By Krytal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com

The message coming out of Common Pleas Court on Wednesday was the same as it has been all year: whenever possible, drug convictions mean prison time.

Nicholas Biederman was sentenced to a total of 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to two counts in Crawford County Common Pleas Court Wednesday.

The 29-year-old Bucyrus man pleaded guilty to trafficking and possession of drugs – both fifth-degree felonies. He received prison sentences of eight months for the trafficking charge and seven months for the possession charge. Biederman must also pay a $2,500 fine.

Judge Sean Leuthold held nothing back as he addressed Angela Carroll Wednesday afternoon.

The 47-year-old Crestline woman was one of four people arrested after a search warrant turned up suspected heroin, pills, syringes, drug paraphernalia, and cash. The other three defendants were sentenced to prison but Leuthold was unable to do the same in Carroll’s case due to Ohio law.

“Quite frankly, I would have sentenced you to prison, too,” Leuthold warned Carroll.

He went on to lament the fact that Carroll had tattooed the names of her children on her body but proceeded to be a bad parent.

“I don’t think you’re a bad person,” Leuthold relented, “but I think you’ve lived a very irresponsible life.”

Leuthold placed Carroll on community control for five years and suspended her driver’s license for six months. She must also enter into a drug and alcohol treatment program, pay a $1,250 fine, and forfeit drug-related property to the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office.

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One of the defendants involved in the Galion Market Street drug bust in September pleaded guilty to two felonies. Twenty-five-year-old Keelie Moyer entered guilty pleas for felony three trafficking in drugs and felony five drug possession. Her bond was continued and a pre-sentence investigation was ordered.

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A number of judicial release cases have come before Judge Leuthold the past few weeks and he has made it clear that those agreements would not have happened on his watch. The warning was no different for 27-year-old Wesley Moore.

Moore was serving a four-year prison sentence for second-degree felony burglary but, as part of his plea agreement, he could apply for judicial release after serving 15 months.

“I had a lot of time to think about what I was doing out there,” Moore said.

The judge nodded along but after reviewing Moore’s case, he was unsympathetic.

“I’m not even remotely impressed,” Leuthold said, adding that Moore was giving him stock answers that the judge had received hundreds of times before. “There is no way I’d ever have given this deal . . . you’ve proven nothing to me.”

Despite his stance against early release for the crime, Leuthold granted Moore judicial release with the conditions that Moore be held in the county jail until he can be placed at Volunteers of America. Moore will also serve five years on community control and will have to pay $1,704 in restitution.

“You’ve been granted a good opportunity,” Leuthold told Moore. “Take advantage of it – or suffer the consequences.”

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Brittany Tyson is being held on a $100,000 bond after a charge of drug possession was brought against her Wednesday. Leuthold appointed Tim O’Leary as Tyson’s counsel.