Wells Superior Court
Criminal Cases
Hilario A. Rios, 52, Fort Wayne, pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor.
Sentenced to 60 days in the Wells County Jail, with all but two days suspended, and placed on probation for 363 days.
Ordered to pay court costs, probation fees and a $200 drug interdiction fee.
As part of a plea agreement, charges of operating a vehicle with a Schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in his body, a Class C misdemeanor, and no or improper headlights, a Class C infraction, were dismissed.
A sheriff’s deputy pulled over a 2006 Buick Rios driving on Ind. 1 near 850N July 14 after noticing it had only one functioning headlight.
Rios reportedly smelled of alcohol, but blew just a .019 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on a Breathalyzer test.
However he also reportedly admitted to the deputy that he had smoked marijuana about two hours earlier. A SoToxa oral fluid test reportedly showed the presence of both cannabis and amphetamine in Rios’ system.
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Sequoia Michelle Kennedy, 27, Fort Wayne, pleaded guilty to domestic battery committed in the presence of a child less than 16 years of age, a Level 6 felony.
Sentenced to two years in prison, with all but 14 days suspended — credited as time served, and placed on probation for 716 days.
Ordered to report to a batterer intervention program, complete a parenting class, undergo psychological evaluation and pay court costs, probation fees and a domestic violence prevention and treatment fee. She is to have no contact with her victim.
As part of a plea agreement, one count of battery resulting in bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor, was dismissed.
Kennedy reportedly battered a male resident and a female resident during an argument in the presence of children at the Miller Street residence they all shared June 10.
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Alex James Skiles, 21, rural Bluffton, pleaded guilty to driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to a year in the Wells County Jail, all suspended, and placed on probation for one year. His probation shall terminate upon his obtaining valid driving privileges.
He was ordered to pay court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, charges of driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor (separate case); operating a motor vehicle without insurance, a Class A infraction; and unsafe movement from lane to lane, a Class C infraction, were all dismissed.
While patrolling northbound on Ind. 1 near 1100N April 7, 2021, a sheriff’s deputy noted that an oncoming vehicle was weaving in its lane. The deputy turned around and pulled over the 2010 Chevrolet Impala at Jefferson and LaFever streets in Ossian.
Just 26 days earlier, Skiles had been convicted in Wells Superior Court of one count of driving while suspended.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Wilbert L. Grayson, 33, Bluffton, charged with domestic battery committed in the presence of a child less than 16 years of age, a Level 6 felony. Bond continued at $5,000.
Grayson is charged with battering a female in the presence of a small child during an argument over a traffic accident Grayson had been in earlier in the morning. The alleged battery occurred at the Bluffton residence they shared Aug. 11.
Petitions Filed
Petitions of nomination and consent for school board office elected in 2022 have been filed with the Wells County Clerk’s office by:
• Bruce E. Holland, Bluffton, seeking re-election to the District 2 seat on the Bluffton-Harrison Metropolitan School District Board of Trustees.
• Amanda Gaskill, rural Keystone, seeking election to the Chester Township position on the Southern Wells Community Schools Corp. Board of Trustees.
• Delora K. Schneider, rural Liberty Center, seeking election to the Liberty Township position of the Southern Wells Community Schools Corp. Board of Trustees.
Files Report
A report of receipts and expenditures of a political committee has been filed with the Wells County Clerk’s office by Mounsey for Sheriff, Ryan Matthew Mounsey, Republican, for Wells County Sheriff.
For the period beginning April 9 and ending Oct. 14, the committee began the reporting period with $2,689.24 in cash on hand, had no itemized contributions or receipts, received $80 in unitemized contributions and receipts, spent $2,763.24 in itemized expenditures and $6 in unitemized expenditures, and finished the reporting period with no cash on hand. The committee owed no debts.
The itemized expenditures were $2,443 to the Bluffton News-Banner for political advertisements and $320.24 in campaign donations to Vicki Andrews for Wells County Council, rural Warren.
