Man pleads to helping take drugs into jail

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

A Van Wert man accused of helping take drugs into a correctional facility pleaded guilty to a lesser charge during hearings held Wednesday in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court.

Tyler Kast, 20, entered a guilty plea to a charge of attempted complicity to the illegal conveyance of drugs of abuse onto the grounds of a specified government facility. The charge is a fourth-degree felony. A presentence investigation was ordered and sentencing scheduled for Wednesday, May 29.

Kast and another person, Ruth Ann Napier, 21, were both charged in connection with the offense. Napier pleaded not guilty to a related charge during her arraignment on April 10.

Nathan Frost, 32, pleaded guilty to a charge of nonsupport of dependents, a felony of the fifth degree, on Wednesday and was placed in the prosecutor’s diversion program by Judge Charles D. Steele.

Three people were also sentenced during hearings held Wednesday.

Nathan Wappelhorst, 31, of Van Wert, was given three years of community control during his sentencing hearing on a charge of possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony. As part of his community control, Wappelhorst was given a six-month jail sentence and was ordered to complete a substance abuse assessment and complete any treatment recommended.

Desma Chesbro, 21, of Van Wert, was given three years of community control that includes 30 days of electronically monitored house arrest on a charge of corrupting another with drugs, a fourth-degree felony offense.

She also had her driver’s license suspended for six months. Chesbro is currently being treated for substance abuse problems at Westwood Behavioral Health Center in Van Wert.

A man who broke a window out in a door at the Van Wert County Correctional Facility while drunk was given three years of community control, including a 60-day jail term, on Wednesday.

Tom Waxler, 36, of Defiance, must also undergo a substance abuse assessment and treatment and must pay $456.04 to the sheriff’s department as reimbursement for the cost of the window.