BUCYRUS — Shane Hardymon of Bucyrus appeared in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on Thursday for a hearing to learn the result of his competency examination.
Hardymon, 41, is charged with possession of drugs, a second-degree felony punishable with up to eight years in prison if convicted.
Several months ago, Hardymon appeared in court for a hearing on a motion to suppress evidence. Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold noted that the hearing had been going well until Hardymon’s outbursts, constant interruptions and his continued questioning of his own attorney, which caused Leuthold to suspend the hearing and make a ruling for a competency examination.
In his judgment entry on the proceeding, Leuthold noted the following:
“The state called their first witness and during the hearing, the defendant became boisterous and disruptive. As the hearing progressed, the defendant appeared to be suffering from delusional thoughts and incapable of assisting in his defense,” Leuthold said. “In fact, the defendant was impeding his own defense. The court terminated the hearing and ordered that a competency exam be completed. The court will proceed accordingly once the results of the exam are made available to the court.”
Leuthold ordered Hardymon brought to court for the results of the evaluation done by the District Five Forensics Doctors. According to the report, among other things not put on the public record, Hardymon suffers from Schizoid-Affective Disorder and paranoia. The evaluation determined that Hardymon is not competent to stand trial at this time. The report suggested he could be restored to competency with in-patient treatment in about a year.
Leuthold noted that he had seen Hardymon through the court system over the years but most recently noted a decline in his mental health.
“I want to make it clear on the record. I believe Mr. Hardymon is very intelligent but is suffering from mental health issues,” Leuthold said. “I am not surprised by this evaluation as the difference in his demeanor is stunning.”
Leuthold ordered Hardymon to be remanded into the custody of the Twin Valley Behavioral Center for treatment. Leuthold said he would revisit competency after the required treatment time.
In other court news, Noah Watkins, 45, of Galion pleaded guilty to one count of possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony punishable with up to one year in prison.
In a plea negotiation, Watkins will spend six months in the Crawford County Jail. He will forfeit all drug-related property and will receive 54 days of jail time credit.
Kevin James, 29, of Detroit, Michigan pleaded guilty to violating the terms and conditions of his community control. In 2015, James pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of drugs, each a first-degree felony and each punishable with up to 11 years in prison.
Former Common Pleas Court Judge Russell Wiseman sentenced James to nine years on each count to run concurrently for a total of nine years in prison. He was also promised a judicial release.
In March, Judge Leuthold honored the deal made by his predecessor. He warned James that he would not have given him such a deal.
According to probation officer Chris Heydinger, James was driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, had no valid driver’s license and went left of center. After taking a breathalyzer test in Mansfield where the incident occurred, his BAC was .151. He admitted to use.
In a plea negotiation, Leuthold sentenced James to 60 days in the Crawford County Jail and then returned to community control.
“This is it. Pull this again Mr. James and you are going back to prison,” Leuthold said. “Knock it off.”