By Kimberly Gasuras and James Massara
CCN Staff
BUCYRUS — A Crawford County Sheriff’s Office corrections officer has hired an attorney after being arrested after holding a woman at gunpoint in Galion.
In a press release, Stone Law Firm founder Adam Stone said his firm was hired by Tupps to handle his case, and “to defend him against the allegations made by the Galion Police Department and reported by media sources.”
According to Crawford County Municipal Court records, Jason M. Tupps is charged with operating a vehicle under the influence, having a weapon while intoxicated and aggravated menacing. The charges stem from an incident July 9 when Tupps allegedly called 911 to report a woman had crashed into his vehicle and he was holding her at gunpoint.
Earlier this year, Tupps pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly conduct in January and paid a waiver in municipal court.
Stone said in the release he is convinced of his client’s innocence.
“Officer Tupps is not guilty of the charges against him,” Stone said in defense of his client. “We have serious questions about the manner in which this case was handled by the Galion Police Department and are investigating those issues presently.”
Stone said he believes Tupps has served his community with distinction for decades, handling the difficult and oftentimes thankless work at the Crawford County Jail.
“The charges against Mr. Tupps, are false and egregious, and were reported entirely out of context. We look forward to defending our client and fully expect to successfully try this case to a jury in the coming weeks to exonerate him and allow him to put this sad, unfortunate situation behind him,” Stone said.
When Crawford County Now staff sought an answer to what mishandling of the case by GPD he believed took place, Stone said he had no comment further than the release made on behalf of his firm.
According to a record search of the Crawford County Municipal Court database, a pretrial is scheduled for Tupps on July 24 at 11 a.m.