SIDNEY – It was the maximum allowable prison term for a Sidney man who pleaded guilty to a kidnapping-related charge recently. He will spend the next three years with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
On Tuesday, David E. Whitt, 42, 519 N. West Ave., was handed the 36-month sentence on a charge of attempted kidnapping, a third-degree felony by Shelby County Common Pleas Court Judge James Stevenson. Regarding financial sanctions, Whitt faced a maximum fine of $10,000 but was only assessed the court costs.
Whitt was charged for imprisoning and physically assaulting a 29-year-old woman at his residence on Dec. 3.
According to reports, Sidney Police Capt. Jerry Tangeman reported the woman, who is Whitt’s ex-girlfriend, went to the residence for his birthday. Over the course of the evening, he said an argument ensued between the two over “jealousy issues,” resulting in Whitt’s assaulting the woman.
At one point, the woman tried to escape through a second-story window, Tangeman said, but Whitt caught her and dragged her back inside. The next morning, Whitt drove the woman home. After arriving home, she then went to the Sidney Police Department at 10:12 a.m. The online court report notes the woman had sustained visible injuries when she was punched and choked.
On Dec. 7, Whitt was indicted by the Shelby County grand jury, charged with kidnapping, a second-degree felony. On Feb. 12, Whitt pleaded guilty to the amended charge during a status conference. He was declared guilty by Stevenson later that day.
Other court cases ruled upon include:
• William D. Beachler, 46, Lima, Ohio, was sentenced to 90 days in the Shelby County Jail on an amended charge of receiving stolen property, a first-degree misdemeanor. He was also fined $300 and assessed court costs. Stevenson agreed to suspend 60 days of the jail term if all fines and court costs are paid within 60 days.
Beachler was found to have taken rings belonging to another person in 2010.
• Steven J. Tobin Jr., 24, Springfield, Ohio, was placed on five years community control and ordered to serve 30 days in the work release program at the county jail on charges of trafficking in drugs, a fifth-degree felony, and improper handling of a firearm while on disability, a first-degree misdemeanor.
He was also fined $300, assessed court costs, and ordered to successfully complete drug and alcohol counseling. It was also ordered the gun in his possession at his Oct. 10 arrest be destroyed.
• Michael W. Butts, 407 ½ Wood St., Piqua, failed to appear for his sentencing Tuesday on an amended charge of assault, a first-degree misdemeanor. His bond was forfeited, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Butts was facing a maximum sentence of 180 days in the county jail and a $1,000 fine.
• Krista A. Elliott, 25, at large, was incarcerated without bond for probation violations in two cases, and, will be arraigned Friday on a new case. She reportedly failed a drug test on Dec. 14, did not report to her probation officer, and failed to stay at her home as instructed.
She had her probation revoked in cases of attempted grand theft, a fourth-degree felony, and trafficking in drugs, a fifth-degree felony. On Friday, she will be arraigned on charges of aggravated possession of drugs, possession of criminal tools, and theft, all fifth-degree felonies.
• Edwin L. Wilson, 43, 327 Linden Ave., was ordered back to jail on a probation violation involving three counts of trafficking in drugs, fourth and fifth-degree felonies. He will be held in jail until transferred to the West Ohio Regional Treatment and Habilitation Center in Lima.
• Lela Jones, 44, 1148 Hamilton Court, had her probation revoked when she tested positive for drugs and failed to stay in her place of residence recently. She was released from jail on a $7,500 bond.
