Man pleads guilty to slew of theft charges
CRIDERSVILLE — A Cridersville man plead guilty in a negotiated agreement to breaking and entering charges related to thefts of lawn mowers, trailers and other items from area residents. In December, as part of a case consolidation, James M. Lee, 44, was indicted on 12 counts of breaking and entering, 11 theft related charges, three counts of safe cracking, one first degree felony count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and one count of having a weapon under disability. On Friday he plead guilty to 10 counts of breaking and entering and two counts of safecracking; in exchange other counts were dropped as part a negotiated plea agreement. Prosecuting Attorney Ben Elder is asking for the maximum penalty for those 12 counts and an additional year considering he is on post-release control in another county for a total of 14 years.
Auglaize County and Allen County have been swapping custody of Lee for similar charges. Allen County also holds custody of Lee’s codefendant Paul Schmidt, of Lima, who has not yet been indicted for his alleged actions in Auglaize County
Elder read a staggering statement of facts, showing how busy Lee was while out on post release control:
On March 29, several items were stolen from a shed in the 14000 block of Infirmary Road. A go-kart, a weed eater, a Stihl chainsaw, a Milwaukee impact drill and a mini bike were stolen and sold to James’ brother Blaine who reported the possible theft to deputies. Lee’s red truck and tire tracks matched a vehicle description provided. Those items were valued at $2,225.
On April 25, a Top Hat utility trailer was stolen from 401 Dixie Highway, Cridersville, valued at about $3,800.
On the same day, at Farmers Equipment, at 13833 U.S. Route 33, Lakeview, Lee used that trailer to steal two zero-turn lawn mowers valued together at $10,500.
On June 20, a riding lawn mower, worth $10,000, was reported stolen from a barn at Wapakoneta Monuments at 1391 Bellefontaine St., Wapakoneta. Also stolen was a tool bag and a cordless drill. Video identified the truck pulling into a Super 8 motel with the trailer.
On May 18, he and Paul Schmidt, who has not yet been charged, entered Kanter Construction at 17128 Dixie Highway and took a trailer valued at $5,000.
That trailer was used to steal two zero-turn mowers from
Haehn Florist the same night, valued at $34,500.
On June 29, S-Tech at 20913 Hauss Road was burgled overnight. The register was broken into and $1,357.58 was removed. A fingerprint on the register drawer was linked through the Bureau of Criminal Investigations
to Lee.
On July 13, at 17740 Buckland Holden Rd., Lee and Schmidt removed an ATV valued at $3,000.
On July 24, Lee entered 19113 Graham Road, and took a pickup truck which had a farm tank in the back. The truck was abandoned in Lima and valued at $1,900.
On July 25, Lee and Schmidt entered a barn at 18944 U.S. Route 33, and stole an ATV, tools and a .22 caliber rifle along with a drill. The same night, Lee and Schmidt entered Green Thumb, at 04057 Southland Road in New Bremen. Schmidt reportedly told investigators he entered through a window and let Lee in. Lee stole $50 and a basket of peaches from the business valued at $30.
July 30, Lee was identified in video footage entering Kuck Farms at 12139 state Route 29. He stole $300 from a cash register. Lee was identified due to a visible tattoo of a woman on his chest spotted in video footage.
Auglaize Common Pleas Judge Frederick People called for a brief recess during the hearing to ensure all of the discovery had been reviewed after Lee said he believed about half of the charges had been reviewed with him by his attorney. After the recess he said his memory was refreshed and that he was confused with a different case.
Pepple will borrow a pre-sentence investigation report from Allen County once available for a future sentencing hearing with victim impact statements.