VW man gets prison term, 3 change pleas

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Eight people appeared in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court recently for a variety of criminal hearings.

Chelsea Bok, 27, of Van Wert, appeared this past Friday for an arraignment hearing. Bok pleaded not guilty to a charge of illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs, a charge typically related to the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Van Wert County Probate-Juvenile Judge Kevin Taylor set a $10,000 cash or commercial surety bond in the case and scheduled a pretrial conference for 8 a.m. Wednesday, January 17.

During that hearing, Judge Martin Burchfield granted a request for a personal surety bond, with the specification of drug testing, and set a new pretrial conference for 8 a.m. Wednesday, February 7.

Sonny Metzger, 43, of Van Wert, was sentenced to 17 months in prison on a charge of aggravated trafficking in drugs, a felony of the fourth degree, and 180 days in jail on one count each of aggravated trafficking in drugs, a fifth-degree felony, and permitting drug abuse, also a felony of the fifth degree. The sentences will also run concurrently to one another, and Metzger was also given credit for 112 days already served.

Jesse Hodgson, 30, of Delphos, was found not competent to stand trial during a competency hearing held Wednesday following his evaluation at the Northwest Ohio Psychiatric Hospital in Toledo. He will be returned to the hospital for treatment in an attempt to restore his competency.

Three people also entered changes of plea on Wednesday.

Donald James Smith, 39, of Van Wert, changed his plea to guilty to two separate charges: gross sexual imposition, a felony of the third degree, and possession of marijuana, a fifth-degree felony. A presentence investigation was ordered and sentencing scheduled for 8 a.m. Wednesday, February 28.

Jeremy Paige, 34, of Van Wert, changed his plea to guilty through a prosecutor’s bill of information to a charge of trespass in a habitation, a felony of the fourth degree. A presentence investigation was ordered and he will appear for sentencing at 8 a.m. February 28.

Amanda Barnes-Hensley, 35, of Van Wert, changed her plea to guilty to a charge of aggravated possession of drugs, a felony of the fifth degree. She then requested, and was granted, intervention in lieu of conviction and her case was stayed pending successful completion of a treatment program.

Nowelle Finger, 26, of Van Wert, appeared in court to sign a waiver of her constitutional right to a speedy trial and requested more time to prepare her case. She also requested modification of her bond, and Judge Burchfield changed bond from a cash bond to electronically monitored house arrest. A pretrial conference is scheduled for 8 a.m. Wednesday, January 31.

Andrew Taylor, 32, of Van Wert, appeared for a probation violation hearing and admitted violating his probation by failing to report a law enforcement contact and for testing positive for drug use. He was sentenced to two years of community control, including intensive outpatient treatment at Westwood Behavioral Health Center in Van Wert.