Man given prison term in CP Court

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

An Ohio City man protested loudly after his sentencing when, instead of the “promised” community control term he was expecting, Van Wert County Common Pleas Judge Charles D. Steele sentenced him to prison.

Andrew Thomas, 32, called Judge Steele “crooked” after the judge rejected his attempt to withdraw his guilty plea after he was sentenced to 12 months in prison on a charge of escape, a fifth-degree felony. The judge did give Thomas credit for 138 days already served.

Thomas mistakenly believed that discussions between the prosecutor’s office and his attorney, Dillon Staas, on the possibility of community control and a term in the Western Ohio Regional Treatment and Habilitation (WORTH) Center in Lima were binding on the judge.

Instead, Judge Steele read off a number of previous charges against Thomas, including several domestic violence offenses, in determining that the defendant was not amenable to community control.

After the sentence was handed down, Thomas began shouting that he wanted to withdraw his guilty plea. “I was promised the WORTH Center and that’s the only reason I pled guilty,” he shouted, to which Judge Steele replied that a plea cannot be withdrawn after sentencing. The judge did add, though, that Thomas had the right to appeal the sentence.

Also Wednesday, former Delphos businessman Robert Fishbein was sentenced on a six-count indictment charging him with attempted violation of a civil protection order, all misdemeanors of the first degree. Judge Steele sentenced the 51-year-old Fishbein to five years of community control and 180 days in jail on each count, with the jail time to run consecutively, but then suspended the jail time if Fishbein leaves the area for counseling in California after his release from prison on October 27.

The judge also prohibited Fishbein from contacting the victim in the case and banned him from returning to Ohio without prior permission.

Justine Jerome, 28, of Van Wert, was also sentenced on Wednesday. She was given three years of community control on a charge of possession of drugs, a felony of the fifth degree. Her driver’s license was also suspended for six months, and she was ordered to pay court costs and partial reimbursement for defense attorney fees.

Four people also changed their pleas in Common Pleas Court on Wednesday.

Alex Chorvas, 19, of Van Wert, pleaded guilty to two fourth-degree felony counts of attempted corrupting another with drugs, reduced from corrupting another with drugs, a felony of the third degree.

Derek Showalter, 32, of Paulding, entered a guilty plea to two counts of trafficking in heroin, each a fifth-degree felony; possession of heroin, a felony of the third degree (reduced from a second-degree felony); and having a weapon under disability, a felony of the third degree. A fifth-degree felony count of aggravated possession of drugs was dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea.

Alisha Stemen, 25, of Van Wert, changed her plea to guilty to three counts of theft, each a felony of the fifth degree, and one third-degree felony county of burglary. A second-degree burglary count was dismissed in exchange for her guilty plea.

Rhonda Risley, 45, of Convoy, entered a guilty plea to one count of possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony.

Judge Steele ordered presentence investigations for all those changing their pleas and scheduled sentencing hearings for the four defendants for 9 a.m. Wednesday, November 26.

During a hearing held Wednesday, Logan Linton, 22, of Van Wert, was found competent to stand trial following his evaluation by the Court Diagnostics and Treatment Center in Toledo. A pretrial conference was then scheduled for 8 a.m. Wednesday, October 29.

Brandon Thompson, 27, of Van Wert, also appeared for a hearing to determine whether he qualifies for a court-appointed attorney. Following evidence presented at the hearing, Judge Steele ruled that Thompson would have to hire his own attorney.