Wells Superior Court
Criminal Cases
Bernardo Cobo Raymundo, 25, Markle, pleaded guilty to resisting law enforcement by use of a vehicle, a Level 6 felony. The court vacated the judgment as a felony, and entered judgment as a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to a year in the Wells County Jail, with all but 90 days suspended, and placed on probation for 275 days.
Credited for four days spent in confinement awaiting disposition of his case.
Ordered to pay court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, one count of knowingly or intentionally operating a motor vehicle while never having received a driver’s license, a Class C misdemeanor, and no or improper taillight and/or license plate light, a Class C misdemeanor, were dismissed.
Raymundo was driving a 2011 Buick south on Main Street at 1:15 a.m. Nov. 7, 2021, when a Bluffton Police officer noticed the Buick didn’t have its taillights lit. The officer turned on the red and blue flashing lights of his patrol vehicle to try and pull the Buick over but it continued southbound. The officer used his siren and air horn, but the Buick continued southbound for several blocks. The Buick even passed other vehicles that had pulled over for the officer.
The Buick finally came to a stop — up and over the curb and onto the sidewalk — at the Linger Inn.
The officer noted in his report that Raymundo appeared to be intoxicated but scored low on field sobriety tests and blew just a .014 percent alcohol concentration on a Breathalyzer test — well under Indiana’s legal limit for intoxication.
Wells Circuit Court
Criminal Cases
Sean L. Riley, 47, Berne, pleaded guilty to dealing methamphetamine, a Level 5 felony.
Sentenced to three years in prison with two years executed and one year suspended. Placed on probation for one year.
Credited for 185 days spent in confinement awaiting disposition of his case. Said credit of days are to be considered in assessing good conduct time credit.
Court recommended that Riley be evaluated for a clinically appropriate substance abuse treatment program as determined by the Indiana Department of Correction. Because the court was not considering a sentence modification, purposeful incarceration was not recommended.
Ordered to pay restitution of $331 to the DETECT Drug Task Force, court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, a second count of dealing in methamphetamine, a Level 4 felony, was dismissed.
Riley was charged with selling methamphetamine to a cooperating individual working with the DETECT Drug Task Force in the parking lot of the Ossian Dollar General Store in April of 2021.
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Dalton James Dowell, 27, Bluffton, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and to unlawful possession or use of a legend drug, both Level 6 felonies.
Sentenced to two years in prison on each of the charges. One sentence is to be executed, the other was entirely suspended. The terms of the sentences are to be served consecutively with a term meted in Wells Circuit Court July 14, 2021, on one count of driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor (the sentence from that was also to be served consecutively to two previous sentences).
The term of the most recent sentence is also to be served consecutively with a sentence meted in DeKalb County Superior Court for violating probation from a Dec. 7, 2021, conviction for resisting law enforcement by use of a vehicle, a Level 6 felony.
Ordered to submit a DNA sample and pay court costs and probation fees.
On March 22, 2021, sheriff’s deputies served a search warrant on a mobile home in Silo Farms mobile home park after probable cause was determined that illegal drug activity may be taking place in the home.
A sheriff’s deputy spotted a vehicle leaving the front of the residence after being there briefly. That vehicle was stopped by the deputy a short distance from the mobile home park on Ind. 1 after the deputy observed that the vehicle did not have an operational license plate light.
The passenger in the vehicle, Alyssa Hartman, was arrested on multiple drug and drug paraphernalia possession charges. Deputies determined that some of the drugs were allegedly purchased at the mobile home, confirming law enforcement suspicion that the mobile home was a location for illegal drug activity.
Upon entering the mobile home with the search warrant, deputies and officers noted in their reports to the court that Dowell was inside the mobile home along with several other people — including a small child. Dowell reportedly became belligerent with law enforcement, was handcuffed and escorted out of the mobile home.
A search of his person turned up a glass smoking pipe, a small package containing two pills, and a small plastic bag with a white substance inside. Allegedly one of the other people in the mobile home, upon seeing a handcuffed Dowell, asked him if he was under arrest. Dowell reportedly replied that he was — even though at that point he was not. The woman then asked Dowell why he had been arrested and Dowell reportedly replied, “They found my cocaine,” apparently referring to the officer who had handcuffed Doweel.
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Juan Carlos Medina Gamboa, 37, Fort Wayne, pleaded guilty to felon carrying a handgun when prohibited, a Level 5 felony.
Sentenced to a fully executed six year term in prison with the term of the sentence to be served consecutively with a 180-day term meted for failing to appear for a hearing on the Level 5 felony. The terms are also to be served consecutively with a term meted in Allen County Superior Court Oct. 2, 2020, on one count of possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony, and consecutively with a second term meted in Allen Superior Court April 20, 2021, on one count of knowingly or intentionally operating a motor vehicle without ever having received a driver’s license, a Class C misdemeanor.
Assessed court costs of $185.
As part of a plea agreement, charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor; second count of felon carrying a handgun when prohibited, a Level 5 felony; and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent offender, a Level 4 felony, were all dismissed.
On Jan. 7, 2021, an Ossian police officer pulled over a vehicle Gamboa was a passenger in on Jefferson Street near Dyar Drive in Ossian after noticing it did not have a working passenger side headlight.
The driver, Ashlynn Brook McClain, then 19, but now 20, of Fort Wayne, had never been issued a driver’s license. While speaking with Gamboa, the officer noticed a glass pipe commonly used for the ingestion of illegal substances in plain view on the floor board at Gamboa’s feet. Both occupants of the vehicle were asked to step out and were handcuffed for officer safety. During a pat-down search of Gamboa, the officer found two empty gun holsters.
A search of the vehicle reportedly turned up a second glass pipe and a fully loaded 9 millimeter handgun. During a search of Gamboa at the Wells County Jail, jailers reportedly found a hollow point nine millimeter bullet on his person.
Gamboa had a prior conviction in Allen County Superior Court for dealing cocaine or some other narcotic drug Dec. 29, 2003.
The driver, McClain, was sentenced in Wells Circuit Court Jan. 24 following her plea of guilty to possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony, and failure to appear in court for a hearing on the charge, also a Level 6 felony. Her sentence consisted of two years in prison, with 470 days suspended and credited for time served.
She was placed on probation but has since allegedly violated the terms of her probation by failing to report to her probation officer March 17 and by moving to a new address without prior permission from the Wells County Probation Department.
Oddly, the arrests of both Gamboa and McClain occurred on the day of her nineteenth birthday.
File Reports
Reports of receipts and expenditures of political committees have been filed with the Wells County Clerk’s office by:
• Tara G. Bowersock for Zanesville Town Clerk, Tara Gale Bowersock, Zanesville, Republican for Zanesville Town Clerk.
For the period beginning Jan. 1 and ending April 8, the committee started the reporting period with no cash on hand, showed no contributions or receipts, no expenditures, and ended the reporting period with no cash on hand.
The committee owed no debt.
• Barry Gordon for Jefferson Township Trustee, Barry R. Gordon, Ossian, Republican for Jefferson Township Trustee.
For the period beginning Jan. 1 and ending April 8, the committee started the reporting period with no cash on hand, showed no contributions or receipts, no expenditures, and ended the reporting period with no cash on hand.
The committee owed no debt.
• Chase Gentis for Trustee, Jack Chase Gentis, rural Liberty Center, Republican for Liberty Township Trustee.
For the period beginning Jan. 1 and ending April 8, the committee started the reporting period with no cash on hand, showed no contributions or receipts, no expenditures, and ended the reporting period with no cash on hand.
The committee owed no debt.
