BUCYRUS — Cade Blackburn of Fredericktown appeared in Crawford County Common Pleas Court Wednesday and pleaded guilty to possession of drugs, a third-degree felony punishable with up to three years in prison.

In a plea negotiation, Blackburn will spend a flat 18 months in prison. Before sentencing, Blackburn’s attorney, Tom Nicholson, addressed the court.

“Mr. Blackburn has wisely decided to take this plea,” Nicholson said.

When asked if he had anything to say, Blackburn told the court, “I’m sorry for everything and I won’t come back to this county and do anything.”

Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold agreed to the plea negotiation.

“Crawford County is not the place to do this kind of stuff. Make sure you don’t come back,” Leuthold said.

Leuthold told Blackburn he would not oppose transitional control.

In other court action, one defendant scheduled for his fourth pretrial failed to appear in Common Pleas Court.

Rob Skaggs, 44, of Garrison, Kentucky was represented in the hearing by his newly hired counsel, Michael Siewert, who advised the court that his client is suffering from symptoms of the coronavirus.

Siewert said he received a video from Skaggs showing a thermometer with a reading of 104 degrees. Skaggs is charged with possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony punishable with up to one year in prison.

Also present for the hearing was Gina Powell, a representative AA American Bail Bonds of Galion, who was seeking to revoke Skaggs’ bond because he had not kept her informed of his residence.

Leuthold dismissed court-appointed attorney Brad Stuckey and accepted the reappointment of Siewert as counsel.

“Normally I would have issued a warrant for Mr. Skaggs, but he can’t get here because of the virus,” Leuthold said. “I am going to err on the side of caution. I’ll reset this matter in a couple of weeks.”

Leuthold told Powell that if Skaggs failed to appear, he would not hold her bonding company responsible.

“If he goes on the run, we will arrest him, but I will not hold the bond company responsible. Mr. Skaggs lives out of state but has a number of connections here. We will find him,” Leuthold said.

Shannon Johnson, 38, of Shelby pleaded guilty to one count of possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony punishable with up to one year in prison. As the result of a plea negotiation, Johnson will spend the next five years on community control. He was ordered to have a drug and alcohol assessment and any follow-up treatment.

When asked if he had anything to say Johnson, told the court, “I apologize for this and taking up the court’s time.”

Leuthold told Johnson, “If you come back here, you’ll go to prison.”

Timothy Moyer, 42, of Crestline pleaded guilty to two counts of counterfeiting, each fourth-degree felonies and each punishable with up to 18 months in prison. Moyer admitted to using money with Chinese markings.

In a plea negotiation, Moyer was sentenced to five years of community control. If he fails to successfully complete community control, he faces up to three years in prison.