By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
There were some significant prison sentences handed out in Crawford County Common Pleas Court Tuesday afternoon. Five as a matter of fact.
Jamie Lester pleaded guilty to burglary, a third-degree felony amended down from a felony of the second degree. The 33-year-old Bucyrus man was sentenced to 36 months in prison, the maximum penalty he could receive. He must also pay $180 in restitution to the victim in the case.
“It’s only a matter of time that you start robbing people you don’t know,” Judge Sean Leuthold told Lester after noting that Lester had stolen from a family member. Leuthold warned Lester that he should use prison to turn his life around; otherwise, the next time he could be sent back to prison or killed during the crime.
John Hayes Jr.’s inability to follow the terms of his community control not only led to a new felony but also to two prison sentences.
The 27-year-old man admitted to failing to register as a sex offender on Aug. 24 as required by his Tier I status. Hayes was sentenced to 12 months in prison for violating the terms of his community control. He will also be placed on post release control for a mandatory three years after he serves his sentence.
The violation also led to a new fourth-degree felony for duty to register. Hayes received the maximum 18 months in prison for the crime. That sentence will be served consecutively to the 12-month sentence for a total of 30 months in prison.
“What am I supposed to do?” Judge Leuthold asked Hayes. “We’re not asking you to move mountains here. We asked you to register. It’s that simple . . . Sex offenders don’t have the right to roam freely through our community.”
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Thirty-four-year-old Joseph Grasley of Bucyrus was sentenced to 24 months in prison after pleading guilty to failure to comply, a third-degree felony. His driver’s license was also suspended for three years for the high speed chase he was involved in.
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A 12-month prison sentence was imposed on 26-year-old Sarah Lewis of Bucyrus after she admitted to violating her community control. Lewis admitted to testing positive for THC and using the drug, to being arrested for criminal trespassing by the Bucyrus Police Department, to possessing marijuana, and to testing positive for buprenorphine. The violations spanned from June to September.
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Michael Hickman may be leaving the county to serve a prison sentence but he already has plans to leave once again after he gets out.
The 33-year-old Bucyrus man pleaded guilty to drug possession, a fifth-degree felony, and received a seven-month prison sentence. His driver’s license was suspended for six-months, he was fined $1,250, and he must forfeit drug-related property being held to the Bucyrus Police Department.
“You use heroin in this county, you’re going to prison,” Leuthold said, later warning Hickman that if he intended to return to Crawford County he would have to follow the rules set in place.
“I’m getting out of this county as soon as I get out of prison,” Hickman assured Leuthold.
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Thirty-year-old Branden Morris of Bucyrus was placed on the court’s two-year diversion program after pleading guilty to false voter registration, a fifth-degree felony. The guilty plea will be held until he successfully completes the program.
Judge Leuthold granted judicial release for two men Tuesday afternoon.
Twenty-eight-year-old Ronald Tyson Jr. spent two years in prison and Leuthold thought he got off easy.
“You’re fortunate,” Leuthold told the Galion man. “I assure you there’s no way in hell I’d go along with this.”
Leuthold, however, did agree to follow the original plea agreement in Tyson’s second-degree felony drug possession case stemming from 2013. That agreement sentenced Tyson to four years in prison with early release possible after two years.
“I’m not going to tolerate any screw ups,” Leuthold warned Tyson.
Tyson must enter into a drug and alcohol treatment program. His probation on another case from 2013 involving receiving stolen property was extended to five years.
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Thirty-two-year-old Derek Hensley was released from prison after serving six months on a 36-month sentence. Early release was part of a plea agreement Hensley entered on a charge of third-degree felony domestic violence in March. Hensley was placed on community control for five years and was ordered to have no contact with the victim in the case.
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