Wells Superior Court
Criminal Cases
Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Ali Souleimane, 28, Fort Wayne, charged with driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor, and no or improper headlights, a Class C infraction.
At 9:20 p.m. on Jan. 30, a sheriff’s deputy was patrolling Ind. 124 near 300W when he noticed that an oncoming vehicle had one of its headlights broken and was not working.
While speaking with Souleimane, the deputy discovered that he had an indefinite suspensions against his driver’s license and a prior conviction for driving while suspended in Noble County Sept. 23, 2020.
———
Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Lopez B. Riquelmer Odelio, 21, Fort Wayne, charged with operating a motor vehicle while never having been issued a driver’s license, a Class C misdemeanor. Released on his own recognizance. Larry Mock appointed public defender.
At 12:10 a.m. Feb. 2, a Bluffton police officer spotted a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee northbound on Main Street that had no taillights and pulled it over. It turned out that the driver, Odelio, had just forgotten to turn the Grand Cherokee’s lights on.
The officer discovered that the only form of identification that Odelia had was a Guatemalan identification card. He had never been issued a driver’s license.
———
Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Joshua A. Rock, 23, Fort Wayne, charged with possession of marijuana with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor.
At 10:36 p.m. Jan. 9, sheriff’s deputies were on another call at the Ossian All American Deli when they noticed a strong odor of burned marijuana lingering in the area. The deputies observed that the odor appeared to be coming from a car parked at The Crimson House Cafe, which is located about a half a block to the south. The cafe was closed at the time, but the vehicle was sitting in the parking lot running with its lights on.
The deputies walked over to the vehicle and noticed there was a man and a woman seated in the car. The man, later identified as Rock, reportedly was holding a smoldering hand-rolled marijuana cigarette in his right hand. The deputy ordered Rock to roll down the driver’s side window of the car twice, but both times Rock allegedly refused. The deputy then opened the driver’s side door of the car.
Rock allegedly told the deputies that the female passenger in the car lived next door to the cafe and that they decided to smoke in his car “out of respect for her parents.”
Rock had a prior conviction in Allen County March 4, 2019, for possession of marijuana.
Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Justin David More, 27, Bluffton, charged with possession of marijuana with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor. He was released on his own recognizance.
———
On Jan. 19, the Wells County Probation Department requested a residential search of Moore’s Hi Lo Drive residence where he lives with his parents.
During a search of More’s bedroom, a sheriff’s deputy reportedly found a single-use vape pen loaded with a cartridge labeled “Chill Cherry Lemon Mango,” identified as a marijuana product.
———
Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Dennis A. Bower, 42, rural Poneto, charged with operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of .15 percent or more, a Class A misdemeanor.
Deputies were attempting to find Bower to perform a welfare check on him Oct. 4, 2022, when they located him driving on a county road and pulled over the pickup truck he was driving.
A blood test, the results of which were received on Jan. 25 by the investigating sheriff’s deputy, reportedly revealed a blood alcohol concentration for Bower of .152 percent.
———
Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Angela M. Smith, 42, Ossian, charged with two counts of battery, one count of criminal mischief and one count of disorderly conduct — all Class B misdemeanors. Larry Mock appointed public defender.
Smith is charged with throwing a cup of coffee and a cigarette at a man in a pickup truck in the parking area of the Bluffton Citgo gas station on North Main Street Jan. 20. Apparently she was angered that he had parked his vehicle near the drive-through window and they argued briefly about it before she allegedly threw the cup and the cigarette at his vehicle.
Civil Cases
Judgment of $996 plus $115 in costs and writ of possession entered for Silo Farms mobile home park against tenants Chance Simmons and Whitney Dishman.
Declare Candidacy
Declarations of candidacy for municipal primary nomination have been filed with the Wells County Clerk’s Office by:
• Sarah Jane Reed, Bluffton, Republican for Bluffton Common Council District 5.
• Blake Andrew Fiechter, Bluffton, Republican for Bluffton Common Council At-Large.
Marriage Licenses
Jessica Ann Elwell, 29, Bluffton, and Joshua Michael Shoemaker, 38, Bluffton.
Shadow Anthony DeWayne Fravel, 31, Decatur, and Brittany Lee Guiterrez, 35, Ossian.
