Wells Superior Court
Criminal Cases
Roger Lee Fox, 19, Bluffton, pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor.
Sentenced to 60 days in the Wells County Jail, assessed a drug interdiction fee of $200 and court costs of $185.
While performing a probationary search of Fox’s apartment July 11, Bluffton police reportedly found an orange medicine bottle that contained a green leafy plant material with the odor and appearance of marijuana.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Simone A. Router, 31, Markle, charged with possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony; possession of a Schedule I, II, III, or IV controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor. Bond continued at $3,000.
Officers, deputies and Wells County EMS responded to the apartments on Countryside Drive June 29 on a report of a possible fentanyl overdose. Router was the one who had called for help for a male who had reportedly overdosed.
During the course of administering aid to the man, officers reportedly spotted a crystalline substance that appeared to be methamphetamine. A search warrant was sought and executed on the apartment and in the process, allegedly located methamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms, and two glass pipes and cut-off straws commonly used for the ingestion of illegal substances
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Lee Justin Holley, 37, Bluffton, pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense, both Class A misdemeanors.
Sentenced to a year in the Wells County Jail on each of the charges. All but six days of the first of the sentences was suspended and the entire sentence was suspended on the second sentence.
Ordered to serve 120 days of home detention, pay court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, charges of operating a motor vehicle without insurance, a Class A infraction, and disregarding a lighted signal, a Class C infraction, were both dismissed.
On April 3, Holley failed to stop for a traffic signal while riding a motorcycle on Main Street. A Bluffton police officer reportedly witnessed Holley drive around a stopped pickup truck on Main Street in the left turn lane to the main Walmart entrance, Holley reportedly drove into the oncoming lanes of traffic and made the turn on a red light.
Holley had a previous conviction for driving while suspended Feb. 14, 2014, in Wells Superior Court. Reportedly his license was suspended indefinitely for delinquent child support. He admitted to the officer that the motorcycle he was riding was not insured.
Then, during a probationary search of his apartment in the 400 block of West Wabash Street July 21, Bluffton Police officers reported finding marijuana in a back bedroom in a drawer beside Holley’s bed.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Cole M. Sands, 37, Ossian, charged with criminal mischief, a Class B misdemeanor. Larry Mock appointed public defender.
Sands is charged with applying black paint to the vehicle of a female acquaintance outside of her Ossian apartment July 8.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Peter Beckman, 52, Fort Wayne, charged with domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor, and possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor. Bond continued at $1,500. Allison Sprunger appointed public defender.
Beckman is charged with battering his former female roommate during an argument over their living arrangements at her Ossian apartment July 1.
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Order of conditional discharge entered for Antiqua Greene, 31, Fort Wayne, charged with possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor, and operating a motor vehicle without insurance, a Class A infraction.
The duration of the deferred proceedings is one year. If Greene completes all of the conditions established by the Wells County Prosecutor’s office, the charges against her will be dismissed.
She was ordered to pay $100.
While patrolling Jefferson Street north of LaFever Street in Ossian July 12, an Ossian police officer decided to perform a license plate check on a Saturn Vue ahead of him and discovered that the license plate had expired. He followed the Vue to 800N where he pulled it over.
The officer noted in his report to the court that in speaking with the driver, identified as Greene, he could smell raw marijuana. He told Greene he would be searching her Saturn.
She stepped out of the vehicle and reportedly reached back in and grabbed a sport bag. The officer suspected that the odor was coming from the bag and searched it. He reportedly located a small plastic bag containing marijuana in the sports bag.
Wells Circuit Court
Criminal Cases
Scott Allen Richardson, 44, Bluffton, pleaded guilty to failure to register as a sex or violent offender with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Level 5 felony. Richardson was also found to be an habitual offender.
Sentenced to 1,460 days in prison. Credited for 319 days spent in confinement awaiting disposition of his case. Assessed court costs of $185.
Richardson listed his address as homeless on his initial sex offender registration in Wells County July 9, 2021, However, he reportedly had moved into the The Budget Inn in Bluffton Aug. 27, 2021, and failed to update is registry. A sheriff’s deputy investigating the case verified with the manager of the motel that Richardson had moved in.
Richardson has multiple previous convictions in Allen County for failing to register.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Kristi J. Trinkle, 41, Ossian, charged with possession of methamphetamine in the presence of a minor child, a Level 5 felony; two counts of possession of a narcotic drug in the presence of a minor child, both Level 5 felonies; unlawful use or possession of a legend drug, a Level 6 felony; three counts of possession of a controlled substance with a prior conviction for the same offense, all Level 6 felonies; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor. Bond continued at $50,500.
On Jan. 27, officers, sheriff’s deputies, Ossian Fire Department first responders and Wells County EMS responded to Trinkle’s Maxine Drive residence in Ossian on a report that Trinkle might have overdosed on an illegal substance.
Once medical aid was rendered to Trinkle, her mother, the owner of the residence, reportedly gave police permission to search for illegal substances in Trinkle’s bedroom.
During a search of the bedroom, officers discovered a clear vile of a white crystalline substance that appeared to be methamphetamine, prescription pain medications for which Trinkle reportedly did not have a prescription and multiple items of drug paraphernalia.
Declares Candidacy
A town office declaration of candidacy by a Democrat, Libertarian, or Republican Party candidate when no town primary is conducted in 2022, has been filed with the Wells County Clerk’s office by Stephanie A. Tucker, Ossian, seeking election to the Ossian Town Council at-large position. Tucker is running for the office as a Libertarian candidate.
Marriage Licenses
Mallory Elise Aker, 21, rural Bluffton, and Justin Lynn Nussbaum, 24, Berne.
Ethan Richard Gendreau, 28, Bluffton, and Brandi Chantelle Wolfe, 39, Bluffton.
