Wells Superior Court
Criminal Cases
Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Melissa Marie Buzzard, 30, rural Portland, charged with theft, a Class A misdemeanor, and criminal mischief, a Class B misdemeanor. Bond continued at $2,000. Larry Mock appointed public defender.
Buzzard is charged with damaging the property of an ex-boyfriend — including his automobile — as well taking several items of property, including pillows and a trash can, without his permission on March 25.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Andre Davis Hughes, 21, Berne, charged with possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor, and exceeding the urban speed limit, a Class C infraction. Pauper status denied.
On Aug. 23, a sheriff’s deputy clocked a 2001 Mercury Sable Hughes was driving at 44-30 zone on South Main Street and pulled it over near Spring Street.
In speaking with Hughes, the deputy reported that he appeared to be overly nervous and at the same time lethargic. The deputy then asked him if there was anything illegal in the car. Hughes reportedly denied there was. He denied the deputy’s request to search the vehicle.
So the deputy retrieved his K-9 partner and had the dog sniff around the outside of the vehicle. The dog allegedly alerted. The deputy asked Hughes again if there was anything illegal in the car and he allegedly replied that there was a small amount of marijuana in the glove box of the vehicle.
With probable cause to search the vehicle, the deputy allegedly found a small bag of a green leafy plant material with the odor and appearance of marijuana.
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Trey Allen O’Reilly, 22, Bluffton, violated probation testing positive for fentanyl, norfentanyl, and THC during a random drug test performed Aug. 2 and denying using any substance other than alcohol.
Ordered to serve 226 days in the Wells County Jail and pay $165 in fees. Credited for 28 days spent in confinement awaiting disposition of his case.
Upon completion of his sentence, his probation will terminate.
O’Reilly was originally sentenced June 9, 2022, on one count of possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor.
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Samuel Mack MacDonald, 21, Huntington, violated probation by testing positive for alcohol use (.027 percent on a Breathalyzer test) and failing to comply with the Community Corrections program by using alcohol.
Ordered to serve 180 days in the Wells County Jail. Credited for 128 days spent in confinement awaiting disposition of his case.
MacDonald was originally sentenced June 7 on one count of operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of .15 percent or more.
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Anthony Tyron Lane, 45, Fort Wayne, pleaded guilty to invasion of privacy, with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Level 6 felony.
Sentenced to two years in the Wells County Jail, with all but 120 days suspended.
The term of the sentence is to be served consecutive to a 270-day term for violating probation from a Sept. 1, 2020, sentencing for two counts of invasion of privacy stemming from two separate cases. Both of those counts were filed as Class A misdemeanors.
On the sentence from the probation violation the entire term of sentence was credited as time served.
For the most current charge of invasion privacy — the Level 6 felony charge — he was also ordered to serve 150 days of home detention in lieu of jail time, submit a DNA sample, have no contact with his victim, and pay court costs and probation fees.
At 10:51 a.m. Nov. 12, 2021, Layne was exiting the Wells County Courthouse following a contempt of court hearing on a violation of a protective order when he allegedly started yelling obscenities at the protected party, who was also on the courthouse plaza.
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Trevor Hunnicutt, 34, rural Decatur, pleaded guilty to driving while suspended, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to one 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 serve 90 days of home detention, pay court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, one count of theft, a Class A misdemeanor, was dismissed.
On March 4, Hunnicutt pulled up to a gas pump island at the BP station in Ossian, went inside the convenience store and prepaid for $5 in gas, then went around to the other pump opposite of where he had parked his vehicle, pulled the nozzle and hit pay inside. He then pumped $16.49 in gas into his Mercury van. The owner of the station turned off the pump before Hunnicutt was finished.
That allegedly prompted Hunnicuut to return inside the store and express his displeasure over having his pump turned off. He then allegedly told the store owner he did not have enough money to pay for the gas he had pumped from the other pump. He then left without paying for the $16.49 in gas he had pumped.
While investigating the theft, an Ossian police officer determined that Hunnicutt also had a suspended driver’s license with a prior conviction for driving while suspended meted in Adams Superior Court Dec. 20, 2016. His license is not eligible for reinstatement until Jan. 27, 2025.
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One-day jury trial set for Nov. 29 for Michael T. McGuire, 55, Huntington, charged with identity deception and theft, both Level 6 felonies.
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John Wayne McCoy, 25, Huntington, pleaded guilty to possession of a narcotic drug, a Level 6 felony.
Sentenced to a year in prison, with all but two days suspended — credited as time served — and placed on probation for 363 days.
Ordered to serve 90 days of home detention, submit a DNA sample and pay court costs and probation fees.
On April 20, 2021, police officers, Bluffton Fire Department first responders, sheriff’s deputies and Wells County EMS responded to a report of an unresponsive man at the KOA Campground in Bluffton. McCoy was that man.
A search of the area round him reportedly turned up a small chewing tobacco tin that did not contain tobacco but rather had a small piece of plastic containing five pills of the prescription pain medication oxycodone hydrochloride. He did not have a prescription for the medication.
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Nichole M. Colwell, 34, Bluffton, pleaded guilty to knowingly or intentionally operating a motor vehicle while never having been issued a driver’s license, a Class C misdemeanor.
Ordered to pay a fine of $14.50 and court costs of $185.50.
On June 22, a state trooper spotted Colwell southbound on Main Street at Madison Street in a Chevrolet Impala and she reportedly wasn’t wearing a seat belt. The trooper followed the Impala and pulled it over after he reported noticing it straddle the dotted line between lanes on Main Street.
Colwell reportedly admitted to the officer that she had never had a driver’s license.
Civil Cases
Judgment of $850 and writ of possession entered for Greir Inc., Bluffton, against Trisha A. Miller, Bluffton.
Judgment of $6,062 entered for Ronnie Holbrook, Yoder, against Frank Johnson and Sarah Swinford, both of Bluffton.
