plea hearing. When Perdue failed to show up on time, Leuthold expressed very sternly his feelings about the matter.

“I’m not pleased with this situation and I’m not going to tolerate it,” Leuthold said to prosecutors, defense attorney Thomas Nicholson, and victims of Perdue’s crime. At that point he issued an arrest warrant be issued for Perdue along with establishing a $250,000 bond and also ordered when he was taken into custody that he be given a drug test.

Perdue did show up approximately 30 minutes late. He was given a drug test which showed positive for cocaine. Perdue did enter a guilty plea to the charge of felony theft. The recommended sentence from the Prosecutors Office was five years of community control and restitution.

But in light of Perdue’s late arrival and positive drug test, Leuthold placed the defendant in jail, set bond at $250,000, and ordered a pre-sentence investigation.

“Mr. Perdue, I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet,” Leuthold said. The judge then made another promise should Perdue find himself in trouble at the jail: “It’s not going to go well for you.”

Travis Poland was on the wrong side of the law and facing conviction of three felony charges – all for felony drug possession. But as the judge noted, the letter of the law was on Poland’s side.

Poland admitted to violating the terms of his intervention in lieu of conviction program and two additional felony charges that had not yet been adjudicated. Yet, the judge could not sentence him to prison of spite of what are now three felony convictions on his record.

“By a quirk of Ohio law in spite of all this nonsense, Mr. Poland is not eligible for prison,” Leuthold said. “(It’s) something I hope we never have to deal with again. You now have three years of prison hanging over your head. It’s sheer luck you’re walking out of here.”

Poland did walk out of the courtroom, but in handcuffs. He will remain in custody at the county jail until he can be placed in an in-patient program approved by the Adult Parole Authority.

Josh McDaniel II appeared in court for sentencing. McDaniel had rejected a plea agreement at the time he pleaded guilty to fifth-degree breaking and entering. The offense to which McDaniel had pleaded guilty actually occurred prior to his serving time in prison on another conviction. However, his role in the crime had not been discovered until his DNA was entered into the state database when he entered prison.

Leuthold ordered McDaniel to submit to a drug test when he entered the courtroom and that test came back negative. Defense attorney Sebastian Berger argued in favor of community control for his client in light of the progress he had made in paying off fines from other cases, staying sober and being employed during and after his stay in a halfway house for addiction treatment.

The judge was also impressed by a letter from McDaniel’s mother. Leuthold recalled that McDaniel was the first defendant to appear before him in 2008 as Municipal Court judge.

“When you do bad things, you get punished. When you do good things you get rewarded,” Leuthold said in explaining his judicial philosophy.

“In this case I don’t think justice would be served by sentencing you to prison.”

Instead the judge sentenced McDaniel to five years of community control with intense supervision and additional addiction treatment.

Steven McMillen pleaded guilty to felony drug possession. The recommended sentence is five years of community control, $1,250 drug fine and a six-month driver’s license suspension. Sentencing will come at a later date following a pre-sentence investigation.

Ray Horner pleaded guilty to an amended charge of misdemeanor drug possession. Horner was sentenced to 90 days in the county jail and costs.

“You got a break today, you understand that?” Leuthold told Horner. “Don’t come back in front of me.”

Jessica Sargent pleaded guilty to felony drug possession with a recommended sentence of five years of community control and ADA-approved in-patient addiction treatment. Leuthold ordered a pre-sentence investigation and that she be held in custody until her sentencing.

Andrea Shephard, Ashley McNeely and Bridget Carnes all admitted to community control violations. Each had their community control extended to the maximum five years and were ordered to comply with approved treatment programs.

Justin Gregory had an initial hearing on charges he violated community control. Gregory’s case was continued and bond was set at $100,000.