BUCYRUS — Amber Keener, 27, of Galion was sentenced to 36 months in prison in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on Thursday.
Keener is the mother of a six-month-old victim that overdosed on cocaine. Keener’s co-defendant, and the father of the child, Chad Scribner, was sentenced to 36 months in prison earlier this month.
Keener who appeared with her attorney, Joel Spitzer, pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony charge for child endangerment.
Before sentencing Judge Sean Leuthold gave Keener a chance to make a statement.
“This incident was unfortunate,” Keener said.
An angry Leuthold told Keener it was not in her best interest to minimize the seriousness of this crime. She explained she was not trying to down play its seriousness.
“I’m ready to do whatever I need to do to get my family back together.” Keener said.
Leuthold asked Keener, “What possessed you to have three kids with this guy? Has he been a good father?”
Keener responded that Scribner was a very good father.
“I don’t believe that,” Leuthold said. “Mr. Scribner has done nothing good in his life. He’s not a good person and he’s clearly not a good father having nearly killed an innocent baby. I do feel he is more culpable than you because he’s older than you.”
A children’s services intake worker made a statement about Keener’s willingness to cooperate with whatever the agency has asked of her. She noted that Keener understood that that she had three priorities, her children, and that Scribner is no longer one of those priorities. It was also noted that children’s services began working with Keener after the infant’s overdose.
Leuthold said he was happy to hear that Scribner no longer was a priority for Keener, but that it was probably not entirely true.
“I want you to be one hundred percent honest with me,” Leuthold said to Keener. “Your life is in my hands and I want the truth. Have you been in contact with Chad Scribner?”
Keener said she had gotten letters from Scribner.
“Well, let’s see. He told you how sorry he is. He told you how he was going to change when he gets out and that he loves you. Am I right?”
Keener admitted the Judge was right.
“Now how did I know that,” Leuthold asked. “I’ve seen hundreds of these letters and they all say the same thing. Here’s another example of what some would call a non-violent drug offense. They’re not hurting anyone but themselves. But they end up nearly killing an innocent baby because they got so high they probably forgot to even care for the baby. You’d better thank God this baby is going to be ok. This kind of crime angers the court and society in general.”
Before sentencing Keener to the maximum three years in prison, Leuthold told her to get her act together. He told her to get into some programs in prison and put her children first. He also ordered her to have no contact with Scribner.
“If you think you and Chad Scribner are going to walk off into the sunset and live happily ever after, you’d better think again,” Leuthold said. “Your days of having fun and getting high are over. You poisoned your child with crack. Children count on their parents to protect them not to try and kill them whether on purpose or by accident. You are to have no contact with Mr. Scribner.”
Keener will forfeit all drug-related property to the Crawford County Sherriff’s Office and receive credit for jail time served.