Man gets prison for violating probation

DAVE MOSIER/Van Wert independent

Six people appeared for hearings in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court on Thursday, with one of those sent to prison after admitting he violated his community control sentence.

Andrew Graham, 19, of Delphos, admitted his violated his probation by being terminated from the Western Ohio Regional Treatment and Habilitation (WORTH) Center in Lima. Graham was ordered by retired Judge Charles D. Steele to serve a 12-month prison term previously handed down, but also gave him 63 days credit for time served.

Others who appeared before Judge Steele on Thursday include the following:

Michael Keipper, 25, of Van Wert, was declared competent to stand trial following an evaluation by Court Diagnostics in Toledo on charges filed in connection with a stabbing incident in Van Wert that occurred in late October 2014.

Keipper was indicted on one count each of attempted murder and aggravated burglary, both felonies of the first degree, and three counts of felonious assault, all second-degree felonies, in connection with the stabbing of Keipper’s estranged wife, Megan A. Gillette; her alleged boyfriend, Kody N. Detwiler; and a downstairs neighbor, Raenita L. Hibbard, at an apartment house on South Wall Street.

He is being held on a $500,000 cash bond in the case.

James Reynolds, 35, of Delphos, appeared in court on a motion to withdraw his guilty plea related to a robbery at the Ramblers’ Roost truck stop last year. Following the hearing, Judge Steele took the matter under advisory and will made a ruling on the request at a later date.

Reynolds was ordered held in jail on a $500,000 cash bond until a decision is made on the request.

Heather Ratliff, 37, of Convoy, was given a year of community control on a charge of attempted forgery, a misdemeanor of the first degree.

April Diltz, 36, of Van Wert, was resentenced to three years of community control, with the addition of up to six months in the WORTH Center, after she admitted violating her probation by testing positive for drugs. She was ordered held in jail until her transfer to the WORTH Center.

Tiffany Dearing, 30, of Van Wert, entered a plea of guilty to a prosecutor’s bill of information charging her with possession of drugs, a first-degree misdemeanor. A presentence investigation was ordered and Dearing will appear for sentencing at 9 a.m. Wednesday, February 4.