6 appear for CP Court criminal hearings

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Six people appeared for criminal hearings in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court over the past week, including a Dayton man arraigned Friday on a forgery charge.

Jurode Jordan, 31, entered a not guilty plea to the forgery count, a felony of the fifth degree. He was ordered held on a $10,000 cash/commercial surety bond and a pretrial conference was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday, March 2.

Jeremy Whitaker, 38, of Delphos, appeared Friday and admitted to violating his bond by failing to report to probation and failing to report for drug screens. Judge Martin D. Burchfield then set the case for a further hearing this past Tuesday.

During that hearing, Whitaker changed his plea to guilty to assault, a felony of the fourth degree. Judge Burchfield ordered a presentence investigation and scheduled sentencing for 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 28.

Two sentencings were held on Wednesday.

John Ashbaugh, 45, of Van Wert, was sentenced to 24 months in prison on a charge of aggravated trafficking in drugs, a felony of the third degree, and 11 months each of counts of trafficking in drugs and trafficking in marijuana, both felonies of the fifth degree.

Sentences are to run concurrent to one another, with credit for one day already served.

Chad Fisher, 41, of Van Wert, was given three months of community control on a charge of possession of cocaine, a felony of the fifth degree. The community control sentences includes undergoing a substance abuse assessment and any treatment recommended.

Lora Bower, 45, of Lancaster, entered a not guilty plea to one count of aggravated possession of drugs, a felony of the fifth degree, during an arraignment hearing on Tuesday.

She was released on a personal surety bond, with a pretrial conference set for 8 a.m. Wednesday, March 7.