By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Two people avoided prison after pleading guilty to felony charges Wednesday, one arrested on a gun charge and the other for assault.
Other courts may have given breaks to 36-year-old Matthew Strause, but Judge Sean Leuthold was not going to be so kind.
Strause, who pleaded guilty to improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle at a previous hearing, had issues pop up in other counties while out on a personal recognizance bond.
“Mr. Strause, you’ve not dealt with a judge like me before,” Leuthold warned him in Crawford County Common Pleas Court Wednesday. “I’ll not tolerate one ounce of nonsense.”
Leuthold was not optimistic that Strause would be successful on community control but still sentenced him to it for five years. In addition, Strause will have to forfeit drug-related property and a 9 mm handgun to the Galion Police Department.
Though Strause will be supervised in Huron County, Leuthold made him aware that there will be zero tolerance while on probation.
“You’re on very thin ice here,” Leuthold cautioned.
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Thirty-one-year-old Nicholas Ramsey’s case was not as black and white as it first appeared to be, which is why the prosecution and the judge eased up on his sentence.
The Galion man pleaded no contest to an amended charge of a misdemeanor assault.
Assistant prosecutor Ryan Hoovler stated that Ramsey was in a car surrounded by three individuals acting in a violent manner, one of which had a history of violence. When Ramsey pressed on the accelerator, he broke the victim’s ankle.
“This started off as a serious felony charge,” commented Leuthold, before adding that the “victim in this case certainly bears some responsibility.”
Leuthold placed Ramsey on community control for three years with the special condition that he have no contact with the victim in the case. Ramsey could be sentenced up to six months in the county jail if he fails on his community control.
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Twenty-one-year-old Jazmon Binion was granted judicial release after serving only two months in prison. Binion pleaded guilty in October to assaulting a police officer and vandalism. Though Binion received 18 months in prison for her crimes, Leuthold told her at the time that he would consider early release if she submitted a letter of apology to the Galion Police Department.
“It was just so serious that I thought a prison sentence was necessary,” Leuthold said Wednesday. Though Leuthold believed Binion’s actions were a one-time thing, he warned her he would not have a lot of options if she violated her community control. “You’ve got to be living a very, very law-abiding life.”
Leuthold placed Binion on community control.
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