Criminal record earns man prison term

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

To hear Nicholas Wheeler tell it, he is a changed man; but it was his long criminal record dating back more than a decade that convinced Judge Charles D. Steele that the community was better off with Wheeler in prison.

Judge Steele sentenced Wheeler, 26, of Van Wert, to 24 months in prison, but also gave him credit for 102 days served while awaiting disposition of the case.

Wheeler, who appeared for sentencing Tuesday on a charge of burglary, a third-degree felony offense, talked about how he has tried to mend his ways since his arrest on the charge.

“Words cannot describe how sorry I am for what I’ve done,” Wheeler told the judge. “I have no excuse for my actions; all I can tell you is what I’ve done in the last four months to make myself a better human being.”

The defendant noted that he had been attending Bible studies, as well as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

“I just hope and pray that you can look through a person like me and see my soul, because you would see … a good person,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler’s attorney, Shane Lee, also noted that his client is a hard worker and had maintained his job while incarcerated in the Van Wert County lock-up for more than three months through the work release program.

But what spoke louder to Judge Steele was Wheeler’s long criminal history, which stretches back 10 years to a juvenile offense in 2001 and includes charges of theft, burglary, receiving stolen property, probation violation, possession of marijuana, stalking, telephone harassment, violating a civil protection order and obstructing official business.

The judge also noted that Wheeler had been sentenced previously to the Western Ohio Regional Treatment and Habilitation (WORTH) Center in Lima while on community control, but had signed himself out of that program before completing it. The WORTH Center is often a last resort for probationers before a deferred prison sentence is imposed.

Assistant County Prosecutor Kevin Taylor also pointed out that, although Wheeler talked about his latest offense as nothing more than the theft of marijuana and drug paraphernalia from a friend’s residence, the theft totaled $1,700. Wheeler told the judge that he has paid that amount back to the victim in the case.

Judge Steele did say he would recommend Wheeler for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s Intensive Prison Program, which is similar to the WORTH Center program and is aimed at dealing with inmates who have substance abuse problems.

If Wheeler completes that, he could get out of prison early through the judicial release program.