Wells Superior Court
Criminal Cases
Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Lawrence Francis Bloom Jr., 35, Fort Wayne, charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor; driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor; operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of at least .08 percent but less than .15 percent, a Class C misdemeanor; and speeding, a Class C infraction. Bond continued at $3,000. Allison Sprunger appointed public defender.
A Markle police officer was checking traffic at Clark and Girvin streets in Markle at 9:09 p.m. Jan. 22 when he clocked a Jeep at 62 mph-35 zone and pulled it over. Bloom was the driver.
The officer reported Bloom smelled of alcohol, appeared intoxicated, had in his possession a small bottle of Fireball whiskey, admitted to having drank from the bottle and blew a .092 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on a Breathalyzer test.
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Frederick Allen Cole, 52, Geneva, pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to a year in the Wells County Jail, with all but 20 days suspended, and placed on probation for 345 days Credited for two days spent incarcerated awaiting disposition of his case.
Ordered to serve 30 days of home detention, report to substance abuse counseling. Pay for his blood test, court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, charges of unsafe lane movement and failure to signal for turn and/or lane change, both Class C infractions, were dismissed.
An off duty Ossian police officer was driving home in his patrol car at 1:25 a.m. Nov. 28, 2021, when he spotted a car make a wide right turn off East Dustman Road onto Main Street. The car crossed into the left turn lane north of the intersection in making the turn.
The Ossian officer started to turn his patrol vehicle around when he saw the car turn onto Sutton Circle, make a wide loop in the parking lot, and then head back south on Main Street. The Ossian officer also turned around and that is when the car reportedly started accelerating and made a quick turn back onto Dustman Road and then pulled into a driveway of a residence on East Dustman.
The officer pulled in behind the car. Bluffton police officers arrived to assist and took over responsibility for the investigation.
The driver was identified as Cole.
Cole allegedly smelled of alcohol, failed two of three field sobriety tests and blew a .212 percent alcohol concentration on a Breathalyzer test. The legal limit for intoxication in Indiana is .08 percent.
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Sentencing set for 8:30 a.m. May 13 for Shawn Michael Bishop, 49, Fort Wayne, who pleaded guilty to escape, a Level 6 felony.
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Jury trial confirmed for 8:30 a.m. May 24 for Michael Lynn Oliver Jr., 41, Bluffton, charged with unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication, both Class B misdemeanors.
Wells Circuit Court
Criminal Cases
Derek Todd Liebo, 32, whose address is listed as the Wells County Jail, pleaded guilty to arson, a Level 4 felony.
Sentenced to six years in prison. Ordered to receive extensive psychological and psychiatric examinations while incarcerated.
Credited for 99 days spent incarcerated awaiting disposition of his case. Said credit of days are to be considered in assessing good conduct time credit.
Assessed court costs of $185.
As part of a plea agreement, one count of criminal mischief, a Class B misdemeanor, was dismissed.
Liebo was charged with entering the main entrance to Fresenius Kidney Care, 1100S. Main St. at 7:13 a.m. Jan. 4 and then proceeded to the vacant portion of the building, which is the former Wells Community Hospital, and started smashing glass and other items on the first floor.
He ripped down all of the signs pointing to Fresenius and also attempted unsuccessfully to start fires, including one in a closet full of medical supplies.
When responding law enforcement officers questioned Liebo about his actions, he reportedly responded with mostly bizarre statements about shadows and the Holy Spirit.
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Samuel E. Mounsey, 48, Bluffton, pleaded guilty to dealing in a narcotic drug, a Level 3 felony.
Sentenced to six years in prison, with three years suspended, and placed on probation for three years. Credited for 164 days spent incarcerated awaiting disposition of his case.
Purposeful incarceration recommended. Upon successful completion of a clinically appropriate substance abuse treatment program as determined by the Indiana Department of Correction, the court will consider a modification of the sentence.
As part of a plea agreement, charges of possession of a narcotic drug, a Level 5 felony; operating a vehicle with a Schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in his body, a Class C misdemeanor; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor, were all dismissed.
On Aug. 21, 2021, Bluffton police received a driving complaint regarding a white Ford Escape sport utility vehicle. The caller filing the complaint said the vehicle had pulled into the parking lot at Bond Street and Central Avenue.
An officer was nearby and spotted the vehicle in the parking lot. The officer pulled into the lot and spotted a man next to the dumpster at the business. The officer asked the man — later identified as Mounsey — what he was doing. Reportedly he responded that he was “dumpster diving” and then reportedly in the presence of the officer started to root through the items in the dumpster.
The officer observed in his report that Mounsey appeared impaired. He had left the driver’s side door of his vehicle open and the officer reported that he could see two plastic bags tied into a knot in the cup holder.
The officer asked Mounsey what was in the bags. Mounsey then allegedly reached into the vehicle, pulled out one of the bags, held it up in front of the officer and chuckled and said, “It looks like meth or something.” He then put the bag back into the cup holder of the vehicle.
The officer asked what the substance in the baggies was. He allegedly said it was fentanyl for pain management. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid prescription only pain killer.
The officer then placed Mounsey into custody. The one bag weighed 1.99 grams and the other weighed 7.99 grams. This reportedly is considerably more than what the standard abuser of the drug would take for personal use.
Mounsey admitted he had purchased the two bags for $700 and had planned to divide it up as $200 worth for himself, $200 for another person and $300 for still another person. Mounsey told the officer that he does not make a profit from the sale of fentanyl.
Mounsey admitted to having taken some of the fentanyl.
Because the officer was unsure of exactly how much fentanyl Mounsey may have taken, the officer took Mounsey to Bluffton Regional Medical Center for medical clearance before transporting him to the Wells County Jail. At the hospital, Mounsey admitted to one of the nurses he had taken his dose of fentanyl while he was driving.
Mounsey admitted he purchased the fentanyl in Dayton, Ohio.
Mounsey also had $3,362 in cash in his possession at the time of his arrest.
Also, officers found a scale and a small straw, both with white residue on them, in Mounsey’s vehicle.
