By Gary Ogle and Krystal Smalley
gogle@wbcowqel.com; ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Crawford County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold was clearly frustrated and conflicted Wednesday morning when faced with sending two defendants to prison who had yet to celebrate their 20th birthdays.
Eighteen-year-old Aaron Mitchell had just reached the age of majority last fall when he and other juveniles became embroiled in a retaliatory act that led to Mitchell being charged with first-degree felony aggravated burglary. Mitchell and as many as three or four others broke into a house on Harris Street in Bucyrus and assaulted a resident before taking money and property including an I-phone that was later recovered at a pawn shop.
Wednesday Mitchell pleaded guilty to the charge.
The judge agreed to the plea bargain which called for a four-year prison sentence. The maximum sentence for that offense is 11 years. The judge said the typical sentence in his courtroom for such an offense is eight years. He noted he was torn between feeling the sentence was much too light on one hand, and not wanting to send an 18-year-old to prison for what he deemed to be an act of youthful stupidity.
“Young people get caught up in playing gangster. They’re not (gangsters), they’re just stupid fools,” Leuthold said. “Yet, these are real crimes.”
The judge spent a significant amount of time talking with Mitchell about what was ahead of him, both in and out of prison.
“This is a case I feel no satisfaction from whatsoever,” the judge said.
Mitchell was also fined $9,000 and ordered to pay restitution for an amount yet to be determined. Mitchell will also be placed on mandatory post-release control for a period of five years when released.
RELATED CONTENT: Additional child porn charges result in additional bond
Nineteen-year-old Taylor Young returned to court as a result of allegations she violated probation. APA officer Mark Alspach told the court that Young had entered the court’s ISAT program in December and in January tested positive for cocaine.
Young’s original conviction was for felony 5 drug possession and several misdemeanor counts related to drugs. On Wednesday she was sentenced to 18 months in prison after admitting to the violations.
“Taylor, I’m worried about you,” the judge said. “Things are going to go very badly for you if you don’t change your life. You are better than that. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re not.”
RELATED CONTENT: Judge frustrated by ‘ineffective, counterproductive’ approach | Man charged with Check Into Cash robberies is arraigned | Eight of 12 arraigned facing drug charges | Drug overdose cases dominate felony arraignments
Forty-three-year-old Carl McCrea was the third person Monday morning who was sentenced to prison. McCrea pleaded guilty to felony 5 drug possession and under the terms of a plea agreement received a seven-month prison sentence.
McCrea was also fined $1,250 and had his driver’s license suspended as required by state statute.
Robert Byrne made it two years on community control, but an incident in Marion saw his fortune change in Crawford County.
The 30-year-old Bucyrus man admitted to violating his community control in Crawford County Common Pleas Court Wednesday afternoon when he was convicted of complicity to commit theft on Nov. 30, 2016 in Marion.
Judge Sean Leuthold chose not to punish Byrne with the maximum sentence and, instead, ordered him to serve seven months in prison. The judge also told Byrne to find better friends.
“I just messed up and was with the wrong person,” Byrne admitted.
Byrne pleaded guilty to breaking and entering, a fifth-degree felony, in 2014 and was sentenced to five years on community control.
RELATED CONTENT: Man charged with Check Into Cash robberies is arraigned | Three sentenced to prison following guilty pleas