Wells Superior Court
Criminal Cases
Kyle David Beers, 33, Bluffton, pleaded guilty tom possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to a year in the Wells County Jail, with all but 30 days suspended, and placed on probation for 335 days.
Ordered to pay court costs and probation fees.
On Dec. 24, 2021, Beers reportedly drove a black sport utility vehicle into the path of a state trooper’s patrol vehicle, causing the trooper to slam on the brakes on his vehicle. The trooper then decided to check the information on the license plate on the vehicle and it returned as belonging to a white Saab.
The trooper spoke with the driver, identified as Beers, and reportedly noticed there was an odor of marijuana emanating from the interior of the sport utility vehicle.
Beers reportedly admitted to the trooper that he had a small plastic bag of marijuana in his pocket along with a vaping pen containing a THC cartridge.
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Jordan Montgomery Anderson, 31, Decatur, pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of .15 percent or more, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to a 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 34 days in the Wells County Jail, pay court costs and probation fees. Driver’s license suspended for 30 days.
As part of a plea agreement one count of operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of .15 percent or more, a Class A misdemeanor, was dismissed.
At 3:28 a.m. March 19, while looking for a suspect from a previous fight call, a Bluffton police officer saw a vehicle leave a residence on Miller Street. She started to follow it through a somewhat circuitous route through the north side of town only to witness it return to the residence from where it had come. It had run over a curb while turning from one street to another and had nearly sideswiped a parked vehicle in the process, the officer observed in her report to the court.
As the driver exited the vehicle, the officer noted in her report, he appeared to be having trouble maintaining balance. The driver was identified by the officer as Anderson. She added that he failed field sobriety tests, blew a .164 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on a Breathalyzer test and admitted to having drank eight or nine beers.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Jared Kenneth Shumate, 21, Geneva, charged with operating a motor vehicle without insurance with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class C misdemeanor; driving while suspended, a Class A infraction; and registration violation, a Class C infraction. Released on his own recognizance.
A Bluffton police officer conducted a traffic stop on a 2002 Buick driven by Shumate on Hi-Lo Drive near Westgate Road after noticing the vehicle did not have a license plate.
During the course of the traffic stop, the arresting officer discovered that Shumate’s driver’s license was not re-eligible for reinstatement until June 6, 2022.
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Troy J. Shake, 37, rural Huntington, pleaded guilty to domestic battery with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Level 6 felony.
Sentenced to 275 days in prison. the term of the sentence is to be served consecutively with a 90-day term in the Wells County Jail meted in Wells Superior Court for violating probation from a Sept. 27, 2021, conviction for public intoxication, a Class B misdemeanor.
Credited for 76 days spent incarcerated awaiting disposition of his case.
Officers responded to Valley Park apartments Nov. 6, 2021, after Shake allegedly grabbed the arm of a female during an argument over who owned recently purchased soda pop in the apartment.
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Ryan Patrick Rice, 42, rural Hartford City, charged with driving while suspended, a Class A misdemeanor, operating a vehicle without insurance with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class C misdemeanor, and failure to register, a Class C infraction entered into a contract to withhold prosecution/pre-trial diversion.
Ordered to complete a driver improvement program, take the necessary steps to obtain a valid driver’s license and pay court costs and fees.
While checking the area of 600W near Jeff Road in Jackson Township for a white Ford sport utility vehicle believed to have been involved in another incident March 19, 2020, a sheriff’s deputy spotted a vehicle that was similar in description and pulled it over after noticing the license plate on the vehicle was supposed to be on a brown Chevrolet. Rice told the deputy he had just purchased the vehicle a couple weeks earlier.
Rice had a prior conviction in Huntington County Superior Court for driving while suspended Nov. 20, 2017 and his driver’s license was suspended indefinitely for failure to appear in court.
Infractions
Judgment set aside and charges dismissed in the case of Ridge Mason Borne, 21, rural Ossian, who had been ticketed for operating a vehicle without insurance and distracted driving.
Civil Cases
Complaint for interpleader filed by the Wells County Sheriff’s Department against Lavon Yoder, rural Topeka, and Ethan McKenney, Decker, Mich. In March, Wells County Sheriff Detective Quinton Greer seized a 2006 Dodge Charger that reportedly had been stolen from Yoder and sold to McKenney. McKenney was able to secure registration for the vehicle from the Michigan Secretary of State. The sheriff’s department is seeking to release the Dodge Charger to its rightful owner with the condition of payment of an fees or costs associated with impounding the vehicle; restrain or enjoin the defendants from pursuing any action against the sheriff’s department; discharge the sheriff’s department from any and all liability upon release of the vehicle; and require the defendants to interplead amongst themselves their claims to the vehicle.
Complaint for payment of $416.48 filed by Stucky, Lauer & Young, Fort Wayne, against Michael Swanberg, Craigville.
Complaints for payment filed by Bluffton Regional Medical Center against Tamarah Moore, Bluffton, $2,386.33; Samantha Teegarden, Bluffton, $672.98; Lisa Anderson, rural Bluffton, $675.76; Bryan Speidel, Bluffton, $2,678.85; and Suzanee Walraven, Montpelier, $2,001.29.
Petition for dissolution filed in the marriage of Brenda Mae Murray, Bluffton, and Bruce Allen Murray, Bluffton.
Wells Circuit Court
Criminal Cases
Matthew D. Englehardt, 39, Bluffton, found guilty of sexual misconduct with a minor, a Level 4 felony, and guilty of three counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, all Level 5 felonies.
Sentencing set for 1 p.m. July 18.
