By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
A bar fight type of situation sent a Bucyrus man to prison Tuesday afternoon.
Twenty-nine-year-old Derek Riels pleaded guilty to second-degree felonious assault in Crawford County Common Pleas Court, a crime that typically carries a maximum eight-year prison sentence.
Judge Sean Leuthold noted that Riels was involved in a fight where people in the altercation were drunk. Though Riels pulled a knife, no one was stabbed.
“It’s your bar fight-type of scenario,” assistant prosecutor Ryan Hoovler added.
Riels received a three-year prison sentence and a $5,000 fine.
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Thirty-nine-year-old Lisa Grochowalski, of Crestline, pleaded guilty to felony 5 drug possession. She was sentenced to six months in prison and fined $1,250. The prison time will begin after a 30-day county jail stint for contempt.
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Despite pleading guilty to two fourth-degree felonies, Katherine Gear will not spend any time behind bars.
The 29-year-old Crestline woman entered guilty pleas on two counts of trafficking in drugs and received five years of community control. Though she was not prison eligible, Leuthold ordered Gear to serve 90 days in the county jail. Gear will also have to undergo a drug and alcohol assessment and pay a $2,500 fine.
“I know my actions were not okay by any stretch of the imagination,” said Gear, who admitted to having an opiate addiction. “I thought I was making myself feel better.”
Zachary Strickland was placed on community control for five years after admitting to violating his diversion program.
The 22-year-old Galion man admitted that he failed to report to monthly office visits and failed to pay court-ordered restitution. Leuthold accepted Strickland’s guilty plea for receiving stolen property and placed him on community control. Strickland will also have to finish paying off nearly $5,000 in restitution.
“I think you really messed up here,” Leuthold told Strickland. “You screwed up an opportunity to avoid a felony.”
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Thirty-five-year-old Shara Skaggs, of Galion, admitted to violating her community control after she used heroin and missed multiple drug tests at Maryhaven. Leuthold ordered Skaggs to serve 30 days in the county jail before returning to the court’s Intensive Supervision and Treatment program.
Skaggs originally pleaded guilty to drug possession in March 2016 and served 90 days in jail before beginning her probation.
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Leuthold granted judicial release to Rannel Cooper after spending nearly 21 months in prison drug possession, receiving stolen property, and having weapons under disability. He was placed on community control.
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