By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
One use of an illegal substance was all it took to send Shena Belcher back to prison.
The 29-year-old Bucyrus woman appeared in Crawford County Common Pleas Court Monday morning for a community control violation hearing. She admitted that she told her parole officer she used cocaine on a previous occasion and associated with a convicted felon.
“It’s troubling to find out she’s using illegal substances again,” said assistant prosecutor Ryan Hoovler as he argued sentencing with defense attorney James Mayer III.
“With her it’s always been a serious struggle,” Mayer said in relation to his client, who he has known for a number of years, and her addiction to heroin.
After much debate and listening to Belcher describe how she ended up using and being with a felon, Judge Sean Leuthold determined that Belcher was not a good candidate for community control. He re-imposed Belcher’s 24-month prison sentence, of which she has roughly eight months left.
“I hope to God you can figure this out,” Leuthold told Belcher.
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Twenty-year-old Zachary Peck, of Sandusky, appeared in court for a probation violation. Peck allegedly failed to complete his treatment program, operated a vehicle under the influence, and consumed alcohol.
Leuthold set bond at $75,000 and appointed Adam Stone as his attorney.
Peck originally pleaded guilty to theft in 2016 and was placed on probation for one year.
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Rebecca Wade was arraigned on a felony 5 charge of possessing Oxycodone. Leuthold entered a not guilty plea on Wade’s behalf and released her on a personal recognizance bond.
Leuthold also made a ruling on a motion to sever in the Nathan McIe case. Defense attorney Adam Stone was looking to separate a disseminating matter harmful to a juvenile charge from two rape charges in the 2017 case.
The judge heard arguments from the prosecution and defense nearly two weeks ago, but finally made his decision known Monday after reviewing police reports, thumbnail sketches of the images shown to the juvenile, and summarized statements from the people who would testify at the trial. Leuthold was looking to determine if there was a nexus between showing the material to the juvenile and the alleged rape, especially since the state was intending to argument that McIe was grooming the victim for the alleged rape.
Leuthold determined there was, in fact, a strong nexus in the factors he was looking at. He ruled that he would deny Stone’s motion.
McIe was charged with felony 1 rape in 2016, but the Crawford County Prosecutor’s Office leveled two additional rape charges and a disseminating matter harmful to a juvenile charge against him in 2017. It is the prosecution’s intent to dismiss the original rape felony in favor of the newer charges.
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