BUCYRUS — A full hearing to determine whether a Bucyrus man violated the terms and conditions of his community control was held Monday in Crawford County Common Pleas Court.

John W. Spears, 41, of Bucyrus was represented by his attorney, Tom Nicholson. Spears had been on community control following a 2008 conviction on two counts of trafficking in drugs, both third-degree felonies and each punishable by up to 36 months in prison, and a fourth-degree felony of possession of drugs punishable with up to 18 months in prison.

Spears was granted judicial release in February of 2018. In September, Spears was found in violation of community control. He was sentenced to six months in the Crawford County Jail and was then ordered to complete the treatment program at the Volunteers of America in Mansfield.

Spears was in court on Monday to answer to new charges that he violated the terms and conditions of his community control.

Representing the state in the hearing was assistant prosecutor Ryan Hoovler, who called as his first witness parole officer Danielle Lesco.

Lesco said she had been employed in Crawford County for six months. Spear’s original parole officer was Dan Wurm, who assigned Spears to Lesco in October when she received her case load.

Hoovler had Lesco review the terms and conditions of community control that were read to Spears and that he signed with officer Wurm. Lesco testified that Spears agreed to the terms of parole by signing the document as well as printing his name on the form, which was witnessed by Wurm.

Lesco testified that she received a report from the Bucyrus Police Department on December 8 saying they had arrested Spears for disorderly conduct and criminal damaging. Lesco then received a form from the Crawford County Jail saying that Spears had refused to submit to a drug test and refused to sign the form acknowledging that he was refusing the test.

On December 29, Lesco received notice from the Bucyrus Police Department that Spears’ girlfriend had come into the station to make a complaint of threats made against her by Spears, using a phone message as proof, which she played for officers.

The Crawford County Sheriff’s Department retrieved the call and the taped conversation was submitted into evidence. Based on those interactions, Lesco amended her original filing and added the threatening phone call as an additional violation of his community control.

On cross examination, Nicholson noted that Lesco hadn’t seen any of the reports first-hand but that Wurm had started the process with Spears.

“You have no personal knowledge of these forms do you? You just have the forms,” Nicholson said.

Lesco acknowledged that Wurm had signed the initial conditions because the events took place before she was hired.

Hoovler called Bucyrus Police Department Captain Greg Stephens to the stand. Stephens testified that he had initial contact with Spears at around 9 a.m. on December 8.

Spears told police he was near Bucyrus Elementary School on Woodlawn Ave. and that he was being followed by people in a small red car. Stephens headed to the elementary school, but Spears was not there. Stephens located him several blocks away in the 500 block of Prospect St. 

Stephens testified that Spears was acting fidgety and paranoid. He seemed to believe someone was following him. Hoovler asked Stephens if he’d seen this kind of behavior before and what he thought contributed to it. Stephens said he had seen this kind of behavior when people were experiencing mental issues or under the influence of drugs.

Stephens said he offered to take Spears to a place where he felt safe. Spears had Stephens take him to a mobile home park in the north end of Bucyrus. Stephens testified that he thought Spears felt safe there and would stay there because he was fearful. Stephens testified, however, that he did not see Spears go into the home.

Stephens said that shortly after he left Spears, 10 to 15 911 calls came into the station, reporting a man wearing an army jacket was knocking on doors and asking residents to call the police because he was being followed. Stephens said he thought it was Spears because he had been wearing an army jacket when he dropped him off in that area.

Stephens located Spears at the corner of Teddy Ave. and Dudley St. Spears again said people were chasing him. He said Spears was still very paranoid.

Spears told Stephens no one was home at the mobile home. Stephens offered to take Spears to another house. Spears had Stephens take him to his girlfriend’s house on Mansfield St. This time Stephens watched him walk in and told him to stay at the residence.

Shortly thereafter, more 911 calls came into the police station, this time coming from the West Charles St. area near Katona Realty. Again, the man was knocking on doors asking for people to call 911 because he was being chased.

Because the behavior was consistent with Spears’ behavior, Stephens responded looking for Spears, who he found one block from Katona Realty. He placed Spears under arrest and noted that Spears complained but complied with the arrest.

Stephens charged Spears with disorderly conduct and criminal damage. Footprints in the snow led officers to a fence that had been broken. Spears had dropped his phone and the homeowner found it.

Spears identified the phone as his, saying he had jumped the fence to get away from the people who were chasing him. When asked why he left the residence after being told to stay there, Spears said he went to get food from Taco Bell for his girlfriend.

On cross examination Nicholson asked Stephens if he had any evidence that Spears was on drugs. Stephens admitted that there was no evidence of drug use but that he suspected it because of Spears’ behavior.

Judge Sean Leuthold asked Stephens if they ever found any evidence that Spears was being followed. Stephens then told the court they had not found any evidence of anyone following Spears.

Hoovler called 22-year veteran Bucyrus Police Officer Curt Bursby to the stand. He testified that he met with a woman at the police station who came in to make a report of threats she received from her boyfriend.

The woman, who was Spears’ girlfriend, had brought her phone into the station and played a message that was left for her by Spears in a call from the Crawford County Jail.

Bursby said the girlfriend felt threatened and reported that Spears had assaulted her in the past. Bursby contacted Detective Keegan of the sheriff’s office. Keegan pulled the conversations recorded on December 28.

Hoovler then played the brief message for the court, “You’re a (expletive deleted) whore and you’ve always been a (expletive deleted) whore. I promise you I will smack the fire out of your (rear end) and blow your mouth out.”

On cross-examination, Nicholson asked Bursby if he knew that the defendant and his girlfriend talk every day. Bursby said he did not. Nicholson went on to imply that the conversation was not a threat but “sexual talk”.

“Some people like to talk to each other that way and then the next conversation is all lovey-dovey,” Nicholson said.

The state rested its case. Nicholson told the court that Spears’ girlfriend was supposed to testify. Leuthold allowed a brief recess for his bailiff and Nicholson to check the courthouse to see if the girlfriend was somewhere in the building. It was determined that she was not in the building.

Nicholson then called Spears to the stand. Spears said he spends around 50 dollars a day to talk to his girlfriend. He told the court he spoke to her shortly before coming to court. He said he left the message because he was angry that she did not answer the phone when he called her.

Spears testified that he and his girlfriend talk seven days a week.

“I have anger issues, I’ll admit that, and I want help for it,” Spears said.

Spears testified that people were following him that day and he called police for help.

“I run from police, I don’t usually call them,” Spears said.

He said that he did not refuse a drug test at the jail, that he was asked if he had to pee when he came in and he did not have to at that time. He said no one asked him to take a drug test.

“I would have taken the test. I (urinate) clean every time.” Spears said.

Spears told the court that he had been chased all over the city that morning. He said he was at Kroger’s at around 8 a.m. and then fled to Erhart’s Party Store and then called 911 for help. Spears said he has not done drugs since 2007.

“I have a bad drinking problem, but I don’t do drugs,” Spears said.

On cross examination Hoovler asked Spears how much he’d had to drink that day. Spears said he did not drink at all that day. Hoovler told Spears that he acknowledged making the call. Spears said he did make the call, but it was not a threatening call to his girlfriend.

Leuthold asked Spears some questions.

“Who are the guys that were chasing you? How did they manage to find you every place you went that day?” Leuthold asked.

Spears said he did not know.

“Were you able to get a license plate number?” Leuthold asked.

Spears said it all happened so fast he couldn’t get a plate number.

“These guys were chasing you all over and yet you left the residence where officer Stephens told you to stay to get food,” Leuthold said.

In closing arguments Hoovler told the court that Spears was guilty by a preponderance of evidence.

“The behavior of Spears on December 29 was not that of a man being chased but a man under the influence. His behavior is also consistent with the refusal to take a drug test,” Hoovler said.

In his closing remarks, Nicholson admitted that his client always seems to be in some sort of trouble.

“He has a habit of being in trouble. This case is entirely based on hearsay. The message to his girlfriend can be interpreted as a sexual conversation, not a threat,” Nicholson said. “Mr. Spears is 41 and his girlfriend is an attractive 28- year-old woman. There are a lot of men who might hold it against Mr. Spears because they want to date his girlfriend. His girlfriend is a very active woman. She did not take that call as a threat but rather a chance to use it against Mr. Spears. She gets all the good drama from this.

“His behavior is not a cause for a probation violation. This is a small flea bite to us. Behavior is not worthy of a violation,” Nicholson added.

Before making his ruling, Leuthold noted that Spears had a long history with the court. The previous court had given Spears a ten-year sentence with four years on top of that sentence to run concurrently. Spears wrote several letters to the court saying he was entitled to judicial release.

“This court did extensive research and learned that Mr. Spears was indeed correct,” Leuthold said. “He was eligible for parole and the court felt it necessary to let him out.”

Leuthold said Spears had his first community control violation last year for an assault on this same girlfriend. The court gave him a second chance. Leuthold said the persistent disorderly conduct by knocking on peoples’ doors while he appeared intoxicated could not be permitted.

“His testimony is almost impossible to believe,” Leuthold said.

Leuthold said he did not believe that Spears was guilty of criminal damaging.

“The state has not proven that he intentionally damaged that fence. I believe Mr. Spears really thought he was being followed,” Leuthold said. “Your statements to your girlfriend were awful. This court abhors violence against women.”

Leuthold ruled that Spears did violate the terms and conditions of his community control.

“Mr. Spears has a long history of drug use. He was most likely on meth when this occurred because meth causes massive paranoia,” Leuthold determined. “People on meth often call the police for help. It’s the simplest explanation for what happened here.

“I have been rooting for Mr. Spears. I wanted him to succeed,” Leuthold said. “But I have got to protect the public. Mr. Spears is a danger to the public and himself.”

Spears was sentenced to the remaining four years of his prison sentence. He will receive credit for all jail time served.