BUCYRUS — Joey Horton, 46, formerly of Galion appeared in Crawford County Common Pleas Court. Horton had filed more than half a dozen motions to withdraw her previous guilty plea and to ask for judicial release.
Horton was sentenced to five years in prison after she pleaded guilty to possession of drugs, permitting drug abuse and illegal assembly possession of chemicals to manufacture drugs.
Horton’s co-defendant Michael Shaw, 36, of Galion received the same sentence. The couple was producing meth in their apartment. A family with four children lived above them.
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Horton agreed to a plea deal that left her serving five years in prison. Before accepting her plea, Common Pleas Judge Sean Leuthold had warned that her appeal rights on the case were very limited.
Since her incarceration, Horton has filed various motions to receive judicial release. She also filed one motion to withdraw her guilty plea. Leuthold ruled on each motion in writing. With her most recent motions, Leuthold decided to bring her into court and assign a lawyer to assist and make her understand that a judicial release at this time is not possible.
In a decision signed by Leuthold on Jan. 4, explained why Horton could not withdraw her guilty plea.
The motions were governed by Criminal Rule 31.1: “A motion to withdraw a plea of guilty or no contest may be made only before sentence is imposed, but to correct manifest injustice the court after sentence may set aside the judgement of conviction and permit the defendant to withdraw his or her guilty plea.”
Horton appeared in court with her attorney, Brian Gernert, to ask for a judicial release. Before the hearing, Leuthold again explained to Horton, that according to law, she must serve four of the five-year prison sentence before she may be eligible for judicial release.
She only gets one judicial release hearing and could not make another motion after the judge rules on the hearing. Horton said she wanted to continue with the hearing.
“You are not eligible for judicial release until you have served four years of this sentence,” Leuthold said. “If this hearing takes place it will be the one and only hearing you can have.”
Leuthold took a five-minute break to allow attorney Brian Gernert to explain the law to Horton.
When court reconvened Gernert said his client wanted to withdraw her motion for judicial release.
“For some people these motions are hard to understand. I don’t normally appoint an attorney in these cases, but I wanted you to fully understand your rights,” Leuthold said. “You are not eligible for judicial release until you serve four of your five-year sentence. Make better choices on the motions you file. You can apply for judicial release at the appropriate time.”