By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Crawford County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold granted two judicial releases Wednesday morning, but one case held more urgency to it.
Twenty-five-year-old Kylie Smith has been in prison since December after admitting to violating her community control in two cases dating back to 2011. A run-in with another inmate, however, had Leuthold concerned about Smith’s safety and led him to grant her judicial release.
“Can’t get away from the Tyler Ward case,” Leuthold griped when Smith took her seat at the defendant’s table.
The judge was referring to the drug trafficking jury trial that took place on Feb. 9 and 10 in which Ward was found guilty on four of five counts. Ward’s girlfriend, Tiffany Quaintance, played a peripheral role in the incidents leading up to the charges filed against Ward, but she was never indicted on charges relating to the drug trafficking investigation. Instead, she pleaded guilty on Jan. 25 to two counts of drug possession and one for tampering with evidence. Quaintance was sentenced to 59 months in prison.
Smith’s and Quaintance’s time behind bars overlapped for a short period and it was during that stint that Quaintance smuggled heroin into the facility and gave some to Smith. Leuthold noted that Quaintance confessed to bringing the drug into a detention facility, but later blamed Smith for snitching on her.
Expressing frustration and a desire to set the record straight, Leuthold fell back on the facts that sprouted from the incident.
“Ms. Smith was in no way, shape, or form a snitch,” Leuthold stated with authority. He added that Quaintance was “running her mouth” and “willing to put everyone’s life at risk,” including Smith’s.
“The mess and destruction,” Leuthold said of Quaintance’s and Ward’s trafficking, “continues to reverberate.”
Despite his concern over Smith’s welfare, Leuthold refused to put blinders on when it came to her history. He noted that Smith’s biggest issue was her arrested development, but hoped the altercation with Quaintance will force her to mature. The judge even applauded Smith when she said she wanted to go to a community-based correctional facility.
“The reality of it is I didn’t tell anybody,” Smith said as she left her seat.
Leuthold granted Smith’s judicial release motion. Once a bed is available, Smith will enter into a community-based correctional facility and, after that, the court’s Intensive Supervision and Treatment program.
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Erin Obenour spent only a few months of her nearly five-year prison sentence behind bars before being granted judicial release. Obenour was ordered to enter a community-based correctional facility program once a spot became available. As part of her plea agreement, Obenour will have to pay $350 in restitution to Firelands Federal Credit Union and $1,100 to Chase Bank.
Obenour originally pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree felony burglary and one count of fifth-degree forgery on Dec. 19.
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