Kiester facing 15 new felony charges

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

A man currently in jail for an October, 2024 crash that killed two Van Wert County men appeared in court Tuesday to answer to a whole new set of charges unrelated to the accident.

Timothy Kiester, 61, of Berrien Springs, Michigan, was arraigned in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court on 15 child pornography charges – three counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, second degree felonies; three other counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, fourth degree felonies; three counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, second degree felonies; three separate counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, fourth degree felonies, and three counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity oriented material, fifth degree felonies.

The charges were handed down via a Van Wert County grand jury indictment on March 13, and Kiester was served with warrants later that day in jail.

During Tuesday’s arraignment, Kiester entered a not guilty plea to all of the charges and Judge Martin D. Burchfield set bond at $50,000 cash or surety, once Kiester’s current sentence is complete. A pre-trial conference was scheduled for April 9. Court records do not indicate who is representing Kiester.

Van Wert County Prosecutor Eva Yarger confirmed the alleged material that led to the new charges was found on Kiester’s cell phone, which being checked by Ohio State Highway Patrol investigators to see if he was texting while driving during an October 22, 2024 fatal crash on U.S. 127, near Hickory Sticks Golf Club in Van Wert. Investigators found no evidence of that, but came across the alleged images.

On October 21, 2024, Kiester was operating a 2016 Cheverolet Silverado that was hauling a camper and failed to maintain assured clear distance ahead. His truck struck the rear of a 2016 Ford Focus driven by Zachary J. Wood, 30, of Convoy. The impact forced Wood’s car into the path of a semi-truck. Wood and a passenger, Logan G. Elder, 29, of Van Wert, were pronounced dead at the scene.

In January, Kiester pleaded no contest to two counts of vehicular manslaughter, both second degree misdemeanors. In late February, he was sentenced by Van Wert Municipal Court Judge Jill T. Worthington to 90 days in the Van Wert County Correctional Facility on each count, but the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.  In addition, his driver’s license was suspended for two years, retroactive to January 14, the date when Kiester entered his plea. He was also fined $750 on each of the two counts of vehicular manslaughter and was fined an additional $150 on a single count of assured clear distance.

The maximum penalty on each vehicular manslaughter charge was up to 90 days in jail, a $750 fine and a mandatory license suspension of six months to two years.