BUCYRUS — Allen Henry Jr. of Bucyrus arrived at Crawford County Common Pleas Court with his attorney, Tom Nicholson, to begin what was expected to be a one-or-two-day trial. Henry was charged with burglary, a second-degree felony punishable with up to eight years in prison.
Henry, 43, was accused of entering a home on W. Mansfield St. in Bucyrus on June 27. The victim was sitting on her porch reading a book when Henry walked up her porch steps and into her house.
The woman was so terrified she fled her porch, ran to her car, drove to a close-by auto parts store and called 911. While officers were responding to the victim’s 911 call, another call came into the police department reporting a man on W. Rensselaer St. who was acting erratically, carrying a hammer and walking through a yard to a wooded area.
When police went to the residence of the second caller, they followed the path where the perpetrator was last seen and discovered Henry sitting at a table in another yard with a hammer on the table next to him. Henry was cooperative but denied being in the other residence.
Officers took the victim to the scene and she identified Henry as the man who had walked onto her porch and into her home. Henry was arrested and subsequently charged with burglary by a grand jury.
The first part of the morning was spent selecting a jury of six men and six women and a male alternate juror to decide the case.
In opening statements, Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Hoovler described the scene to the jury,
“It was a beautiful day to be outside. It was a day when people might be cooking on their grills, playing in their yards or like the victim, simply sitting on their front porch, enjoying the weather and reading a book.”
Hoovler went on to explain to the jury that he would prove that the defendant simply walked up on her porch and straight into her home, saying nothing while waving to her as he walked into her house. He told the jury a terrified victim did not know what Henry’s intentions were and fled her home.
In his opening statement, defense attorney Nicholson told the jury that the event did not happen the way Hoovler described. He said his client would take the stand and explain his side of the events.
“It’s about identification. Some calls described him as white. The victim described him as a light skinned black man and he is clearly dark-skinned,” Nicholson said. “She said she didn’t know what was in his hand. They cannot identify Allen Henry Jr. Listen to the witnesses, watch the DVD.”
Nicholson told the jury that six to seven “cops” approached Henry with weapons drawn and asked him why he went into the house on W. Mansfield St.
Nicholson further argued that the charges leveled against Henry did not rise to the level of a second-degree felony.
“He walked through the house and out the door. There were hundreds of things he could have stolen but he didn’t take a thing,” Nicholson said. “This is not burglary but at most a misdemeanor criminal trespass case.”
Before the lunch break Hoovler called his first witness, Bucyrus Police Officer Pennington who was a responder to the scene, who said he talked to the victim.
“She was shaky, in a panic and scared. Her son was there to try to talk her down,” Pennington said.
Pennington responded to the second 911 call and went to the residence on W. Rensselaer St. The homeowner explained to Pennington that a black man had come through his yard carrying a hammer and frightened his girlfriend’s son. He said the man told the boy to shush as he walked by.
The homeowner showed Pennington the path the man took. Pennington and two other officers went different directions and moved in on Henry who was sitting in a chair at another homeowner’s outdoor table.
Hoovler showed the jury the body camera video initiated upon contact with Henry, which showed that Allen complied with officer’s orders to get on the ground and did not resist being placed in cuffs. Henry informed officers of a pocketknife that they removed from his pants pocket.
Henry admitted to owning the hammer and told officers that he carried it to protect his country. At first, he denied being in the victim’s home but then said he might have been there.
Henry told police he had been at the hospital for severe dehydration and a possible heart condition. Officers noted that he still had nodule stickers on his chest from what appeared to be an EKG heart exam. Officers placed him under arrest and took him to jail to be evaluated for possible medical and mental health conditions.
At the conclusion of Hoovler’s examination of Pennington, Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold decided to break for lunch and allow for cross-examination of Pennington by the defense to resume after lunch.
During the lunch break, Henry informed his attorney that he would like to change his plea if the state would honor the plea deal they had offered earlier. After a conference with the judge and Hooveler, it was agreed that the state would honor its plea offer.
The jury was dismissed and Henry pleaded guilty to one reduced count of burglary, a fourth-degree felony punishable with up to 18 months in prison. As part of the plea, the state offered a flat prison sentence of 12 months.
“We have a unique situation here. Normally I would not allow this to happen halfway through a trial,” Leuthold said. “However, this plea has been offered for months and so I’m going to honor it. The victim has been consulted on this and feels that with this deal justice would be served, the state feels justice would be served and I feel justice would be served with this deal.”
Hoovler echoed what the judge said and asked Leuthold to add the cost of the jury to the court costs leveled against Henry.
Nicholson told the court that even though his client was not eloquent, he knew in his heart his client was sorry for his actions and that he hoped his client would be able to get the help he needs.
“I’m glad it’s over,” Henry said. “This is crap. I don’t remember the day. I was out of it after working in the heat all day.”
“You’re a likeable man, not a bad guy unless you’re drunk,” Leuthold said. “I am, frankly, glad that I don’t have to sit up here and decide how many years you should go to jail for this.”
Leuthold said Henry will receive 84 days of jail time credit and that he would not oppose transitional control if the prison requested it.
“Look, Mr. Henry, you could be going to prison for a long time. You cannot do this. You scared this poor lady to death,” Leuthold said. “This cannot happen again. I know Crawford County is your home and you will come back here. You are welcome to live here but you can’t come back home and do this again. The next time you’re liable to get shot or killed if you walk into someone’s home. Good luck to you, Mr. Henry.”