Wells Superior Court
Criminal Cases
Dustin Wade Jackson, 32, Ossian, pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to a year in the Wells County Jail, with all but 10 days suspended, and placed on probation for 355 days.
He was credited for two days spent in confinement awaiting disposition of his case.
Ordered to report to a substance abuse program and pay court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, charges of operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of at least .08 percent but less than .15 percent, a Class C misdemeanor, and failing to reduce speed for an authorized emergency vehicle, a Class A infraction, were dismissed.
Jackson was northbound on Ind. 1 shortly after midnight Aug. 22, 2021, when he reportedly failed to slow down or move his pickup truck over as he approached and then passed by a deputy who had another vehicle pulled over on a traffic stop. A second deputy then pulled over Jackson’s pickup truck near 500N.
The deputy noted in his report to the court that Jackson smelled of alcohol, failed field sobriety tests and blew a .124 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on a Breathalyzer test.
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Jennifer Izbicki, 29, Fort Wayne, pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle with a Schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in her blood, a Class C misdemeanor.
Sentenced to 60 days in the Wells County Jail, with all but two days suspended — credited as time served, and placed on probation for 363 days.
Ordered to perform 20 hours of community service, pay for all costs associated with her blood test and pay court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, charges of possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor; operating a motor vehicle without insurance, a Class A infraction; and open alcoholic beverage container during operation of a motor vehicle, a Class C infraction, were all dismissed.
On Jan. 10, 2021, an Ossian police officer clocked a northbound car on Jefferson Street at LaFever Street in Ossian at 40 mph-25 zone and fell in behind it. The officer noted in his report to the court that vehicle drifted toward the fog line as it continued north. He pulled it over near 1200N.
The officer also noted that when he initiated a conversation with Izbicki he could smell a strong odor of perfume mixed with a smell of marijuana.
A search of the vehicle reportedly produced some small marijuana cigarettes and a small glass jar with a green leafy material with the odor and appearance of marijuana.
She also allegedly blew a .084 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on a Breathalyzer test.
A toxicology test reportedly showed her alcohol concentration equivalency to be .05 percent at the time her blood test was take, but also the presence of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
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Jennifer Ann Hall, 33, Fort Wayne, violated probation by testing positive for methamphetamine following a random drug screening Sept. 28, 2021.
Assessed probation user’s fees and a drug testing fee.
Probation terminated as unsuccessful.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Justin R. Gardner, 29, Bluffton, charged with operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of .15 percent or more with a prior conviction for the same offense and operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person with a prior conviction for the same offense, both Level 6 felonies.
On March 4 sheriff’s deputies and Wells County EMS were dispatched to the intersection of 300W and Ind. 124 on a report of a sport utility vehicle stopped in the roadway facing south on the north side of the intersection and the male driver was slumped over against the driver’s side door.
As deputies arrived they discovered Gardner who appeared to be passed out at the wheel. His foot was on the brake, but the vehicle was still in gear and running.
One of the deputies managed to unlock the vehicle and put the transmission into park. Gardner was eventually awakened.
The investigating deputy observed that Gardner smelled of alcohol, appeared to be intoxicated, failed field sobriety tests and blew a .191 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on an initial certified breath test conducted at the Wells County Jail.
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Seth Davis, 20, rural Warren, violated probation by being arrested in Huntington County for possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony, and by failing to comply with the counseling requirements of his April 1, 2021, sentence for minor in possession of alcohol, a Class C misdemeanor.
Ordered to serve 20 days in the Wells County Jail — credited as time served.
Probation terminated.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Jacob D. Shaffer, Roanoke, charged with two counts of dealing marijuana with a prior conviction for the same offense, both Level 6 felonies.
Bond continued at $10,000.
Shaffer is charged with selling marijuana to a cooperating individual with the DETECT Drug Task Force last November.
Wells Circuit Court
Criminal Cases
Kambra Chey Mortimer, 29, rural Keystone, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine, a Level 5 felony.
Sentenced to two years in prison, with all but two days suspended — credited as time served, and placed on probation for two years. Ordered to pay court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, one count each of possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor, were dismissed.
On Oct. 1, 2021, officers and Wells County EMS responded to Mortimer’s rural Keystone residence on a report of a woman slouched over the steering wheel of a vehicle with a child also in the car. The woman was later identified as Mortimer .
After law enforcement officers woke her up, Mortimer is alleged to have told them that she was just a tired single mother of five children. She also allegedly admitted to having “smoked a little pot” earlier the prior day.
Mortimer had in her possession a sunglasses case, of which she denied ownership. The investigating officer reportedly found a small plastic bag of a green leafy substance with the odor and appearance of marijuana and a small piece of glass containing a white residue.
A search of the vehicle by law enforcement reportedly turned up several items that are often used by people who use drugs including butane torches and Swisher Sweets cigarellos. A search of Mortimer’s residence also reportedly turned up drug paraphernalia and evidence of use of methamphetamine.
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Alexis Wirt, 21, Markle, pleaded guilty to battery resulting in bodily injury to a person less than 14 years old, a Level 5 felony.
Sentenced to two years in prison, with all but 20 days suspended — credited as time served, and placed on probation for two years.
Ordered to serve 180 days of home detention pay court costs and probation fees.
Wirt was charged with striking and bruising a toddler left in her care in September 2020.
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Tyson Walter, 38, Bluffton, pleaded guilty to invasion of privacy with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Level 6 felony.
Sentenced to one year in prison, with all but 12 days suspended — credited as time served, and placed on probation for 353 days. Assessed court costs and probation fees.
Bluffton police received an anonymous tip Sept. 5 that Walter might be violating a protective order. An officer went to the Bluffton residence where the tipster said the violation was taking place and knocked on the door. Walter reportedly answered the door. The officer noted in his report that other than a violation of the order, there did not appear to be anything else out of order.
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Sentencing set for 1 p.m. April 13 for William Thomas Stotlar Jr., 46, Bluffton, who pleaded guilty to dealing in methamphetamine, a Level 4 felony, and failure to register as a sex or violent offender, a Level 6 felony.
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Sentencing set for 9 a.m. April 13 for Decorion Martez Eskridge, 22, Bluffton, who pleaded guilty to domestic battery, a Level 6 felony.
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Sentencing set for 1 p.m. April 13 for Sean L. Riley, 47, Berne, who pleaded guilty to dealing in methamphetamine, a Level 5 felony.
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Sentencing set for 8 a.m. May 5 for Michael E. Whitacre, rural Portland, who pleaded guilty to burglary, a Level 5 felony.
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Sentencing set for 1 p.m. April 13 for Samuel E. Mounsey, 48, Bluffton, who pleaded guilty to dealing in a narcotic drug, a Level 3 felony.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Brian Wayne Lessing, 29, listed as homeless, charged with five counts of burglary, all Level 5 felonies. Bond continued at $100,000. Eric D. Orr appointed public defender.
Lessing is charged with participating with several people in multiple burglaries of a rural Montpelier residence over a period of several days in August of 2021.
