By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
There’s always a first time for everything – except this time it wasn’t a positive experience.
Forty-one-year-old Matthew Claus of Crestline pleaded guilty to forgery, a felony five offense, in Crawford County Common Pleas Court Monday afternoon. The lower offense coupled with being a first time felon usually does not equal prison time but in Claus’ case, that is exactly what happened.
Judge Sean Leuthold sentenced Claus to six months in prison and a $750 fine on the felony charge in light of the fact that Claus had violated the terms of his bond when he tested positive for all the drugs listed on his drug screen.
Claus will receive credit for 62 days spent in the county jail.
Twenty-six-year-old Kelly Burns was sentenced to a nine-month prison sentence after admitting to violating her community control.
The Galion woman had pleaded guilty to drug possession just 15 days ago but since then her supervising officer alleged she had possessed drug paraphernalia, tested positive for cocaine and opiates, consumed alcohol, and had been observed entering AmVets.
Judge Leuthold, who has been notoriously strict when it comes to violating probation, warned Burns that he won’t allow probationers to toe the line by going to bars or using drugs.
Burns was sentenced to nine months in prison, though she will receive credit for time served in the county jail.
Twenty-seven-year-old Jimmy Potter admitted to violating his community control. Potter, who had been on probation since November for drug possession, admitted to testing positive for cocaine and opiates, possessing drug paraphernalia, and failing to enter into a substance abuse program.
Potter had started on an intervention but failed that before being placed on community control. Leuthold said that the fact the Potter had had so many chances but failed to take advantage of them clearly called for a prison sentence.
Potter received eight months in prison with credit for time served in the county jail.
There were a lot of factors in play for Ashley Hickok’s sentencing and her time spent in the Marion County jail just may have saved her from serving a longer sentence in prison.
The 30-year-old Marion woman had pleaded guilty to theft in December and had been released on a personal recognizance bond as she awaited her sentencing hearing. During that time, Hickok was arrested in Marion County for a misdemeanor theft charge and was sentence to 110 days in jail. While there, she enrolled in programs and received early release for her behavior.
Assistant prosecutor Ryan Hoovler, however, believed her actions in the Crawford County theft case outweighed what she was able to accomplish while in jail. Though she took responsibility immediately following the case, Hoovler said she still stole over $1,000 from WalMart.
“The $1,274 from WalMart is a significant theft,” Hoovler said. “That required a lot of thought and a goal.”
Hickok apologized for what she did and admitted she didn’t want to become a statistic.
“The defendant’s record speaks volume,” Leuthold said as he flipped through her record and cited numerous misdemeanor charges. “Prison is necessary in this case.”
Leuthold, however, took in consideration that Hickok was to serve two years on Marion County’s drug program and shortened her sentence to six months in prison with credit for time served in the Crawford County jail.
Twenty-eight-year-old Jamie Nye of Bucyrus admitted to violating his community control when he tested positive for marijuana and failed to comply with his substance abuse program. A 12-month prison sentence was imposed.
Three people appeared in Common Pleas Court for initial hearing on community control violations.
Judge Leuthold gave Joshua White, 23, little wiggle room when it came down to him or his victim. White allegedly had contact with the victim in his 2011 robbery case on April 27 and failed to make payments toward his court-ordered restitution.
“I take protecting victims’ rights seriously,” Leuthold told White as he set bond at $500,000.
Attorney Geoffrey Stoll had been appointed as White’s counsel.
Leuthold believed 39-year-old Nicole Britt of Galion to be a danger to the public. Britt had pleaded guilty to drug possession in 2012. Leuthold stated that Britt had been shooting heroin at the time and had nodded off while driving, causing an accident in the process.
Similar circumstances allegedly happened again on April 29. Britt’s supervising officer alleged that she had possessed drug paraphernalia, had been cited for driving under an FRA suspension in Galion, and tested positive for opiates and Oxycodone. Britt denied the allegations.
“She describes this incident as a suicide attempt,” said her attorney, Thomas Nicholson.
“The general public has been put in danger not once but (allegedly) twice,” Leuthold said. “I do not want this defendant out on the streets after what I’ve heard thus far.”
Leuthold set bond at $500,000 and ordered the case to be set for a further hearing.
Twenty-six-year-old Nicholas Saunders had a list of excuses for the reason he tested positive for cocaine, opiates, and benzodiazepines. The Galion man said he had been in surgery the morning of May 1 and had later been robbed, though he said he didn’t remember anything until the moment he woke up in an ambulance.
Saunders’ supervising officer alleged that he had violated his community control by admitting to using crack cocaine, testing positive during a random drug screen, and failing to follow the court’s Intensive Supervision and Treatment program. Saunders had also previously failed on the court’s intervention in lieu of conviction program.
“He can’t stop using drugs,” said assistant prosecutor Ryan Hoovler, who recommended a high bond in order to protect Saunders from himself.
Bond was set at $150,000. Saunders’ underlying charges were a third-degree theft and a fifth-degree drug possession felony.