Wells Superior Court
Criminal Cases
Robert Swisher, 53, rural Bluffton, pleaded guilty to domestic battery with a prior conviction for the same or a similar offense, a Level 6 felony.
Sentenced to a year in prison, with all but four days suspended — credited as time served, and placed on probation for 361 days.
Ordered to enroll in a batterer intervention program, submit to the collection of a DNA sample, serve 60 days on home detention and pay court costs and probation fees.
Swisher was charged with injuring a woman’s arm during an argument over a car on 500E south of Ind. 124 June 9.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Kasie Michelle New, 33, Indianapolis, charged with unlawful possession of a syringe, a Level 6 felony. Law office of Sprunger and Sprunger appointed public defender. New released on her own recognizance.
Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Christopher Matthew Bridges, 36, Indianapolis, charged with driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor; operating a motor vehicle without insurance, a Class A infraction; and operating a motor vehicle with a false license plate, a Class C infraction.
Bridges brought New to the Praxis rehabilitation facility around midnight Jan. 6. Apparently it was too late to check her in, so they went north on Main Street to Comfort Inn and Suites to try and find a room for the night.
However, as they were driving north on Main Street, a sheriff’s deputy decided to run the license plate on the back of the Chevrolet Suburban Bridges was driving and discovered the plate actually belonged on a Chevrolet HHR. He pulled the vehicle over in the parking lot of the motel.
There the deputy reported discovering that Bridges had a suspended driver’s license and no insurance for the vehicle he was driving. Bridges allegedly gave consent to have the vehicle searched and during the search, a deputy reportedly located a hypodermic syringe in a small bag that New eventually admitted belonged to her.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Ranard Paul De leon, 44, Bluffton, charged with escape, a Level 6 felony. Bond continued at $5,000. Jeffrey Stineburg appointed public defender.
On Dec. 21 De leon is charged with violating his home detention order issued during a sentencing Oct. 28 on one count of resisting law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor, by going to the Bluffton McDonald’s restaurant and to the Handi Spot convenience store. Both reportedly were deviations from the routes to work designated in his home detention order.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Kimberly N. Limbert, 34, Geneva, charged with six counts of theft, all Class A misdemeanors. Bond continued at $9,000. Larry Mock appointed public defender.
Limbert is charged with skip-scanning merchandise at the Bluffton Walmart Superstore between Oct. 22 and Nov. 27, 2021. Skip scanning is when a customer uses the self-checkout aisle of a store and then intentionally fails to scan some items but pays for others.
Limbert is charged with skip scanning more than 40 items during the more than month-long period.
She was finally caught allegedly “ticket switching” at the Walmart on Nov. 27. Ticket switching is when a customer will switch the universal price code symbol on an expensive item with the UPC symbol from a less expensive item.
Allegedly she noticed that she was being “flagged” by store personnel and discontinued the action. At the same time, Limbert allegedly consumed both donuts and a Monster energy drink while still inside the store. She reportedly paid the store for both.
Limbert is charged with cheating Walmart out of a total of $741.20 in merchandise.
Items that she is alleged to have skip scanned included tennis balls, toys, a Chewy Dip stick, Fabreeze laundry softener, clothing, a black light and a Shark skillet.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Carlos V. Martinez Jr., 47, Fort Wayne, charged with possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony; unlawful possession of a hypodermic syringe, a Level 6 felony; operating a motor vehicle with a Schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in his body, a Class C misdemeanor; possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor; possession of a Schedule I, II, III, or IV controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor; possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor; driving while suspended, a Class A infraction; and improper or no headlights, a Class C infraction. Bond continued at $12,000. Larry Mock appointed public defender.
A Bluffton police officer pulled over a vehicle Martinez was driving on Main Street at 1:05 a.m. Jan. 5 after noticing it had a headlight out — and significant front end damage.
Martinez admitted to having been in a vehicle crash with the car about three weeks earlier. A sheriff’s deputy, who arrived to assist with the stop, told the investigating officer that he could smell alcohol on Martinez’s breath and spotted two open alcoholic beverage containers.
The deputy performed standardized field sobriety tests. Martinez passed them. He also reportedly blew zeroes on a portable Breathalyzer test.
The deputy then performed the SoToxa test on Martinez with his permission. SoToxa, which tests the contents of one’s blood through a saliva sample, allegedly showed the presence of methamphetamine and amphetamine. Martinez allegedly admitted to having smoked methamphetamine about three hours earlier.
Three pills allegedly identified as alprazolam, a Schedule IV controlled substance, were also reportedly found in Martinez’s possession.
Marriage Licenses
Aaron Lee Buckland, 37, Ossian, and Kadie Medina, 35, Ossian.
Carson Paul Sheets, 18, Bluffton, and Farren Barbara Filhart Stoltz, 18, rural Decatur.
Declare Candidacy
Preston T. Wright, Bluffton, seeking election as a Republican state convention delegate.
Edward Ray Herman, rural Keystone, seeking the Republican nomination for Nottingham Township Advisory Board.
Colin Zachary Andrews, rural Bluffton, seeking the Republican nomination for Wells County Prosecuting attorney.
