WILMINGTON — A man and his girlfriend each received a four-year prison term for making meth in Clinton County.
Timothy Dale Hatten, 37, of the Midland area, and Kathleen “Katie” M. Stock, 29, of Blanchester, were specifically given an indefinite prison term of four to six years; however, there is a presumption that the defendants will be released at the end of four years in prison.
Poor conduct in prison can lengthen the period of incarceration up to the maximum six years, whereas the minimum four-year time period can be reduced through earned days of credit based on “exceptional conduct while incarcerated or defendant’s adjustment to incarceration,” according to court papers.
Upon release from prison and as part of their sentences, the defendants will be supervised for five years by the Ohio Adult Parole Authority.
The criminal activity occurred in mid-April 2019.
The illegal manufacture of drugs (methamphetamine) conviction is a felony of the first degree.
Both were granted 68 days credit toward their prison terms for time spent in the Clinton County Jail.
Garrett Upshaw, 24, of Kentucky and formerly of Clarksville, received an 18-month prison term for trafficking in oxycodone in February 2018 in Clinton County. The charge is a felony of the third degree level, and conviction carries a presumption of prison.
“Given the nature of this crime, and the harm being caused to our community by illegal drugs, the Court finds that community control sanctions would not adequately punish the defendant nor protect the public from future crime by the defendant and others,” Clinton County Common Pleas Judge John W. “Tim” Rudduck wrote in his sentencing document.
Upshaw has served time in incarceration in the state of Florida for similar activity, the judge stated.
In fact, the defendant committed drug-related crimes in Florida in October 2018 while released on bond for the Clinton County Common Pleas Court, according to a court paper.
Rudduck said he does not rule out the possibility of an early release from prison so that Upshaw takes part in STAR Community Justice Center programming. But the judge added he does not guarantee an early judicial release will occur.
In a sentencing memorandum by defense attorney Tyler Hoffer of Lebanon, Ohio, Hoffer states that Upshaw around 2018 had developed a serious pharmaceutical drug problem that led him to be a user of those drugs, “and eventually by extension of his addiction, he became involved in larger amounts of the drugs and transporting them for others.”
The Clinton County grand jury’s indictment also alleged the defendant had possessed and trafficked in Clonazepam. Those two counts were dropped as part of a negotiated resolution of the case.
Brady Taylor Yaden, 22, of Wilmington, saw his term of community controls revoked and replaced by an 11-month prison term on his original conviction for escape. He was granted credit for 187 days already served in incarceration.
Reach Gary Huffenberger at 937-556-5768.
