9 sentenced in common pleas

MOUNT VERNON — On Friday, Common Pleas Court Judge Otho Eyster sentenced eight men and one woman for various felony crimes and violations of community control supervision, according to Knox County Prosecutor John Thatcher.

Thomas H. Hartless, 35, Utica, was sentenced to a two-year prison term on charges of abduction and aggravated menacing. Thatcher said that on the night of July 17-18, 2009, while on a date with an ex-girlfriend, Hartless bound the woman’s wrists and ankles with duct tape, assaulted her, and then held her against her will for several hours. Detective David Light of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Hartless was also sentenced to a 15-month prison term for aggravated assault for breaking a fellow inmate’s nose at the Knox County Jail on Feb. 3. He will serve a three-year term of post-release control after prison release. Capt. Richard Brenneman, KCSO, investigated the crime committed in the jail.

Daryl E. Judd, 18, was convicted of rape in Miami County on Oct. 9, 2009. As a juvenile sex offender, Judd is required to provide change of address notification to authorities for 10 years, according to Thatcher. Judd was sentenced to a three-year prison term Friday for failure to provide change of address notification as the result of failing to notify the KCSO when he changed his address on Dec. 20.

After Judd is released from prison, he will serve a five-year term of post-release control, during which he may serve additional prison time if he commits future crimes, according to Thatcher. Detective Sgt. Gary Rohler, KCSO, investigated the case.

Kenneth Neil Moran, 35, Frazeysburg, was sentenced to a two-year prison term, had his driver’s license suspended for life and was fined $1,350 for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. The felony OVI offense occurred on Aug. 17, 2009, when Moran crashed his jeep on Earlywine Road. Moran failed field sobriety tests administered by Sgt. Neil Laughlin, Ohio State Highway Patrol; then the State Patrol Crime Lab found Moran had a 0.225g concentration of alcohol in his urine at the time of the crash. A violation occurs at levels in excess of 0.11g, according to Thatcher.

In October 2009, John E. Palmer III, 19, was convicted of trafficking in marijuana. Palmer’s 17-month prison sentence was suspended at that time and was serving a three-year term of community control supervision. Palmer admitted Friday that he violated the terms of his supervision by failing to keep an appointment with his supervising officer, by getting arrested for driving with a suspended license and for using marijuana and alcohol. Eyster imposed Palmer’s prison sentence for these violations. Palmer will serve a three-year term of post-release control after prison release.

Jimmy D. Colburn, 25, was sentenced to a 12-month prison term for stealing two video game systems valued at $600 from a Mount Vernon store on Nov. 28, 2009. Colburn will serve a three-year term of post-release control after prison release. Detective Craig Feeney and Patrolman Jeremiah Armstrong, Mount Vernon Police Department, investigated the case.

Charles O. Fields, 32, Mount Vernon, was sentenced to an 11-month prison term for breaking into the business office of a Mount Vernon car lot in the early morning hours of Sept. 7, 2009. Fields will serve a three-year term of post-release control after prison release. Patrolman Tim Arnold, MVPD, investigated the case.

Shane P. Hansen, 19, Fredericktown, was convicted of failure to provide change of address notification to the KCSO. Thatcher said Hansen was convicted as a juvenile of gross sexual imposition in Franklin County in 2007. Hansen was sentenced to a three-year term of community control supervision, including a condition that he must submit to a drug and alcohol assessment, treatment and monitoring. Hansen will serve a three-year prison term if he violates the terms of his supervision. Thatcher said Hansen served 133 days in the Knox County Jail while his case was pending. Detective Sgt. Roger Brown, KCSO, investigated the case.

Kelly R. Bessette, 46, Mount Vernon, was convicted of illegal cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana. Bessette was sentenced to a three-year term of community control supervision and her driver’s license was suspended for six months. Eyster suspended a 60-day jail sentence on the condition that Bessette pays $5,000 in fines by the end of Friday. Bessette will serve an 11-month prison sentence if she violates the terms of her supervision.

Thatcher said that on Oct. 29, 2009, the Knox County Sheriff’s Special Response Team executed a search warrant at a residence on Big Run Road, where the team found Bessette in a room with 34 marijuana plants. Detective Light investigated the case.

David L. Cockrell, 51, Columbus, was convicted of theft by deception for stealing $4,282.41 from his former employer and from an auto club. Cockrell was sentenced to a three-year term of community control supervision and ordered to pay full restitution to the victims.

Thatcher said that between Feb. 2 and June 29, 2009, Cockrell worked as a tow truck driver for a Fredericktown service station, where he falsified information about vehicles towed after normal business hours in order to get fees and commissions. Capt. Brenneman investigated the case.