{"id":164821,"date":"2023-04-06T03:48:41","date_gmt":"2023-04-06T08:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=164821"},"modified":"2023-04-07T03:51:09","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T08:51:09","slug":"payne-defendant-seeks-more-time-to-prepare-his-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2023\/04\/06\/payne-defendant-seeks-more-time-to-prepare-his-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Man seeks more time to prepare his case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Payne man accused of taking part in a May 2022 burglary and assault at a home in Van Wert has requested more time to prepare for his multi-count felony trial<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seth Hitzeman, 20, is charged with aggravated burglary, a first degree felony; two counts of kidnapping, both first degree felonies; two counts of felonious assault, second degree felonies, and theft, a felony of the fifth degree. During a hearing held in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court, Hitzeman signed a time waiver and requested additional time to prepare his case. Judge Martin Burchfield scheduled a pre-trial conference for 1:30 p.m. May 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The charges are tied to a break-in at a home in the 300 block of S. Tyler St. last May. One of the residents in the home was brutally beaten and was hospitalized. Hitzeman was arrested March 9 by deputies in Huntington, Indiana. The arrest was made after a routine traffic stop, after deputies learned of a warrant for Hitzeman\u2019s arrest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two others involved in the break-in and beating have already been convicted and sentenced for their roles. Johnathon Miller, 19, of Van Wert, was sentenced to 15-20 1\/2 years in prison, while Kaiden Gilbert, 20, also of Van Wert, was sentenced to 8-12 years in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other court news, three defendants changed their pleas in open court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samantha Lacy, 30, of Van Wert, changed her plea to guilty of an amended charge of aggravated trafficking in drugs, a third degree felony. Judge Burchfield ordered a pre-sentence investigation and modified bond to a personal surety. Sentencing was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. May 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

William Dix, 36, of Van Wert, changed his plea to guilty of harassment with a bodily substance, a fifth degree felony, and two counts of assault, felonies of the fourth degree. A pre-sentence investigation was ordered and sentencing was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. May 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Thomas Medford, 42, of Ohio City, changed his plea to guilty of assault, a fourth degree felony. A pre-sentence investigation was ordered and sentencing was set for 9:30 a.m. May 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two other hearings were held in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steven Warner, 38, of Van Wert, admitted to violating his bond by failing to appear and failing a drug test. New bond was set at $25,000 cash or commercial surety. Warner was originally charged with aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth degree felony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Torrey Moss, 29, of Lorain, entered a not guilty plea to aggravated possession of drugs, a third degree felony. Moss was released on a surety bond and a pre-trial hearing was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. May 10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor A Payne man accused of taking part in a May 2022 burglary and assault at a home in Van Wert has requested more time to prepare for his multi-count felony trial Seth Hitzeman, 20, is charged with aggravated burglary, a first degree felony; two counts of kidnapping, both first degree felonies; two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-164821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 03:58:57","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164821"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":164892,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164821\/revisions\/164892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}