{"id":7464,"date":"2011-05-05T02:43:21","date_gmt":"2011-05-05T07:43:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/?p=7464"},"modified":"2011-05-06T05:42:07","modified_gmt":"2011-05-06T10:42:07","slug":"drug-charges-dominate-common-pleas-court-hearings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2011\/05\/05\/drug-charges-dominate-common-pleas-court-hearings\/","title":{"rendered":"Drug charges dominate court hearings"},"content":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
Zachariah Germann testifies during his sentencing hearing Wednesday in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court. (Photos by Dave Mosier\/Van Wert independent)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wednesday was \u201cdrug day\u201d in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court, with all cases heard either drug charges or charges related to defendants\u2019 drug use.<\/p>\n

Zachariah P. Germann, 23, of Van Wert, tried to show he was working hard to rehabilitate himself, but Judge Charles D. Steele was less than convinced, sentencing Germann to four-year prison terms on each of three charges \u2013 two counts of having a weapon while under disability and one count of burglary \u2013 all third-degree felonies \u2013 and an 18-month sentence on a count of theft from an elderly person, a fourth-degree felony offense.<\/p>\n

According to court documents, Germann pawned two firearms belonging to an elderly relative to get money for his drug habit, resulting in the weapons under disability charges. He also said he stole jewelry from the relative and pawned it to get money to pay for drugs.<\/p>\n

The weapons charges refer to the fact that Germann, who has a previous drug-related conviction, cannot legally have a weapon in his possession.<\/p>\n

Germann\u2019s attorney, Scott Gordon, called both Germann and the director of a Salvation Army substance abuse treatment center that Germann had voluntarily checked himself into back in October 2010 — and from which he was about ready to \u201cgraduate\u201d — to testify on the defendant\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n

Germann blamed all the charges against him on his heroin addiction. \u201cAll these charges are due to addiction to heroin,\u201d he told the judge during his testimony.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I was addicted, I was doing things I would never do,\u201d Germann told the judge. \u201cI stole from my own family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then, Germann said he has been trying to turn his life around, including participating in the Salvation Army treatment program and being accepted into Ivy Tech.<\/p>\n

Despite Germann\u2019s statements, Judge Steele found him not amenable to community control and handed down the prison terms, all of which are to be served concurrently, but did say he would recommend that Germann be placed in the Intensive Prison Program, a program similar to one conducted at the Western Ohio Regional Treatment and Habilitation (WORTH) Center in Lima. If Germann is not accepted into the prison program, the judge added, he could apply for an early release from prison to enter a rehabilitation program.<\/p>\n

Judge Steele also gave Germann credit for seven days already served while awaiting sentencing.<\/p>\n

Other cases on Wednesday\u2019s docket included the following:<\/p>\n

Joe B. Quevedo, 46, of Van Wert, was sentenced to six months in prison on a charge of possession of drugs (heroin). Quevedo had originally been charged with drug trafficking, but the charge was reduced to drug possession as part of a plea negotiation.<\/p>\n

Quevedo allegedly sold heroin to an undercover agent working for the Van Wert Police Department in October 2010.<\/p>\n

Quevedo was given credit for 55 days served while awaiting sentencing on the charge.<\/p>\n

Stacy M. Young, 34, of Van Wert, was placed on a three-year term of community control, but must spend 60 days on electronically monitored house arrest, as part of her sentence on a charge of trafficking in drugs, a fifth-degree felony.<\/p>\n

Young also had her driver\u2019s license suspended for six months and must complete a substance abuse assessment and follow any recommendations from that assessment.<\/p>\n

Megan M. Wannemacher, 25, of Van Wert, was placed on three years of community control on charges of trafficking in drugs (heroin). She also had her driver\u2019s license suspended for six months and will spend 60 days on electronically monitored house arrest.<\/p>\n

Alvin S. Hammons, 46, of Van Wert, was also given a three-year term of community control on a charge of possession of drugs (heroin), a fifth-degree felony offense.<\/p>\n

He also received a six-month driver\u2019s license suspension.<\/p>\n

Virginia J. Schrader, 21, of Van Wert, received three years of community control on a charge of trafficking in drugs (morphine), a fourth-degree felony.<\/p>\n

Schrader admitted to selling morphine to an undercover agent working for the Van Wert Police Department in November 2010. As part of her sentence, Schrader was given an immediate 30-day jail term, as well as a six-month driver\u2019s license suspension, and was ordered to complete a substance abuse assessment.<\/p>\n

A Delphos man admitted to violating his community control sentence by using several different drugs. Lyle Diltz, 41, tested positive for the use of drugs, including Oxycodone and THC (a substance found in marijuana and hashish).<\/p>\n

Judge Steele resentenced him to a new three-year term of community control, and ordered him to spend up to six months in the WORTH Center.<\/p>\n

A Van Wert woman, Klarisa Mendoza, 23, denied violating her community control and Judge Steele continued the case for a hearing to be set at a later date. She was ordered held on a $10,000 cash bond.<\/p>\n

Two people also changed their pleas from not guilty to guilty during hearings held Wednesday in Common Pleas Court.<\/p>\n

Ashley A. Sheets, 27, of Van Wert, pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of drugs (heroin). Judge Steele ordered a presentence investigation and scheduled sentencing for 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 15.<\/p>\n

Stephanie R. Fannon, 31, of Van Wert, also entered a guilty plea to a multiple count charging her with possession of heroin, cocaine and a number of prescription drugs. A presentence investigation was also ordered in the case and sentencing scheduled for 9 a.m. June 15.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/independent editor Wednesday was \u201cdrug day\u201d in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court, with all cases heard either drug charges or charges related to defendants\u2019 drug use. Zachariah P. Germann, 23, of Van Wert, tried to show he was working hard to rehabilitate himself, but Judge Charles D. Steele was less than convinced, sentencing […]<\/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-7464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-03 01:19:29","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\/7464","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=7464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7464\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}