Half of chase duo changes his plea

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

One of two Willshire residents involved in a short chase in Van Wert in December has changed his plea from not guilty to guilty.

Jesse Stemen, 36, appeared in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court this week and pleaded guilty to amended charges of aggravated possession of drugs, and aggravated trafficking in drugs. Both charges are third degree felonies. According to records from the Van Wert County Clerk of Courts Office, Stemen was originally charged with aggravated possession of drugs, a second degree felony; aggravated trafficking in drugs, a second degree felony, and aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth degree felony.

Judge Martin D. Burchfield accepted the guilty plea, ordered a pre-sentence investigation and scheduled sentencing for 9 a.m. April 30. Stemen remains in the Van Wert County Correctional Facility, in lieu of $50,000 bond.

Stemen and Alicia Funkhouser, 36, were arrested December 19, after a Van Wert police officer saw Stemen in a vehicle and knew there was a warrant out for his arrest. The officer activated his overhead lights but the driver, Funkhouser, hit the gas on S. Shannon St., then ran a red light at Shannon St. and Fox Rd. and caused a head-on collision with another car.

The two ran from the accident and tried to hide from the police in a detached building near Taco Bell. However, the Van Wert Special Response Team was in the area training at the time. While Stemen and Funkhouser were hiding in the building, the SRT deployed a drone to locate the two hiding inside. They refused to surrender, so the Van Wert County Sheriff’s deputy gave commands and then released the the department’s K-9. Funkhouser sustained bite marks and both she and Stemen were taken into custody.

While investigating, police found a significant amount of meth in the car.

Funkhouser is charged with aggravated trafficking of drugs, a first degree felony; aggravated possession of drugs, a second degree felony; failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, a third degree felony, and aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth degree felony. Court records show she is scheduled to appear at a pre-trial conference on April 16. She’s in jail in lieu of $100,000 bond.