5 arraigned; arson suspect ‘competent’

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Five people were arraigned Wednesday on indictments handed down Friday during the October session of the Van Wert County Grand Jury, while a man accused of setting several arson fires was among four other people who appeared in County Common Pleas Court for a variety of criminal hearings.

Noah Girod, 18, of Van Wert, was found competent to stand trial during a hearing on Wednesday. Judge Martin Burchfield made the ruling after reviewing the results of an examination conducted by Court Diagnostics and Treatment Center in Toledo. The non-profit agency provides forensic evaluations, mental health treatment, and consultation and training services in a 13-county area of northwest Ohio.

Girod earlier entered not guilty pleas to six counts of aggravated arson, all first-degree felonies; two counts of second-degree felony arson; and one count of fourth-degree felony arson.

The indictments were handed down following an investigation by Sheriff Thomas Riggenbach’s office and the State Fire Marshal’s Office into fires set within 24 hours of each other in April. The three fires were set at two separate properties in Hoaglin Township.

Girod was originally charged as a juvenile and was placed in a juvenile detention facility. He was later ordered bound over to the Van Wert County Grand Jury following an amenability hearing in Van Wert County Juvenile Court. He was ordered held on a $500,000 cash bond.

A new hearing has been scheduled in the case for 10 a.m. Friday, October 14, in Common Pleas Court.

Those arraigned on grand jury indictments Wednesday include the following:

Eldon Leroy Howe-Anderson, 28, of Van Wert, pleaded not guilty to a charge of failure to register as a sex offender, a felony of the third degree. Judge Martin Burchfield ordered Howe-Anderson held on a $50,000 cash or commercial surety bond, and scheduled a pretrial conference at 8 a.m. Wednesday, October 26.

Lucas Luebrecht, 20, of Fort Jennings, entered a plea of not guilty to one count of possession of cocaine, a fifth-degree felony. He was released on a surety bond, with a pretrial conference set for 8 a.m. October 26.

Robert Galloway Jr., 33, of Van Wert, pleaded not guilty to one count of possession of heroin, a felony of the fifth degree. A $10,000 cash or commercial surety bond was set in the case, and Galloway was ordered to appear for a pretrial conference at 8 a.m. Wednesday, October 19.

Dustin Welker, 29, of Van Wert, entered a not guilty plea to a charge of possession of cocaine, a felony of the fifth degree. He was released on a surety bond and will appear for a pretrial conference at 8 a.m. October 26.

Melissa Herron, 38, of Fort Jennings, pleaded not guilty to one count of passing bad checks, a misdemeanor of the first degree. She was released on a surety bond and a pretrial conference was scheduled for 8 a.m. October 26.

Also Wednesday, one person was sentenced and two others entered plea changes in Common Pleas Court.

Joshua Williams, 22, of Van Wert, was given five years of community control, including up to six months in the Western Ohio Regional Treatment and Habilitation (WORTH) Center in Lima. He must also forfeit $2,780 to the West Central Ohio Crime Task Force, and must report to jail Thursday at 8 a.m. prior to assignment to the WORTH Center.

Jamie Melcher, 35, of Convoy, changed her plea from not guilty to guilty to one count each of operating a vehicle while impaired (OVI), with a stipulation that this is her second offense in six years, and one count of attempted failure to comply with the order of a police officer (fleeing), a felony of the fourth degree (reduced from a third-degree felony count of failure to comply with the order of a police officer). Judge Burchfield granted Melcher’s request for treatment in lieu of conviction on the fleeing charge only, while sentencing her to five days in jail on the OVI charge, as well as 18 days on electronically monitored house arrest, a $525 fine, and a one-year driver’s license suspension, with work privileges after 45 days. Her vehicle was also immobilized for 90 days.

Ryan Schaadt, 31, of Van Wert, changed his plea to guilty to one count of possession of heroin, a felony of the fifth degree. A second count of possession of cocaine, also a fifth-degree felony, was dismissed in exchange for Schaadt’s guilty plea to the heroin charge.

Judge Burchfield ordered a presentence investigation and scheduled sentencing for 9 a.m. Wednesday, November 23.