Convicted arsonist sentenced in CP Court

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

A Van Wert woman was sent to prison following a probation violation, while a man convicted of arson was also sentenced during hearings held Wednesday in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court.

Judge Martin Burchfield sentenced Tristan Boaz, 24, of Van Wert, to 12 months in prison after she admitted she violated her probation by being terminated from the Western Ohio Regional Treatment and Habilitation (WORTH) Center in Lima, a facility that provides substance abuse counseling in an institutional setting.

Judge Burchfield also gave Boaz credit for 56 days already served.

Van Wert County Probate-Juvenile Judge Kevin Taylor also heard three cases on Wednesday, including a sentencing hearing for Alex Helt, 41, of Convoy.

Helt was sentenced to five years of community control, including 180 days in jail, to begin immediately with work release, and reimbursement of $2,778.76 to the State of Ohio for the cost of investigating the charges.

He was also required to register as an arson offender for the rest of  his life.

Helt, who was indicted in February on one count each of aggravated arson, a felony of the first degree, aggravated arson, a second-degree felony, and insurance fraud, a fourth-degree felony, later pleaded guilty to the second-degree arson and insurance fraud charges.

Helt was accused of burning down a building he owned to collect an insurance settlement.

Judge Taylor also sentenced Kaitlyn Russell, 20, of Delphos, to 11 months in prison, with credit for 131 days already served, after she admitted to violating her probation by failing to report for daily drug screens and not completing counseling at Westwood Behavioral Health Center.

Joshua Minyoung, 32, of Van Wert, also appeared in court on a probation violation charge. He admitted violating his probation by being in possession of drugs and failing to report to probation.

Judge Taylor re-sentenced Minyoung to five years of community control under the same conditions as before.