5 appear for Common Pleas hearings

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Five people appeared Wednesday for hearings in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court.

Jonnie Krouse, 40, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, entered a guilty plea to a prosecutor’s bill of information charging her with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a first-degree misdemeanor, as well as an amended charge of aggravated possession of drugs, a felony of the fifth degree, and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony offense.

Krouse then requested treatment in lieu of conviction on the drug and weapons charges, which was granted by Judge Martin Burchfield.

The Fort Wayne woman was sentenced to one year of community control and a six-month driver’s license suspension on the drunk driving charge, and must undergo a substance abuse assessment and any recommended treatment.

Krouse was also fined $375, plus court costs and monthly probation supervision fees.

Joe Quevedo, 52, of Van Wert, admitted to violating his probation by refusing to report for a drug screen and refusing to cooperate with probation during a hearing before Van Wert County Probate-Juvenile Judge Kevin Taylor.

Quevedo was sentenced to 360 days in jail on the probation violation charge, with credit given for 332 days already served.

Jeremy Whitaker, 36, of Delphos, admitted to violating his probation by overdosing and then testing positive for opiates during a hearing in front of Judge Burchfield. He was resentenced to community control under the same conditions as his previous probation term, plus 60 days in jail, intensive outpatient treatment at Westwood Behavioral Health Center, and assessment for medically-assisted drug treatment.

Terrence Branson, 21, of Van Wert, was given five years of community control, including 30 days in jail, on a charge of theft, a felony of the fifth degree.

He must also undergo a substance abuse assessment and any recommended treatment.

Also Wednesday, Sergio Freire, 24, of St. Paul, Minnesota, changed his plea to guilty to a prosecutor’s bill of information charging him with illegal use of marijuana paraphernalia, a minor misdemeanor. He was fined $25, plus court costs.