By Kathy Laird
Martin Nolen, 25, of Bucyrus currently is being held at the Crawford County Justice Center on a first-degree felony charge for rape.
Nolen appeared in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on Thursday with his attorney Adam Stone of Bucyrus. Stone made a motion for a second competency exam. Stone asked Judge Sean Leuthold to grant a motion for a $2,500 expert witness fee to pay for the exam.
Stone said he is interested in pursuing a defense supporting a not guilty verdict by reason of insanity. The original court ordered competency exam concluded that Nolen is competent to stand trial.
In granting the additional exam costs, Leuthold explained this is the defendant’s right to have an additional exam if he so chose. After granting the additional exam, Leuthold suspended hearing any additional motions until the results of the second exam are made available to the court.
In other court proceedings, Mario Villella, 35, of Mt. Gilead appeared in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on felony charges for failure to pay child support.
Villella then caused some turmoil during his hearing.
His original court-appointed attorney Tom Nicholson made a motion to the court to be removed from the case. Villella, who has been incarcerated in Mt. Gilead on an unrelated charge, informed the court that he had hired counsel from Mt. Gilead.
There was no record of a notice from a new attorney in the case received by the Crawford County Clerk of Court’s Office.
Leuthold called a brief recess in order to verify whether or not the defendant retained counsel, and after several minutes, it was confirmed Villella had not.
Leuthold then released Nicholson from the case and appointed Jeffrey Stoll as Villella’s attorney. The judge then requested that the defendant be given a drug test.
“I’m not doing that,” Villella said.
Leuthold reminded Villella that because he was on a personal recognizance bond, the court had every right to demand a drug test.
Villella then admitted to taking medication to sleep. He asked to speak to his new attorney privately.
Stoll took command of the defense and explained to Villella what his best course of action should be. Villella then changed his plea to guilty and accepted the sentence for non-prison eligible felonies.
Villella was given five years of community control, ordered to pay his child support and work on the debts within a timely manner. Leuthold warned Villella that if he failed to abide by the terms of his community control, he then would be prison eligible.
“Don’t commit new crimes, and take the steps necessary to fix this problem,” Leuthold said.
Dalton Hoover, 21, of Bucyrus got a second chance when Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Hooveler and Leuthold agreed to permit Hoover to participate in the prosecution program known as intervention in lieu of conviction.
Hoover was arrested on a fourth-degree felony charge for burglary after he and a friend became intoxicated and wandered into the wrong house. When the homeowners awoke they found the strangers in their home and called police.
“You are a very lucky young man,” Leuthold said. “This could’ve ended very badly. Those homeowners could have shot you or you could’ve assaulted someone not really knowing where you were.”
Stone noted that his client had already begun treatment to address his alcohol issues. Noting that Hoover had no prior record of any kind, he will participate in the program and upon his successful completion; the felony charge will be removed from his record.
“You seem like a good kid, take advantage of this program,” Leuthold concluded.