Local trio to be sentenced next month

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Three high profile sentencing hearings are scheduled to take place on three successive Wednesdays in May. Each of the sentencing hearings will take place in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court.

Ryan Houser, 39, of Rockford is scheduled to be sentenced at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 7, on a single count of murder. The charge is tied to the September, 2023 death of his girlfriend, Barbara Ganger, who was shot and killed at residence at Van Wert West Apartments on W. Main St.

He was arrested a handful of days after her death and was indicted by a Van Wert County grand jury on charges of murder, an unclassified felony; aggravated murder, an unclassified felony; possessing a weapon under disability, a third degree felony, and tampering with evidence, a third degree felony. His case moved slowly through the justice system, due to two changes in legal counsel and a lengthy list of motions. His trial was originally scheduled to begin in April, 2024 and was rescheduled for April of this year. Last month, in a somewhat surprise move, Houser opted to plead no contest to the murder charge in exchange for the dismissal of the remaining charges.

Houser faces a mandatory 15 years to life sentence, without the possibility judicial release, meaning he’ll remain in prison until at least 2040.

In a separate and unrelated case, Larry Andrus Jr. of Van Wert will be sentenced at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 14, for involuntary manslaughter. He pleaded guilty to the first degree felony charge last week. In exchange, charges of murder, voluntary manslaughter, another count of involuntary manslaughter and strangulation were dismissed by prosecutors.

The charges are connected to the September, 2023 death of Andrus’s stepfather, Roy D. Watts, 59, at his home on S. Vine St. The two had been involved in a verbal argument, followed by a physical altercation. Andrus was indicted by a Van Wert County grand jury in early November, 2023 but fled the area. He was later arrested in Florida and extradited back to Van Wert County. Andrus was originally scheduled to stand trial in August of last year after a series of motions, it was delayed until May of this year. At one point, Andrus intended to claim self-defense at his trial.

According to Ohio Revised Code, Andrus could be sentenced to as much as 11 years in prison.

The third sentencing hearing is for Timothy Kiester, 61, of Berrion Springs, Michigan. He’ll learn his fate at 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 21. Earlier this month, Kiester appeared in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court and changed his plea from not guilty to guilty three child pornograhy charges – pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, a second degree felony; pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, a fourth degree felony, and illegal use of minor or impaired person in nudity-oriented material or performance, a fifth degree felony. In exchange for the guilty plea, 12 remaining charges were dismissed.

The material that led to the 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, 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.

Kiester was operating a pickup truck 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 of this year, Kiester pleaded no contest to two counts of vehicular manslaughter, both second degree misdemeanors. He was later sentenced by Van Wert Muncipal Court Judge Jill T. Worthington to 90 days in the Van Wert County Correctional Facility.

In addition to those hearings, a pre-trial conference is scheduled for April 7 for a Van Wert woman charged with involuntary manslaughter, a first degree felony; corrupting another with drugs, a second degree felony, and possession of a fentynal related compound, a fourth degree felony. Those charges against April Diltz, 46, are connected to the July, 2024 death of a relative. Diltz and the victim were in a motel room in the city and were using drugs. The relative overdosed and passed away. Officers obtained a search warrant for the room and seized suspected drugs and paraphernalia. The report stated that Diltz later admitted the drugs were hers. She’s pleaded not guilty to the charges.