Wells Superior Court
Criminal Cases
Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Nikolai Alexander Blakesley, 30, Fort Wayne, charged with operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of .15 percent or more, a Class A misdemeanor; operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor; operating a motor vehicle without insurance, a Class A infraction; littering, a Class B infraction; speeding, a Class C infraction; and open alcoholic beverage container during operation of a motor vehicle, a Class C infraction. Jeffrey Stineburg appointed public defender.
On May 26, a sheriff’s deputy clocked a 2004 Chevrolet Impala driven by Blakesley at 70 mph-55 zone on Ind. 1 near 500N.
Blakesley informed the deputy that he was just trying to get home. He also reportedly told the deputy he can’t afford car insurance.
The deputy observed that Blakesley appeared to be intoxicated, admitted to having drank five beers, failed field sobriety tests and reportedly blew a .174 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on a Breathalyzer test. That is more than twice Indiana’s legal limit for intoxication of .08 percent.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Guillermo Ramirez, 55, Fort Wayne charged with one count of knowingly or intentionally operating a motor vehicle while never having been issued a driver’s license, a Class C infraction.
Ramirez was driving a Ford pickup truck on Main Street south of Market Street May 11 when a Bluffton police officer decided to perform a license plate check on the truck and discovered the registered owner had a suspended driver’s license. The officer pulled the vehicle over.
Ramirez was not the registered owner but the only form of identification he had was a Mexican identification card.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Todd Craigmiles, 48, Berne, charged with one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
A state trooper was monitoring traffic on Main Street near Division Street April 27 when he spotted a vehicle without a license plate light and pulled it over.
The trooper observed the interior of the vehicle smelled like marijuana. Craigmiles allegedly admitted to the trooper had a pipe to smoke marijuana with in the vehicle. The trooper found the pipe and it allegedly contained a small amount of marijuana residue, but not enough to result in a charge of possession of marijuana.
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David Michael Womack, 39, Huntington, pleaded guilty to invasion of privacy with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Level 6 felony.
Sentenced to 912 days in prison, with all but one year suspended. Credited for 340 days spent in confinement awaiting disposition of his case.
Placed on probation for 731 days.
Ordered to pay court costs and probation fees.
His probation may terminate early if he successfully completes the term of his probation meted in a sentence in Huntington Superior Court.
The terms of his Wells County sentence are to be served consecutively with a sentence meted in Huntington County Superior Court on charges of strangulation, a Level 6 felony, domestic battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, a Level 6 felony, and resisting law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor. In the Huntington County sentence, Womack was sentenced to five years in prison with two years suspended to be served on probation.
As part of a plea agreement, 23 additional counts of invasion of privacy with a prior conviction for the same offense, all Level 6 felonies, were dismissed. Also dismissed was one count of driving while suspended, a Class A infraction.
Womack was incarcerated at the Wells County Jail in late January when he used the jail’s Chirp communication system to contact a woman with whom he had been ordered by a Huntington County judge to have no contact.
The no contact order was in connection with the criminal case in Huntington County Superior Court.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Brielle B. Wilson, 22, Bluffton, charged with operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of .15 percent or more, a Class A misdemeanor; operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor; unsafe movement from lane to lane, a Class C infraction; failure to change either name or address on her driver’s license, a Class C infraction; and failure to signal a lane change or turn, a Class C infraction. Bond continued at $1,500.
It was 2:31 a.m. May 28 when a Bluffton police officer monitoring traffic on Main Street clocked a southbound 2019 Chevrolet Equinox at 58 mph-40 zone and pulled it over.
The officer observed in her report that Wilson appeared intoxicated, failed field sobriety tests, blew a .184 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on a Breathalyzer test and the address on her license didn’t match the address where she told the officer she was currently living.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Alex Oakley Richardson, 18, rural Ossian, charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor; possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor; operating a 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; transporting alcohol by a minor, a Class C misdemeanor; unlawful possession of tobacco by a minor, a Class C infraction; disregarding a lighted signal, a Class C infraction; open alcoholic beverage container during operation of a motor vehicle, a Class C infraction; unsafe movement from lane to lane, a Class C infraction; and improper headlights, a Class C infraction. Bond set at $3,500.
At 2:42 a.m. May 29, a Bluffton police officer pulled over a 2002 Toyota Avalon after observing the car had a headlight out and appeared to be weaving within its lane. She pulled over to allow the Avalon to pass her patrol car and when it did, it reportedly crossed the dotted line separating lanes. At Wiley Avenue, the Avalon allegedly failed to stop for a red light. The officer pulled it over.
Richardson reportedly only cracked his window about four inches as the officer was trying to talk to him, but apparently that was enough for the officer to smell a strong odor of raw marijuana emanating from the interior of the Avalon.
When the officer asked Richardson where he was headed, he reportedly told her that he was going to a friend’s house in Berne but pointed in the opposite direction. He then allegedly asked the officer if she thought he was intoxicated.
Upon further questioning, Richardson allegedly admitted to having smoked marijuana earlier in the day and that he had both marijuana and alcohol in the vehicle.
A search of the vehicle allegedly turned up a backpack with 12 unopened cans of Twisted Tea in it, and opened glass bottle of Skrewball liquor, a black grinder containing a green plant-like material, a Mason jar with a white lid containing a glass pipe and a metal tin containing a green leafy plant material with the odor and appearance of marijuana.
In a second bag in the vehicle, officers allegedly found a second grinder, three opened packages of Swisher Sweets cigars, another metal tin containing a green plant-like material with the odor and appearance of marijuana, a small scale and small glass smoking devices.
Richardson reportedly failed two of three field sobriety tests but blew a zero on a Breathalyzer test.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Arturo Jesus Ortiz Ramirez, 29, Fort Wayne, charged with possession of cocaine, a level 6 felony; operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, 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 knowingly or intentionally operating a motor vehicle while never having been issued a driver’s license, a Class C misdemeanor. Bond continued at $6,500. Larry Mock appointed public defender.
A sheriff’s deputy was following a 2007 GMC Savannah work van south on 300W south of 1100N May 29 when he reported seeing it cross the center line on six separate occasions — including once when it was straddling the center line.
He pulled it over.
Ramirez was identified as the driver.
The deputy observed in his report that Ramirez appeared to be intoxicated, smelled of alcohol and blew a .107 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on a Breathalyzer test. The deputy also ascertained that Ramirez had a suspended driver’s license. Ramirez reportedly spoke no English, so no field sobriety tests were conducted.
Following his arrest and book-in at the Wells County Jail, a jailer reported finding a folded $1 bill in Ramirez’s billfold. The folded bill allegedly contained a white powder that the deputy noted in his report to the court had the appearance of cocaine.
