Wells Circuit Court
Criminal Cases
Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Rachel L. Thompson, 42, Union City, charged with possession of methamphetamine, a Level 5 felony; carrying a handgun with a prior felony conviction, a Level 5 felony; resisting law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor; criminal trespassing, a Class A misdemeanor; possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor. Bond continued at $24,500. Larry Mock appointed public defender.
Thompson and a male acquaintance — identified as Glenn Osborn, 58, rural Ridgeville, apparently decided to spend the night in the Mossburg Cemetery June 3. The cemetery’s caretaker reported to the sheriff’s department that she had spoken with Thompson the day before after seeing her Jeep parked at the back part of the cemetery. Thompson allegedly told the caretaker that she had relatives buried in the cemetery, but the vehicle never left and was still there the next morning.
Two sheriffs’ deputies arrived and spotted the Jeep — and a tent set up behind it — in the back part of the cemetery. The deputies observed that a woman, identified as Thompson, was in the Jeep and a man, identified as Osborne, was in the tent.
The investigating deputy also observed that the Jeep, registered out of North Carolina, had an expired license plate.
The deputy also observed that the interior of the Jeep smelled of raw marijuana.
Thompson was reportedly uncooperative with the deputies and allegedly refused to identify herself. She also reportedly refused to exit the vehicle when commanded to do so. A deputy removed her from the vehicle.
The Markle Town Marshal, who arrived on scene to assist, reported seeing the plastic caps for hypodermic syringes in the tent.
After finding credit cards in the vehicle with Thompson’s name on them, Thompson allegedly told the deputy that she was Thompson. Because Thompson had previous arrests, deputies were also able to match the tattoos visible on her body with the tattoo list on her arrest records.
A search of both the tent and the vehicle allegedly turned up marijuana, marijuana wax, methamphetamine, various items of drug paraphernalia and the anti-anxiety medication clonazepam, for which neither Thompson nor Osborne reportedly had a prescription.
A handgun was also allegedly found inside the Jeep. Neither Osborne nor Thompson were licensed to carry a handgun. Osborne reportedly denied ownership of the handgun.
While being medically cleared at the Bluffton Regional Medical Center prior to being transported to the Wells County Jail, reportedly Thompson’s blood tested positive for methamphetamine, marijuana, and benzodiazepines.
A preliminary plea of not guilty has been entered in Wells Superior Court for Osborne, who has been charged with one Level 6 felony count of possession of methamphetamine and three Class A misdemeanor counts of possession of marijuana, criminal trespassing (after he and Thompson had been told by the caretaker they could not be in the cemetery after dark), and possession of drug paraphernalia with a prior conviction for the same offense.
Declares Candidacy
Declarations of candidacy by a Democratic, Libertarian or Republican Party candidate when no town primary is conducted in 2022 have been filed with the Wells County Clerk’s office by John Edward Schumacher and Jack E. Blackstein, both seeking election to the Zanesville Town Council.
