By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Nicholas McIntyre and Judge Sean Leuthold are no strangers to one another, nor are they unfamiliar with the pattern that occurs when McIntyre steps foot in the courtroom.
Twenty-six-year-old McIntyre, a rural Bucyrus man, pleaded guilty to two felony drug possession charges and received a 13-month prison sentence Wednesday morning in Crawford County Common Pleas Court. He was also fined $1,250 and ordered to forfeit seized drug property to the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office.
“We keep playing this game. You keep committing crimes, I keep putting you in prison. I’d like to stop,” Leuthold told McIntyre.
The judge previously sentenced McIntyre to 20 months in prison in 2015 for drug possession and violating his probation.
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Thirty-four-year-old Nicholas Rumple also pleaded guilty to two drug possession charges, but he will not be heading to prison. The Galion man was, instead, placed on community control for five years and will enter the court’s Intensive Supervision and Treatment (ISAT) program. Leuthold fined Rumple $1,250 and ordered him to forfeit a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber pistol and seized drug property to the Galion Police Department.
“We’ll give you everything you need to get on the straight and narrow,” Leuthold assured Rumple.
Karen Brandenburg pleaded guilty to fourth-degree felony theft and was placed on community control for five years. The 50-year-old Galion woman will also have to pay $59,055.18 in restitution to A&G Manufacturing.
Despite the fact that Brandenburg was not eligible for prison, Leuthold said he would much rather have her pay back her restitution than be behind bars.
“I want the defendant to get a job, start working, and get this paid back as soon as possible,” he concluded.
When the next case crossed his desk, Leuthold could only laugh at the circumstances. Reading from the files, the judge explained that the defendant, David Hedrick Sr., and his wife were trying to take custody of a child when officials smelled marijuana Hedrick was growing in his home.
“This is a case when intervention in lieu is appropriate,” Leuthold said. “It’s not the crime of the century, but it is a crime.”
Hedrick entered a guilty plea to the illegal cultivation of marijuana, a fifth-degree felony. Leuthold will hold the guilty plea until Hedrick successfully completes his two-year intervention in lieu of conviction program. Hedrick will have to also complete a drug and alcohol treatment program.
“You can be one of the few people that say Leuthold was soft on me on a drug case,” the judge joked as he finished up Hedrick’s case.
Rosalinda Hedrick, David Hedrick’s wife, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of drug abuse, a first-degree misdemeanor, earlier this month.
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