MOUNT VERNON — On Friday, Common Pleas Court Judge Otho Eyster sentenced four men and one woman for various felony crimes, according to Knox County Prosecutor John Thatcher.
Russell E. Cunningham, 42, Millersburg, was convicted of his second felony drunk driving offense and sentenced to a three-year prison term. Cunningham’s driver’s license was also suspended for life.
Thatcher said that on June 6, after Trooper Paul Shore, Ohio State Highway Patrol, arrested Cunningham, a urine test revealed Cunningham’s alcohol level was .386. Cunningham has been convicted of drunk driving six times in Holmes and Coshocton counties, since 1990, according to Thatcher.
Maxwell C. Butcher, 18, Mount Vernon, was convicted of attempted gross sexual imposition for having sexual contact with a 2-year-old boy on Feb. 23. Butcher received a 17-month prison term and was labeled a Tier II sex offender who must register his address with authorities for 25 years. Detective Sgt. Roger Brown, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, investigated the case.
Jonathan C. Fankhauser, 27, Mount Vernon, was convicted of burglary, trafficking in marijuana, identity fraud and forgery. Fankhauser will serve a 15-month prison term and his driver’s license was suspended for two years because of the marijuana conviction.
Thatcher said that on April 25, Fankhauser broke into an apartment on East Burgess Street, where he stole a PlayStation, video games, a DVD player and other property. On April 29, Fankhauser offered to sell marijuana to a confidential informant working for the Mount Vernon Police Department. On March 28, Fankhauser received medical treatment using another person’s medical card and forged the other person’s handwriting on documents at the doctor’s office. Detective Craig Feeney, MVPD, investigated the case.
Shad W. Lynds, 36, Mount Vernon, was convicted of possessing merchandise stolen from a Mount Vernon hardware store, on Jan. 28. Lynds will serve a three-year term of community control supervision, which includes a 60-day jail sentence and a mandatory drug and alcohol assessment when he is released from jail. Lynds will serve an 11-month prison term for any violation of the terms of his community control supervision.
Thatcher said witnesses saw Lynds and two co-defendants removing two snow blowers, two radiant heaters and one kerosene heater from a Dumpster near the store, and then load the stolen items into a pickup truck. The co-defendants entered guilty pleas to receiving stolen property in the Mount Vernon Municipal Court, according to Thatcher. Feeney investigated the cases.
Anna Marie Leslie, 42, Newark, was convicted of forgery for writing a $1,500 check from her employer’s business account and forging her employer’s handwriting on the check, on Sept. 28, 2007. Leslie will serve a three-year term of community control supervision which includes a 60-day jail sentence. Leslie will serve an 11-month prison term for any violation of the terms of her community control supervision. Detective Dave Light and Deputy Dan Selby, KCSO, investigated the case.
