By Gary Ogle and Krystal Smalley
gogle@wbcowqel.com
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Judge Sean Leuthold was not going to allow the wool to be pulled over his eyes, especially when Jason Kitts’ probation history during a six-month time period came to light.
Kitts appeared in Crawford County Common Pleas Court Wednesday afternoon for a hearing on a bond reduction and probation violations. Brian Gernert, Kitts’ attorney, argued that his client routinely reported to office visits, paid his fines and court costs, and was not a flight risk.
Prosecutor Ryan Hoovler did not see it the same way. He stated that Kitts was a heroin user who tested positive for opiates while on probation for a theft offense.
The allegation accused Kitts of testing positive for opiates on June 19, but Gernert stated that a drug screen turned up clean at the jail the following day. To further complicate matters, Gernert said his client was told by EMTs that they gave him Narcan five times the day he allegedly overdosed.
“Mr. Gernert, I’ll give you some credit. You’ve taken some lemons and made lemonade,” Leuthold said. As he read the police report, Leuthold said the condition EMTs found Kitts in screamed opiate overdose.
Leuthold denied the bond reduction, but Kitts still had to deal with a probation violation allegation and a new felony charge. After some debate, Kitts agreed to admit to the violation and a recommended 12-month prison sentence in exchange for the dismissal of the new felony.
Leuthold called Kitts an “abject failure on community control” after a probation report revealed Kitts tested positive for Suboxone and opiates, drank alcohol, and used someone else’s prescription. The violations all occurred within a six-month period.
Leuthold said the EMTs gave Kitts another chance to turn his life around and deal with his substance abuse issues.
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A Galion man promised Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold he would not be 
returning to court after agreeing to a six-month prison sentence for vandalism.
Thirty-four-year-old Michael Shaw pleaded guilty to fifth-degree felony vandalism stemming from a domestic violence complaint that eventually led to Shaw’s damaging a Galion Police Department cruiser.
“You aren’t going to see me here anymore,” Shaw told the judge. “I let my temper get the best of me.”
The judge acknowledged that while he normally didn’t send people to prison for vandalism, the circumstances dictated otherwise in this case. Shaw was also fined $2,500 and ordered to pay the Galion Police Department nearly $600 in restitution.
Shaw was prison-eligible because of a 2001 conviction for burglary.
William Bruce of Bucyrus had a choice between six months in prison with no probation or six months in the county jail followed by five years on community control. Bruce chose the county jail and community control.
Bruce pleaded guilty to felony 5 drug possession and a misdemeanor charge of having harmful intoxicants.
Although there will be a pre-sentence investigation prior to formal sentencing, Bruce’s recommended sentence is 180 days in the county jail followed by five years of community control. Special conditions of Bruce’s community control will include approved drug and alcohol treatment, a six-month driver’s license suspension and a $1,250 fine.
Leuthold did not like the agreed sentence in place for Jesse Baird, but he went along with it due to Adult Parole Authority Dan Wurm’s recommendation.
Baird’s community control was extended to five years with the special condition that he enter 
in a community-based correctional facility. He must also serve 180 days in the county jail with credit for time served.
“I got to be honest with you guys, I don’t like this agreement,” Leuthold said. “I don’t have any faith in you. I think you’re absolutely going to mess this up. This is the last time – the last – this court goes along with something like this.”
Baird pleaded guilty to robbery in 2012 and sentenced to 36 months in prison, but received judicial release in June of 2013.
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Mary Borders and Thomas Wilson were both sentenced to five years on community control. Borders, who pleaded guilty to theft, must also pay $5,850 in restitution. Wilson, who pleaded guilty to two counts of drug possession, received a six-month driver’s license suspension and a $1,250 fine.
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Jesse Rutrough pleaded guilty to domestic violence, a fifth-degree felony.
Rutrough will also have to wait for formal sentencing pending a pre-sentence investigation. His recommended sentence is five years on community control with an assessment for drug and alcohol problems as well as anger management and completion of any recommended treatment.
Rutrough was released on a personal recognizance bond pending sentencing and must not contact the victim.
Fifty-seven-year-old Billie Rathers, of Bucyrus, pleaded guilty to permitting drug abuse, a fifth-degree felony. Leuthold continued Rathers’ bond and ordered a pre-sentence investigation to be completed. Her recommended sentence would include five years on community control and forfeiture of drug-related items to the Bucyrus Police Department.
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