HILLSBORO — A laundry list of cases are pending between four Greenfield co-defendants charged with drug- and burglary-related crimes, and some are set to testify against each other in upcoming jury trials.
Tyler Trent, 30, Greenfield, on Wednesday pled guilty in three of his five criminal cases and now faces up to five years in prison. Trent pled guilty to two separate counts of aggravated possession of methamphetamine and one count of receiving stolen property.
The most notable case against Trent lists Terry Hester, 34, Taylor Jenkins, 23, and Brandon Greene, 32, all of Greenfield, as co-defendants. In that case, the defendants are accused of breaking into Dave Fairley’s barn dwelling in Highland County and taking items worth more than $1,000.
Trent, Hester and Jenkins are charged in that case with two counts of burglary, one count of breaking and entering, one count of theft and one count of grand theft. Greene is charged in that case with receiving stolen property.
The indictment says Trent, Hester and Jenkins broke into an apartment in a barn owned by Fairley and stole a .22 revolver, a Bible, $150 in one dollar bills, a flashlight, four rings, John Deere pocket watches, a BB/pellet gun, DVDs, two Verizon tablets, a laptop, a 4-H knife and a black bathroom kit, among other items.
The defendants were identified by the car they drove during the theft, which was caught on surveillance footage, according to court documents.
Since Fairley, the victim, is Highland County Prosecuting Attorney Anneka Collins’ father, Chad Randolph of the Clinton County Prosecutor’s Office was appointed as a special prosecutor on that case.
Randolph is also a special prosecutor in a receiving stolen property case against Trent, which is still pending.
Meanwhile, three separate cases are also pending against Hester, and attorneys are negotiating possible plea deals. In addition to the Fairley case, Hester is charged in separate cases with attempted burglary, tampering with evidence, receiving stolen property and possession of drugs.
Jenkins pled guilty on Wednesday to burglary and theft in the Fairley case, and will testify against her co-defendants if they go to trial. She faces more than two years in prison.
The other charges against her in the Fairley case indictment were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Greene rejected a plea offer for his receiving stolen property charge and his trial was continued until after his co-defendants’ cases are resolved so they can testify on his behalf.
He also awaits further hearings for a probation violation in a separate case.
Reach David Wright at 937-402-2570.
