BUCYRUS — Cody Stahl of Bloomville appeared in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on Monday to plead guilty to aggravated burglary, a second-degree felony punishable with up to 11 years in prison.
Stahl, 24, is the first defendant eligible for an indeterminate sentence based on Ohio’s newly passed Reagan Tokes Act. Tokes was an Ohio State University student who was murdered in 2017 by a convicted sex offender who had been released from prison just three months before her death.
The Tokes Act allows a judge to sentence a violent offender to a range of years in prison rather than a set term. If a person misbehaves in prison, the Ohio Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation may increase the sentence by up to one half more of the original sentence. Conversely, if an inmate behaves well in prison, his or her sentence can be reduced by 5 to 15 percent.
Crawford County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold was careful to make sure Stahl understood the new sentencing law. Leuthold approved an agreed sentence of four years in prison.
“I want you to understand that according to this new law, you are serving an indeterminate sentence. I am sentencing you to four years in prison,” Leuthold said. “Once you are in prison, the Ohio Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has the power to increase or decrease your sentence. In your case, you could serve four years and have an extra two years added on by the department if they deem you a risk to society. On the other hand, if you are a well-behaved inmate, they may reduce your sentence by up to 15 percent. It’s their call.”
Stahl will serve a mandatory three years of post-release control monitored by the state. He will receive credit for jail time served.