4 judges hear Common Pleas Court cases

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

A total of 10 people appeared in front of one of four judges during hearings held Wednesday in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court.

Judge Martin Burchfield conducted an arraignment hearing for Steven Diltz, 30, of Delphos, who entered a not guilty plea to two counts of breaking and entering, both felonies of the fifth degree. Judge Burchfield set a $5,000 cash bond in the case and scheduled a pretrial conference for 8 a.m. Wednesday, April 15.

County Probate-Juvenile Judge Kevin Taylor presided over two sentencings and a change of plea hearing.

Antin Bartley, 20, of Van Wert, was given three years of community control, including up to six months at the Western Ohio Regional Treatment and Habilitation (WORTH) Center in Lima, on a charge of attempted aggravated trafficking in drugs, a fifth-degree felony offense.

Lisa Langenkamp, 27, of Van Wert, had her sentencing hearing on a charge of attempted tampering with evidence, a fourth-degree felony, continued until 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 29, so that more information can be collected on the case.

A Van Wert man, Napoleon Shurelds Jr., 30, changed his plea to guilty on one count each of trafficking in a counterfeit substance, a felony of the fifth degree (reduced from a fourth-degree felony), and possession of marijuana, also a fifth-degree felony, but with a specification that Shurelds used $2,607 in U.S. currency in commission of the offense. Two other counts were dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea.

Retired Common Pleas Judge Charles D. Steele heard two sentencing hearings, two changes of plea and a probation violation hearing on Wednesday.

Richard Stegaman, 48, of Van Wert, was given three years of community control on a charge of illegal use of Supplemental Nutrition or WIC (Women, Infants, Children) program benefits, a felony of the fifth degree.

Stegaman must also pay $365.50 in restitution as part of his sentence, and may not apply for food stamp benefits during his community control period unless approved by the Van Wert County Adult Probation Department.

Dezmond Bywaters, 23, of Van Wert, was given three years of community control, including 90 days of electronically monitored house arrest, on a charge of attempted failure to register as a sex offender, a felony of the fourth degree. Bywaters was also resentenced to three years of community control for violating his probation because of his failure to register as a sex offender.

Anthony Oliver, 20, of Van Wert, was sentenced to a total of 15 months in prison for violating his probation by not reporting a law enforcement contact, testing positive for marijuana, failing to report to probation and not completing counseling at Westwood Behavioral Health Center. Judge Taylor also gave Oliver credit for 271 days already served.

Also Wednesday, Champaign County Common Pleas Judge Roger B. Wilson sentenced Quinton Schmenk, 32, of Van Wert, to a suspended sentence on a first-degree misdemeanor charge of domestic violence.

Judge Wilson gave Schmenk six months in jail, with credit for 33 days and the balance of the sentence suspended, then placed him on community control for two years, during which he is to have no contact with the victim in the case.