Local man sentenced for break-ins

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

A man charged with several area break-ins, as well as with probation violation, will be spend 18 months in prison following his sentencing Tuesday in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court.

Kevin Clay, 28, of Van Wert, was sentenced to nine months in prison, with credit for 130 days already served, on the probation violation charge, and 11 months each on two counts of breaking and entering, all fifth-degree felonies. Judge Charles D. Steele ordered that the breaking and entering sentences be served concurrently with each other, but consecutively to the probation violation sentence.

Clay was also ordered to pay restitution to several local businesses and a city church, as follows: Elmco Engineering, $5,775; Uptown Laundry, $520; Van Wert Glass, $1,504; and First Friends Church, $195.

A second city man, Jeremy Rollins, 36, was ordered to serve a nine-month prison term previously deferred by his community control sentence after he admitted to violating several stipulations of his community control during a hearing held Tuesday.

Rollins had admitted to failure to get permission from the probation department before moving his residence, failure to report to his probation officer and failure to complete required counseling.

Three other people were sentenced to community control terms on Tuesday. They include:

Robert K. Stoller, 30, of Van Wert, was given three years of community control, including 30 days of electronically monitored house arrest, during his sentencing on a charge of possession of drugs, a felony of the fifth degree. Stoller must also undergo a substance abuse assessment and any treatment recommended and had his driver’s license suspended for six months.

Alisha Stemen, 21, of Van Wert, was also given three years of community control on a fifth-degree felony count of possession of heroin. Her sentence also included 60 days of electronically monitored house arrest, substance abuse treatment and a six-month driver’s license suspension.

Megan Fischbach, 23, of Delphos, was given a one-year term of community control during her sentencing on a charge of attempted unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor of the first degree. She must also undergo a substance abuse assessment and treatment, if recommended.

Also Tuesday, Michael Whisman, 22, of Van Wert, changed his plea to guilty on a charge of trafficking in drugs, a felony of the fifth degree, as well as to one fourth-degree felony count of trafficking in drugs and a fifth-degree felony count of possession of drugs — both new charges.

His personal surety bond was also revoked and he was ordered held in jail on a $20,000 cash bond until his sentencing hearing at 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 11, after he admitted attempting to use another person’s urine for a probation department drug test.

A presentence investigation was also ordered in the case.