5/27/2010 12:05:00 AM
Five enter guilty pleas
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Ed Gebert/Times Bulletin
Matthew S. Lause, Delphos, entered a guilty plea to a drug trafficking charge Wednesday morning in Van Wert County Court of Common Pleas. Lause was one of 19 persons picked up in a drug sweep on May 14.
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BY ED GEBERT
Times Bulletin News Writer
egebert@timesbulletin.com
A Van Wert man pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts related to the forging of a stolen check. Michael M. Whisman, 19, was accused of cashing a stolen check he wrote to himself at a local bank on April 15. The guilty plea was entered to counts of receiving stolen property and forgery, each felonies of the fifth degree.
Also in Common Pleas Court, two of the persons rounded up in a drug sweep by Delphos Police earlier this month entered guilty pleas. Matthew S. Lause, 21, Van Wert, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of trafficking in drugs. Lause had originally been charged with a third-degree felony, but admitted to a fourth-degree felony charge.
Delphos Police accused Lause of offering to sell heroin on Sept. 2, 2009. He faces up to 18 months in prison at his July 7 sentencing hearing.
Joshua Hurles, 21, Delphos, pleaded guilty to one of two counts of trafficking in marijuana, a felony of the fifth degree. A second charge was dropped in exchange for the guilty plea. Hurles was arrested after selling marijuana to an undercover agent working for the West Central Crime Task Force on Jan. 14 and 21 in Delphos. Sentencing was set for July 7.
Curtis Boroff, 29, Van Wert, entered a guilty plea to non-support of dependents, a felony of the fifth degree. Boroff was indicted by the grand jury after hearing testimony from the Van Wert County Child Support Enforcement Agency. He entered the Child Support Diversion Program, and if he successfully completes the program the charge will be removed from his record.
A 19-year-old Van Wert woman pleaded guilty to two drug possession charges and was granted treatment in lieu of conviction by Van Wert County Common Pleas Judge Charles D. Steele.
Haley J. Moser, was caught with both cocaine and heroin in her possession on Nov. 21. She will be supervised by the Van Wert County Probation Department while she is involved in the treatment program.
A Sylvania man was put on community control for five years for a misdemeanor charge of telecommunications harassment. Shawn Ussery, 22, was charged in January after a Van Wert County Sheriff's Department investigation. He was already convicted of a similar misdemeanor in October. The original felony charge was reduced in exchange for the guilty plea.
As part of the community control sentence, Ussery will spend eight days in the Van Wert County Jail, perform 200 hours of community service, and undergo both a substance abuse assessment and a psychological assessment, completing any recommended treatment programs. In addition, Ussery is not to have any contact in any form with the victim or victim's family, including through internet social media. A 180-day jail sentence was deferred pending the successful completion of community control.
Matthew Etzler, 23, Ohio City, admitted to violating his community control by lying to and not reporting to his supervision officer as required, and for testing positive for the use of drugs. Steele continued the hearing for 60 days so that Etzler could enter a drug rehabilitation program in Fort Wayne, Indiana later in the day.
Kareem Howard, 35, Van Wert, was found competent to stand trial for a fourth-degree felony charge of domestic violence. The evaluation was conducted by Court Diagnostics of Toledo.
Michael L. Carter, Jr., 26, Dayton appeared in court to waive his right to a speedy trial. Carter is involved in a case in Federal court in Dayton. He was arraigned last week on felony charges of complicity to commit grand theft of a motor vehicle and complicity to commit forgery.
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