Drug defendant, two others sentenced

VW independent staff

Three defendants were sentenced for various crimes during hearings held in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday, while in a separate and unrelated case, a man was found competent to stand trial. Judge Martin D. Burchfield presided over each of the hearings.

Cainan Burnett, 28, Van Wert, was sentenced to 6-9 years prison with credit for 184 days already served for aggravated possession of drugs, a second degree felony. He also also ordered to pay court costs and $7,500 fine. Burnett was arrested in early March after he was caught with what a bulk amount of meth during an early morning traffic stop on N. Washington St. He entered a no contest plea in July.

Tristan Thompson, 20, of Celina, was sentenced to 36 months in prison for abduction, a third degree felony; 36 months for having weapons under disability, a third degree felony, and 180 days in jail for assault, a first degree misdemeanor. The sentences will be served concurrently and Thompson was given credit for 119 days already served. He was also ordered to pay court costs.

Dylan Slagle, 22, of Van Wert, was sentenced to up to six months at the WORTH Center, three years of community control, 30 days in the county jail at a later date and 100 hours of community service for disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, a fifth degree felony. He was ordered to seek and maintain employment, undergo a substance abuse assessment and treatment, and was ordered to pay partial appointed counsel fees, monthly probation fees and court costs.

Tyler Pessefall, 28, of Van Wert, was found competent to stand trial after an evaluation at Court Diagnostic in Toledo; A pre-trial conference was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, September 23. Pessefall is charged with strangulation, a fifth degree felony, and assault, a first degree misdemeanor, stemming from an incident in early May.