Wells Superior Court
Criminal Cases
Cherity L. Ross, 46, Yoder, pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of .15 percent or more, a Level 6 felony.
Sentencing set for 9 a.m. Dec. 2.
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Robert D. Connett, 47, Bluffton, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
Sentencing set for 9 a.m. Dec. 2.
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Robert D. Bodenheimer, 42, Bluffton, pleaded guilty to criminal trespass, a Class A misdemeanor, and public nudity, a Class C misdemeanor.
Sentenced to 232 days in the Wells County Jail on the A misdemeanor charge and 52 days in the Wells County Jail on the C misdemeanor charge. The sentences are to be served consecutively. The 52-day sentence was ordered executed, but all but 52 days of the 232-day sentence were suspended. He was then credited for spending 52 days in confinement awaiting disposition of his case.
Placed on probation for 180 days.
Ordered to pay court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, two counts of criminal trespass, both a Class A misdemeanors, and one count of public nudity, a Class C misdemeanor, were dismissed.
Bodenheimer, who was homeless at the time of the alleged crimes and had been sleeping on a downtown bench, is charged with urinating in the alcove of the front door of a downtown business at 12:09 a.m., 1:10 a.m., 3:54 a.m., and 5:34 a.m. Aug. 27 and shortly before 10 p.m. on Aug. 29. All of the activity was reportedly caught on a Ring security camera placed in a window of the business.
Although Bodenheimer denied the activity, officers viewed the security camera footage and then observed a large wet area in front of the door where Bodenheimer is alleged to have urinated. The area also reportedly smelled strongly of urine.
Bodenheimer had formerly been warned not to be at the address or he would be arrested for criminal trespassing.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for James Michael Kelly II, 48, Van Wert, Ohio, charged with criminal mischief, a Class B misdemeanor.
On Oct. 8, Bluffton police responded to a Bluffton residence on a report of a loud verbal altercation between a man and a woman. Both the man and the woman as well as the woman’s mother all agreed that it had been an argument only and no one had been battered.
Shortly afterward, Kelly, who reportedly is the father of the woman involved in the argument, arrived and reportedly asked one of the officers if the mother was going to jail. The officer reportedly replied that no law had been broken. Kelly then allegedly asked the officer “What if someone comes out with a black eye?” The officer explained that could possibly result in a charge of battery but that was a hypothetical question.
Kelly reportedly walked back into the residence. The officers followed a short distance behind and allegedly heard Kelly say “Stop hitting me!” and then saw Kelly fall backward into an interior door, causing the door to break. The investigating officer noted in his report to the court that the woman that Kelly allegedly was trying to get arrested was standing too far away from Kelly to have either hit him or shoved him into the door.
The officers confronted Kelly with what they saw. He reportedly responded, “I tried.” The investigating officer then told Kelly that he could be charged with criminal mischief depending on whether or not the landlord and owner of the home wished to pursue the matter of the broken door further.
The owner landlord wished to pursue the matter further.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Nicholas A. Gearlds, 23, Bluffton, charged with driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor; operating a motor vehicle without financial responsibility, a Class C misdemeanor; operating a motor vehicle with a false and/or fictitious license plate, a Class C infraction; and operating a vehicle with an expired license plate, a Class C infraction. Allison Sprunger appointed public defender.
On Oct. 24, a sheriff’s deputy was patrolling Washington Street near Midway Street when he spotted a Ford Mustang that he recognized as belonging to Gearlds from previous dealings with Gearlds. Having performed a license plate check on the vehicle in the past, the deputy knew that the plate belonged not on a Ford Mustang, but a 2008 Hyundai Elantra.
The deputy turned his patrol vehicle around and started to follow the Mustang. He observed that the same false plate was still on the vehicle and moreover, the tag on the plate was now expired.
He pulled the vehicle over and reportedly learned from Gearlds that the vehicle was neither registered nor insured.
Moreover, Gearlds has prior convictions in Wells Superior Court for operating a motor vehicle without insurance and for driving while suspended.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Marisol Gallegos Bocanegra, 39, rural Bluffton, charged with knowingly or intentionally operating a motor vehicle while never having been issued a driver’s license, a Class C misdemeanor, and speeding, a Class C infraction. Larry Mock appointed public defender.
While patrolling Ind. 1 south of 700S around 4 p.m. Oct. 10, a sheriff’s deputy clocked a northbound Dodge Caravn at 70 mph-55 zone and pulled it over.
Bocanegra reportedly admitted to the deputy that she had never received a driver’s license in the United States and that the only form of identification she had was a Mexican identification card.
Civil Cases
Daniel J. Vanderpool appointed to serve the court as senior judge Oct. 31, Nov. 2 and Nov. 3.
Complaints for payment filed by Snow & Sauerteig, Fort Wayne, against: Ryan Hanen, Bluffton, $10,115; Samantha J. Wilfong, Bluffton, $2,472.90.
Wells Circuit Court
Civil Cases
Complaint for appropriation of real estate filed by the State of Indiana, through the Indiana Department of Transportation, against Catarino Ybarra, Jr. and Cathy M. Ybarra; Wells Fargo USA Holdings, Inc. as successor by merger to Wells Fargo Financial Indiana, Inc.; Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance; Midland Funding LLC; Capital One Bank USA; AAA Acceptance Corporation; Three Rivers Federal Credit Union; State of Indiana, Department of Revenue and Wells County, Indiana. The state is seeking appropriation of a portion of property from the Ybarras to create a cul-de-sac at the end of Hoosier Highway where it currently crosses the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks. The cul-de-sac is part of a major realignment of Hoosier Highway. The Ybarras own a house and property near the railroad crossing. The state has sought to acquire a portion of the property for $7,500 however the two entities involved in the negotiation for the purchase of the property have not been able to agree on the value of the property. The other parties included in the suit are included only because they may have an interest by way of default judgments entered against the Ybarras in separate prior civil claims suits.
