Former Houser attorney paid over $6K

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Van Wert County Common Pleas Court Judge Martin Burchfield has approved fees and expenses for a Lima attorney who previously represented an area man accused of killing his girlfriend in Van Wert last September.

Court records show on June 27, Burchfield approved a bill for $6,488.90 submitted by Lima attorney Zachary Maisch for more than 84 total hours spent representing Ryan Houser, 38, who has addresses in Rockford and Celina.

$6,352.50 of that was for counsel services and the remaining $136.40 was for travel expenses. An itemized fee statement submitted by Maisch shows dates ranging from January 18 to June 18, including 7.4 hours of time spent in court. The rest of the hours were out of court. He also listed four trips to Van Wert – one to meet with Houser and the other three for court hearings. Each of the round-trips were listed at .55 cents per mile, or $34.10 for each one.

Maisch was Houser’s second attorney. He replaced local attorney Scott Gordon in March, after Houser petitioned the court for a change of counsel. Paperwork filed with the Van Wert County Clerk of Courts Office on June 20 shows Lima attorney Kenneth Rexford was retained by Houser’s family and was approved by Burchfield to serve as substitute counsel in place of Maisch.

Houser has requested up to $5,000 to pay a private investigator to aid in his defense. Maisch filed the request on his behalf on June 17. In response, Van Wert County Prosecutor Eva Yarger filed a motion requesting the court re-evaluate Houser’s claim of indigency.

Houser is charged with aggravated murder, an unclassified felony; murder, an unclassified felony; possessing a weapon under disability, a third degree felony, and tampering with evidence, a third degree felony.

The charges are connected to the death of Barbara Ganger. Houser is accused of fatally shooting Ganger, 43, at Van Wert West Apartments on September 3. Her body was discovered a day later, after the Van Wert Police Department was contacted to do a welfare check.

He remains in the Van Wert County Correctional Facility in lieu of $1 million bond. Houser was originally scheduled to stand trial the week of April 15. A new trial date has not been set.