Wells Superior Court
Criminal Cases
Megan Raelyn Heinze, 26, Markle, pleaded guilty to domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to a year in the Wells County Jail, with all but 20 days suspended — credited as time served, and placed on probation for 345 days.
Ordered to report for mental health counseling and pay court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, second count of domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor, and one count of intimidation of a public safety officer, a Level 6 felony, were dismissed.
Heinze is charged with battering her mother and her step-brother during an argument at the mobile home they all shared in the Stoneybrook mobile home park on the south side of Zanesville Sept. 13.
Reportedly Heinze also made threats against the sheriff’s deputies who conducted the investigation and threatened to harm their children.
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One-day jury trial set for 8:30 a.m. Feb. 3, 2023, for Jason James White, 27, Fort Wayne, charged with failure to return to lawful detention, a Level 6 felony.
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Chykera C. Carr, 21, Muncie, pleaded guilty to driving while suspended, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to a year in the Wells County Jail, all suspended, and placed on probation for one year. Her probation will terminate upon her obtaining a valid Indiana driver’s license.
Ordered to pay court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, one count of speeding, a Class C infraction, was dismissed.
On May 30 a Markle police officer was monitoring traffic on Marzane Road when he clocked a southbound Toyota Prius at 50 mph-35 zone and pulled it over.
The officer noted in his report that the interior of the Prius smelled of marijuana and that Carr allegedly admitted to having smoked marijuana 10 minutes prior to the traffic stop. She reportedly showed no signs of intoxication. No marijuana or drug paraphernalia were found in the car.
Carr did, however, have two prior convictions for driving while suspended — one in Delaware County and the other in Pendleton Town Court.
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Tyler Boyd, 27, Bluffton, pleaded guilty to failure of a sex offender to possess identification, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to one year in the Wells County Jail, with all but six days suspended — credited as time served, and placed on probation for 359 days.
Ordered to pay court costs and probation fees.
Boyd was walking with a woman northbound on Johnson Street near Horton Street at 5:01 p.m. July 14. Reportedly the two were arguing loudly as they were walking, which prompted someone to call police. Two officers located both still walking and spoke with both of them separately. Boyd reportedly did not have any identification with him.
Boyd is listed on the Wells County sex offender registry.
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Ryan Martin Charleston, 40, Hobart, violated probation by failing to comply with his counseling requirement and failing to report to his probation officer July 15, 22 and Aug. 4.
Ordered to serve 274 days in the Wells County Jail and pay $200 in fees. Sixty-two days of the sentence were suspended.
Upon completion of his sentence, his probation will terminate.
Charleston was sentenced May 5 on one count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person with a prior conviction for the same or a similar offense, a Level 6 felony.
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Michael Wayne Copeland Jr., 26, Bluffton, pleaded guilty to resisting law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to 38 days in the Wells County Jail, credited as time served, and assessed court costs of $185.
Copeland had reportedly violated probation from a Feb. 8 conviction for auto theft, a Level 6 felony, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
Apparently aware Copeland had the warrant, a citizen contacted the Bluffton Police Department Sept. 3 and reported Copeland was riding a yellow mountain bicycle in the downtown area. A sheriff’s deputy happened to be patrolling near the area at that same time, heard the dispatch of Copeland’s presence in the area, and started looking for him. He found him standing next to a yellow mountain bike in front of the Hideaway Bar on South Johnson Street.
Copeland reportedly saw the approaching sheriff’s department patrol vehicle and allegedly decided to take off on the bike, even after the deputy reportedly identified himself and ordered Copeland to stop.
Copeland reportedly rode south on Johnson, east on Washington and back north in an alley before reportedly surrendering without incident.
Copeland was also charged with violating probation by failing to report to his probation officer June 13, 21 and 29; testing positive for methamphetamine, amphetamine, THC, fentanyl and norfetntanyl on June 14; testing positive for methamphetamine, amphetamine, alcohol and THC June 22; denying to his probation officer that he had used alcohol drugs before his drug tests on June 14 and testing at even higher levels on June 22, and being arrested for resisting law enforcement by use of a vehicle, a Level 6 felony.
Copeland was originally sentenced Feb. 8 on charges of auto theft, a Level 6 felony; operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor; and leaving the scene of a property damage accident, a Class B misdemeanor.
