Area man gets prison for crime spree

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

An Ottawa man involved in a string of burglaries in a multi-county area was given a prison term on Tuesday in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court.

Logan Weis, 21, was sentenced to 12 months in prison on each of two counts of attempted burglary, both fourth-degree felony offenses. Judge Charles D. Steele ordered that the sentences run concurrently to each other and to a three-year prison term Weis received in Putnam County for similar offenses.

Weis and Brittany Bermudez, also 21, of Arcadia, were involved in a burglary spree in several counties. Bermudez, a first-time offender, was given 30 days in jail and three years of community control on one count of attempted burglary, and her time will also be served concurrently with a Putnam County jail term. Bermudez was also ordered to have no contact with Weis.

Also Tuesday, a man with anger management problems showed that there is still substantial room for improvement after his sentencing hearing.

Kenneth Michael Imler, 32, of Van Wert, ranted as he was taken from the courtroom after Judge Steele sentenced him to 180 days in jail – the maximum sentence on charges of violating a civil protection order and intimidation of a witness. He was also charged with telephone harassment in the case. The judge gave Imler credit for five days already served.

The charges stem from a child custody situation, and Imler’s attorney, Scott Gordon, told the judge that his client’s temper had improved after he was given limited visitation rights to his children, but that wasn’t evident after his sentencing on Tuesday.

After the outburst, Judge Steele said a new hearing would be scheduled to consider contempt of court charges on Imler.

Others appearing in court on Tuesday included the following:

• Joshua Lane, 26, of Van Wert, asked to withdraw his guilty plea to a drug trafficking charge during his sentencing hearing and the matter was continued until a hearing can be scheduled on his request. He will remain in jail under a bond set previously in the case.
• Joshua Burnett, 34, of Van Wert, admitted to using alcohol, but denied other violations of his community control during a hearing on Tuesday. Judge Steele did find he had violated probation and ordered him held on a $100,000 cash bond until sentencing, although a request for work release was also taken into consideration.
• Anthony Pavlides, 30, of Marion, was given three years of community control, including 60 days in jail, with work release, on a charge of trafficking in drugs, a fifth-degree felony. His driver’s license was also suspended for six months.
• David A. Detrick, 33, of Dayton, was arraigned on three counts of theft, each a felony of the fifth degree, on Tuesday, Detrick pleaded not guilty to the charges and was ordered held on a $50,000 cash bond. He will appear for a pretrial conference on Wednesday, July 18, at 9 a.m.
• Emily Leasure, 23, of Van Wert, was also given three years of community control on a charge of receiving stolen property, a fifth-degree felony. She must also pay $990 in restitution by January 1, 2013.