BUCYRUS — Kimberly Hines of Galion appeared in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday to admit to violating the terms and conditions of her community control when she submitted to a random drug test and results were positive for methamphetamines.
Wednesday’s hearing was to argue sentence before Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold.
Hines, 45, was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2010 for her participation in what Leuthold called a “horrendous” crime. Hines was the driver that transported three men to a residence in Galion, where they tied up the elderly residents in order to rob them.
When the elderly female victim did not provide satisfactory answers about valuables to her attackers, she was beaten severely. In a plea deal coordinated by former prosecutors and the former judge, Hines was sentenced to nine years in prison for aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony. As part of her guilty plea, Hines was promised judicial release after serving five years in prison. She was granted judicial release in October 2015.
Hines was represented in court by Bucyrus attorney Brad Starkey. The State of Ohio was represented by Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Hoovler. Both presented arguments for sentencing.
Hoovler said Hines had participated in the home invasion that occurred in 2009.
“She drove three men to the home to commit the invasion. An elderly female was beaten to gain information on where valuables could be found in the home,” Hoovler said. “It was a terrible, heinous crime. She was the driver. She drove them to and from the crime and shared in the loot.”
Hoovler noted that Hines had been on probation for some time but relapsed. He reserved the right to make further comments at the conclusion of the hearing.
Starkey called four witnesses to testify on behalf of Hines. The first was Ashley Crawford, House Manager for the Willow House, sponsored by Together We Hurt Together We Heal. Crawford testified that Hines had reached out to them for help from jail and said she had 4-5 meetings with Hines at the jail.
Crawford also testified that she reviewed case notes from the Community Counseling Center. Hines had been seeking counseling since being arrested on the community control violation. Crawford testified that Hines seemed to want help and that she knows she needs help with alcohol, drug, and mental health issues and believed Hines could benefit from her program.
“She seems to want to put the work in,” Crawford said.
According to Crawford, the Willow House program is at least a six-month commitment. Participants are allowed no visitors for the first 30 days, they must attend three meetings a week, participate in one religious activity a week and continue counseling at either Community Counseling or Mary Haven. Crawford said all participants are drug tested and she notifies the court and probation if they fail a drug test.
In cross examination, Hoovler asked Crawford what behaviors Hines displayed that made her believe she would be a good candidate for the program, but Crawford was unable to site a specific reason. She noted that Hines had admitted she had relapsed for about a month and a half before the violation.
“Did she seek help after her first relapse a month and a half ago?” Hoovler asked. Crawford said she did not reach out earlier and that her first contact with Hines was through jail.
Starkey noted that often people on community control are afraid to ask for help because they know if they fail the drug test, they are going to end up right back in the system. Crawford agreed that people usually try to avoid arrest or think they can get their addiction under control on their own.
Leuthold told Crawford that he had the highest respect for all agencies represented in the court.
“You do incredible and important work in our community,” Leuthold said. He asked Crawford if, prior to her arrest, Hines had ever sought help from her agency. Crawford said she did not.
Starkey next called Santana Stamper, who heads up Operation Hope at the Bucyrus Police Department, which deals with people in recovery. Stamper said that, although she had never met Hines before today, she had studied her case and secured a bed for her at Pathways Residential Treatment Center in Bloomville.
Stamper said she follows all participants personally and provides updates to the court regularly. Stamper explained that because of Hine’s history, at least a 12-month commitment was necessary.
“Ideally we would be looking at an 18-month program. We typically see people as a result of legal trouble,” Stamper said. “We have a higher success rate with those in jail than those that walk in. They don’t want to go to prison. We want to show them that there is life after addiction.”
The third witness, Faye Horner, is the grandmother of Hines. Horner outlined the difficult life her granddaughter had and said Hines was in her home a lot of her childhood. Her parents divorced and remarried.
“The children got tossed around,” Horner said. She noted that Hines had been well behaved until she began experiencing medical issues at the age of 10 or 11.
Hines was diagnosed with epilepsy and placed on many different medications by the time she was 12 to 13 and Horner said her granddaughter smoked a lot of pot with the permission of her parents.
“Do you believe she became addicted to marijuana?” Starkey asked. Horner said she absolutely believed that is when the addiction began and added her granddaughter also became addicted to various pain medications prescribed to her.
Horner went on to speak of the mental health issues on Hines’ father’s side of the family, so intense that some family members were institutionalized.
“I hope the court will hear her heart’s cry. If the mental problems are not addressed, it’s not doing any good to lock her up,” Horner said.
The last witness to testify was Hines’ probation officer, Mark Alspach, who took her case in September 2015. He said she attended meetings and completed programs as required.
“She became a model probationer and stayed out of trouble until this issue,” Alspach said.
Alspach said he received a phone call from an anonymous source who told him Hines was taking meth and selling it out of her trailer In Galion. He said Hines was scheduled for a visit, so he waited for her to come into the office. He administered the drug test and when she failed, he placed her in custody. Alspach said there was no reason to believe she was trafficking meth.
In a final question, Starkey asked Alspach if he felt she would benefit from treatment.
“If she stays off drugs, she can make it,” Alspach said.
Hines told the court that the time in county jail had opened her eyes.
“I messed up. Now I want to be a counselor and take this time to help other women,” Hines said. “I never had the opportunity for help.”
Starkey asked his client how she stayed sober for three-and-a-half years before suffering this relapse. Hines said she had kept to herself.
“I started hanging around the wrong people again and fell into old habits,” Hines said.
In closing remarks, Hoovler told the court that Hines had many opportunities for help.
“I appreciate anyone who wants to make a change in their life. But in my seat, I deal with people who use that and commit crimes against others. She committed a terrible crime and was sentenced in 2010,” Hoovler said. “She was given a chance when the state gave her judicial release after serving five years of her sentence. That’s a significant chance to prove to the state, court and herself how she could turn her life around. She failed. The state asks the court to reimpose her prison sentence.”
Starkey said he agreed with Hoovler on many points but stated there’s no switch that turns addiction on and off.
“People struggle and trip and each time they fail they are just as serious as ever to rebound. Even as they struggle, they are making progress,” Starkey said.
Starkey said there was a real fear to report relapse because of ending back in the system that put offenders in prison in the first place.
“This is a perspective that reflects progress, not perfection,” Starkey said.
Before rendering sentence, Leuthold commended Starkey for preparing an excellent argument on behalf of his client.
“Thank you for your eloquent comments. The witnesses you provided do excellent work in our community,” Leuthold said. “I found the grandmother’s testimony particularly strong.”
In explaining a complicated case, Leuthold said he must consider two things — the underlying case and the violation.
“The underlying case is a first-degree felony probation violation on aggravated burglary after a judicial release. In 2009, she became involved with some very bad people and got mixed up on heroin,” Leuthold said. “They held two elderly people hostage. They bashed the face of an elderly woman. They tied up and tortured people in a home invasion. These were elderly people unable to defend themselves as well as a younger person might.”
Leuthold told the court that this case was sentenced under a different judge and prosecutor but that he honored their deal to release Hines after five years.
“I told her at the time she was fortunate and that she would be on intense probation and that if she was as much as 10 minutes late to an appointment, I wanted to know it,” Leuthold said. “She did well under strict supervision. Naturally when people do well, the reigns are loosened a bit. But this was a crime so terrible we had to insure it would never happen again.”
Leuthold said that Hines switched to an even more dangerous drug in using meth.
“Apparently the public knew she was using, and it prompted someone to call us. Someone on meth is much more aggressive and dangerous than when on other drugs. Violent crimes are often committed by people using meth,” Leuthold said.
“If this were a non-violent underlying crime, I would have gone with Mr. Starkey all the way,” Leuthold said.
Leuthold reiterated that his decision was difficult.
“That’s why I sit here because I make the tough decisions. I must err on the side of public safety,” Leuthold said. “You cannot run around Crawford County on community control for a violent crime doing an even more dangerous drug. You were right back on the path that got you here in the first place.”
Leuthold reimposed the remainder of Hines’ nine-year sentence. She will serve approximately three-and-a-half years in prison and will be given jail time credit.