1/21/2010 5:00:00 AM
Clay sentenced to prison at Common Pleas Court
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| Ed Gebert/Times Bulletin Kevin L. Clay wipes away tears after being sentenced to 12 months in prison on three felony charges against him. Clay was found guilty by a jury in November of theft of drugs and illegal processing of drug documents.
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| Ed Gebert/Times Bulletin Tasha N. Stevens awaits sentencing Wednesday morning in Van Wert County Court of Common Pleas.
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BY ED GEBERT
Times Bulletin News Writer
egebert@timesbulletin.com
An Internet posting did not help the case of a Van Wert man who was in Van Wert County Court of Common Pleas Wednesday for sentencing.
Kevin Lee Clay, 24, was sentenced to 12 months in prison on one count of theft of drugs and two counts of illegal processing of drug documents. In December, a jury found him guilty of taking prescription Darvocet from a neighbor and obtaining refills twice at a local pharmacy. Clay was acquitted of burglarizing the neighbor's home in the trial.
During the sentencing hearing, Clay's attorney, Scott Gordon, asserted that his client had turned his life around. Clay himself told Judge Charles D. Steele that he regretted the choices he had been making in his life. "This isn't the road I want to keep going down anymore," Clay stated.
However, Assistant County Prosecutor Kevin Taylor presented the court with a copy of a posting made by Clay on the social networking website Facebook that painted a different picture. "It indicates a lack of remorse on the part of the defendant after the trial," Taylor pointed out.
Steele then noted that Clay's criminal record dated back to 1997 as a juvenile and to 2003 as an adult, with convictions for breaking and entering, burglary, forgery, receiving stolen property and many other felonies.
Clay was originally charged with breaking in and taking a nearly-full bottle of Darvocet from his neighbor, then refilling the prescription twice at the Wal Mart Pharmacy. Clay claimed he found the empty bottle in the backyard and eventually admitted to refilling the prescription after being confronted with security camera footage from the store.
Steele sentenced Clay to 12-month prison terms on each of the three counts with the sentences to be served concurrently. Clay was granted eight days credit for time already served.
Tasha N. Stevens, 26, Van Wert, was sent to the Van Wert County Jail for 30 days and will spend two years on community control on a fifth-degree felony charge of theft from an elderly person.
Stevens was arrested after a Van Wert Police Department investigation revealed that she had taken money belonging to an elderly person that was living in an assisted living facility. She will be required to make restitution of $30 and pay fees and court costs. An eight-month prison sentence was deferred pending the successful completion of community control.
Brandon Homister, 24, Columbia City, Indiana, was found to have violated the terms of his community control by being terminated from the WORTH Center program. He was ordered to spend 60 days in the Van Wert County Jail.
Homister was originally convicted of forgery in connection with a credit card stolen from a car parked at Hat Creek Arena last January.
Also on Wednesday, Marcus A. Watson, 23, Van Wert, pleaded guilty to illegal processing of a drug document, a felony of the fifth degree. He had been charged in connection with a Dec. 11 incident when he was found in possession of a prescription with additional drugs included.
A motion that would allow Watson the opportunity to seek treatment in lieu of a conviction was granted by the court. He will be under the supervision of the Van Wert County Adult Probation Department for a period of up to one year while he undergoes a drug rehabilitation program.
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