BUCYRUS — A Bucyrus man was sentenced to four years in prison on drug charges after appearing in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on Monday afternoon
Todd Hildebrand, 51, of Bucyrus pleaded guilty to one third-degree felony charge for tampering with evidence and one fifth-degree felony charge for possession of drugs (crack).
Hildebrand was represented by Bucyrus attorney Andrew Motter.
In a plea deal, Crawford County Common Pleas Judge Sean Leuthold sentenced Hildebrand to the maximum penalty on both charges, three years in prison on the tampering of evidence charge and one year in prison on the drug possession charge for a total of four years in prison.
As part of the plea deal, Hildebrand will be granted a judicial release and then moved to a community-based correctional facility where he will undergo an intense drug rehabilitation program.
Hildebrand spoke up in court when Leuthold mistakenly referred to his drug of choice as meth.
“I can’t stand heroin, meth users, liars or thieves,” Hildebrand said.
Leuthold responded, “Well crack is right up there with all of those. You understand that, right?”
Hildebrand told the judge, “Well, I’m retiring.”
Motter told the court his client is thankful for the opportunity for treatment.
“Your honor, Mr. Hildebrand needs to quit using drugs,” Motter said. “His children have given him an ultimatum and so I believe he has more reasons to stop than ever before.”
Leuthold acknowledged Hildebrand had fine children and a good family.
“I’m going to be blunt here,” Leuthold said. “You’re 51 and you look like hell. You’re using crack which is every bit as bad as meth or heroin. I know of you from sports. You’ve got great kids. I can see you’re not as sharp as you used to be. You’re hanging around drug dealers and sneaking out of crack houses hiding drugs in your mouth.
“You’re going to prison for 48 months. That’s the bad news. The good news is that you can get your life back. You had good things at one point. You’ve got good kids. Focus on them. Let this be the end of it.”
Leuthold told Hildebrand he would see him down the road a bit and then into treatment.
“This is your last chance,” Leuthold said. “If you mess up, I will send you right back to prison to do the whole 48 months. I’d rather have you in prison than walking around out here on doing crack on the brink of death.”
Hildebrand will receive 81 days of credit for jail time served.
In other court action, Jeremy Gross, 45, of Bucyrus pleaded guilty to violating his probation.
Gross was placed on probation in April for a fourth-degree felony charge for felony nonsupport, punishable with as much as 18 months in prison.
According to probation officer Eric Bohach, on Feb. 11, Gross was pulled over for driving with a suspended license for nonpayment of child support. He also tested positive for meth.
“Someone bring me a calculator,” Leuthold said. “I want to see how much money Mr. Gross has paid since he was before me in April. Oh, wait. I won’t need that calculator because the amount is zero.”
Gross told the court that he had a couple of jobs that did not last and he was having a hard time finding work. He also said he was living with his mother.
According to Crawford County Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Hoovler, Gross is more than $25,000 behind in child support.
“Let me get this right. You have no job, you’re not paying child support, and you’re mooching off your mother,” Leuthold said. “How’d you get the drugs without money? Where did you get the money for the drugs?”
Gross said people share their drugs with him. Leuthold sentenced Gross to one year in prison with a judicial release in the near future.
“When you get out, you’re going to have two weeks to get a job. You’re not going to do any drugs and you’re going to start paying your child support,” Leuthold said. “You will pay rent and help with groceries for your mother. Your kids are going to get this money. They are not going to suffer anymore. You’re going to be an adult. I’ll make sure you get there. If you decide it’s too hard to be an adult, then I’ll send you back to prison.”
Leuthold told Gross to get his head on straight.
“I can’t stand people that don’t take care of their kids and mooch off their family,” Leuthold said.
Also during Monday’s court proceedings, Craig Eastep, 38, of Marengo pleaded guilty to one fifth-degree felony charge for theft, punishable with as much as 1 year in prison. Eastep was accused to stealing a purse in Galion.
Eastep will spend the next five years on probation. Leuthold told Eastep he would review his status in one year.
“Behave yourself and don’t do something foolish like this again,” Leuthold said.