Treatment OK’d for robbery defendant

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

A Marion woman sent to prison for her part in the robbery of an elderly Wren resident, but released early, was allowed to enter an in-house substance abuse treatment program when she appeared for a probation violation hearing in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday.

Elizabeth Ann Wyatt, 25, lived in Decatur, Ind., when she and two men robbed the Robert Patton residence in Wren back in December 2007.

According to court documents, Wyatt went to Patton’s door and asked him if she could use the telephone. When he started to let her in, her accomplices, Ricky Lynn Fisher and Eric Zinsmaster, both of Decatur, also pushed their way into the residence. Once in, Wyatt and Fisher allegedly began to ransack the home for valuables while Zinsmaster beat Patton severely enough that he had to be hospitalized from injuries received in the incident.

Wyatt was given a four-year prison sentence in connection with the robbery, but was granted judicial release after serving 2½ years of the sentence. She was placed on three years of community control after her release from prison and was also required to complete treatment and undergo a substance abuse assessment and evaluation.

Judge Charles D. Steele noted that Wyatt violated three conditions of her community control by testing positive for marijuana use on December 15, 2011, for being terminated from counseling and for not undergoing a substance abuse assessment.

Wyatt’s attorney, Shane Lee, requested that his client be allowed to enter an in-house substance abuse treatment program, noting that she had been accepted into the Foundations Recovery Center in her hometown of Marion.

Assistant County Prosecutor Kevin Taylor agreed to the request and Judge Steele then granted it and resentenced her to three years of community control. Wyatt’s remaining prison time was deferred pending successful completion of the new community control program.

A Lima man was held on a $100,000 cash bond, although not without a protest by his attorney, after he denied violating his probation during a hearing held Wednesday.

Elmeco R. Crisp, 35, denied violating a condition of his bond as alleged by the Adult Probation Department. Crisp has been charged with aggravated menacing for an incident that reportedly occurred while he was out on bond on two counts of possession of drugs, both fifth-degree felony offenses. Lee, who also represented Crisp, protested his client’s bond being revoked, noting that he has only been charged with aggravated menacing, not convicted.

“Your honor, this is the great United States of America … he’s pled not guilty in this court, your honor, there is no conviction,” Lee said.

Instead of revoking Crisp’s bond, Judge Steele set a higher cash bond of $100,000 in the case and granted Lee’s request for a hearing on the matter.

Two men charged with theft from an elderly person during sentencing hearings held on Wednesday.

John V. Snavely, 47, of Delphos, and Michael A. Wooten, 28, of Ohio City, both allegedly failed to do work they had promised to do, and had received payment for, according to statements made during their sentencing hearings.

Both were sentenced to immediately serve 30 days in jail and make restitution of $301 to the victim in the case. Snavely also received a deferred six-month prison sentence and Wooten had a 12-month prison term deferred until they completed three-year terms of community control.

A Van Wert man who apparently entered the wrong house while intoxicated was given three years of community control and also must spend up to six months at the Western Ohio Regional Treatment and Habilitation (WORTH) Center in Lima.

Donald C. Sharp, 52, who was originally charged with burglary in connection with the incident, later entered a guilty plea to attempted burglary. Although Sharp denied entering the residence on purpose, the judge noted that the defendant has a long criminal record, mostly related to alcohol and substance abuse, stretching back to 1982.

Kelli Duval, 31, of rural Spencerville was sentenced to 90 days of electronically monitored house arrest as part of a three-year term of community control handed down Wednesday on a charge of illegally cultivating marijuana.

Duval, along with Glenn Duval and Brandi Myers, was involved in a marijuana grow operation in a field off Hartsock Road near Willshire, according to an investigation conducted by the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Department.

Judge Steele also suspended her driver’s license for six months and ordered her to undergo a substance abuse assessment and complete any recommendations made.

Klarissa Mendoza, 19, of Van Wert, tearfully admitted to violating her community control by using heroin and getting arrested on a charge of solicitation for prostitution in Montgomery County during a probation violation hearing on Wednesday. Judge Steele ordered Mendoza to serve 105 additional days of jail time and resentenced her to three years of community control.

Jennifer Burk, 21, of Delphos, had her bond revoked after she admitted to not reporting as required and for using cocaine, marijuana and a “designer” drug similar to what is known as “bath salts.” Delphos police also arrested her on January 1 when she allegedly became disorderly after being found intoxicated in another person’s vehicle.

Dyllen A. Redding, 21, of Convoy, changed his plea to guilty to a charge of theft, a fifth-degree felony offense. Redding, who allegedly stole a vehicle license plate, will be sentenced at 9 a.m. Wednesday, February 15.