10 arraigned on grand jury indictments

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

A total of 10 people were arraigned Wednesday on criminal indictments in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court. Four of those arraigned entered pleas to domestic violence charges.

Those arraigned include the following:

Joshua Sargent, 36, of Van Wert, pleaded not guilty to one count of domestic violence, a felony of the third degree. The charge is a felony offense because the defendant has a previous conviction for domestic violence. He was ordered held on a $50,000 cash or commercial surety bond and is to have no contact with the alleged victim in the case. A pretrial conference will be held at 8 a.m. Wednesday, April 18.

David Krieg, 25, of Van Wert, entered a not guilty plea to one count of domestic violence, a felony of the third degree. He was released on a personal surety bond, with an order to have no contact with the alleged victim in the case. A pretrial will be conducted at 8 a.m. April 18.

Larry Flory III, 33, of Van Wert, pleaded not guilty to one count of domestic violence, a felony of the fourth degree. He was released on a surety bond and will appear for a pretrial conference at 8 a.m. Wednesday, April 25.

Austin Davis, 24, of Van Wert, entered a not guilty plea to one count of domestic violence, a felony of the fourth degree. He was released on a surety bond, with the stipulation he have no contact with the alleged victim. He will appear for a pretrial conference at 10 a.m. April 18.

Christopher Caldwell, 29, of Van Wert, pleaded not guilty to one count each of aggravated possession of drugs and tampering with evidence, both felonies of the third degree, and operating a vehicle while impaired, a first-degree misdemeanor. A $25,000 cash/commercial surety bond was set in the case and a pretrial conference scheduled for 8 a.m. April 25.

Ryan Schaadt, 33, of Van Wert, entered a not guilty plea to one count of trafficking in marijuana, a felony of the fifth degree. He was released on a surety bond and will appear for a pretrial conference at 8 a.m. April 25.

Justin Reynolds, 27, of Van Wert, pleaded not guilty to one count each of pandering obscenity, a felony of the fifth degree, and telecommunications harassment, a misdemeanor of the first degree. He was released on a surety bond, with the stipulation he have no contact with the alleged victim in the case and that he have no access to the Internet.

Jessica Jones, 50, of Van Wert, entered a not guilty plea to one count of possession of cocaine, a felony of the fifth degree. She was released on a surety bond, and will appear for a pretrial conference at 8 a.m. April 25.

Dezmond Bywaters, 26, of Van Wert, pleaded not guilty to six counts of importuning, and one count of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, all felonies of the fifth degree. He was released on a surety bond, but was placed on electronically monitored house arrest and to use no device capable of connecting to the Internet. A pretrial conference was set for 8 a.m. April 25.

Also Wednesday, Lester Sulfridge Jr., 59, of Van Wert, changed his plea to guilty to one count of aggravated possession of drugs, a felony of the fifth degree. He then requested, and was granted, treatment in lieu of conviction and his case was stayed pending successful completion of a substance abuse treatment program.

Last Friday, Kara Young, 34, of Van Wert, admitted violating her bond by testing positive for drug use. Her bond was reset at $10,000 cash or commercial surety and a pretrial conference will take place at 8 a.m. April 18.