Wells Superior Court
Criminal Cases
Plea of not guilty entered by Amber Monce, 27, Huntington, charged with synthetic identity deception, a Level 6 felony. Bond set at $5,000.
On Jan. 25, a Bluffton police detective received a call from a Huntington County Sheriff’s deputy who believed that Monce had used a false identity when she was seen at Bluffton Regional Medical Center over Thanksgiving weekend in 2021. The deputy discovered this when Monce allegedly called her mother while Monce was incarcerated at the Wells County Jail on separate charges. Calls made from the jail by inmates are recorded.
Monce allegedly told her mother that she used a false identity while being seen at the hospital because she knew she had an outstanding warrant for her arrest and she knew that if she used her true identity on the official documents at the hospital, there was a chance that law enforcement could find out that she was at the hospital and seek to serve the warrants.
While incarcerated, Monce reportedly became ill again and needed to be seen by the Huntington County Jail nurse. The nurse needed the records of Monce having been seen at Bluffton Regional a month and a half earlier. At that point, Monce reportedly told the nurse that she had used a false identity to avoid detection.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Marcia Lee, 42, Ossian, charged with theft, and two counts of possession of a Schedule I, II, III, or IV controlled substance, all Class A misdemeanors.
Lee was an employee of the CVS Pharmacy in Bluffton.
In January, her supervisor noticed a pill for the prescription pain killer alprazolam lying on the floor of the pharmacy where the pill should not be located. At that point, he started to keep daily counts of the pain pills.
On Feb. 1, the pill count for alprazolam was 10 pills short of what it should be. A check of surveillance video from the store allegedly showed Lee handling a bottle of alprazolam when no alprazolam prescriptions had been ordered that day.
Management then interviewed Lee and she allegedly admitted to having stolen 150 one milligram alprazolam tablets, 50 two milligram alprazolam tablets, and 50 clonazepam tablets — also a prescription pain killer. The total loss to the store was $322.
Lee allegedly admitted to a Wells County Sheriff’s Department detective that she was selling the pills in order to raise funds to find a new place to live. She later then allegedly contacted the Wells County Sheriff’s Department and admitted that she was not selling the pills but was using them herself for pain management. She reportedly told the investigating detective that she had been prescribed pain medications following a fall when she was living in Tennessee, became addicted to them and was trying to seek help.
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Shawna Marie Butler, 38, Ossian, pleaded guilty to possession of a Schedule I, II, III, of IV controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to a year in the Wells County Jail, with all but two days suspended — credited as time served, and placed on probation for 363 days.
Ordered to pay court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, charges of possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor, were both dismissed.
Butler was on probation from a previous criminal conviction when on Oct. 9, 2021, the Wells County Probation Department requested a search of the bedroom of the residence where Butler was staying. Officers had to kick in the door to the room because it had been padlocked shut.
Inside, in plain view, a sheriff’s deputy reportedly saw a glass pipe with a green leafy substance inside.
A search warrant was then served for a search of the house, a garage and three vehicles on the property. Law enforcement officers allegedly found nine glass smoking pipes, four bongs, a THC vape cartridge (THC is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana) 20 grams of raw marijuana, THC wax, marijuana seeds and prescription medications for which Butler reportedly did not have a prescription.
Infractions
Jessica A. Gilbert, 25, Bluffton; 82 mph-55 zone, Ind. 3 at 800S.
Alfredo V. Mendez, 29, Ossian; operating a vehicle without insurance and driving while suspended, Ind. 1 north of 1100N.
Kylie J. Baumgartner, 20, rural Bluffton; 57 mph-35 zone and driving while suspended, East Logan Street in Markle.
Luz A. Bruno Guzman, 24, Fort Wayne; driving while suspended, operating a motor vehicle with an expired license plate, 68 mph-55 zone, and operating a motor vehicle without insurance, 100E north of 100N.
Wells Circuit Court
Criminal Cases
Petition for expungement and sealing of criminal records filed by Hailey Freiden, address not listed in court documents.
