A Highland County jury found a Sabina man guilty of two counts of grand theft of a motor vehicle, both fourth-degree felonies, this week and Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss rendered sentencing the same day.
Joshua J.J. Dettwiller, 29, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment for stealing the same vehicle on two separate occasions in December 2020, plus got additional prison time for violating the terms of community control from a prior felony conviction.
According to the original indictment, the first incident occurred on Dec. 6, 2020 in Greenfield, when a woman reported that her black Dodge Caravan had been stolen from her residence overnight.
Dettwiller had visited the residence for a short period of time the day before and left alone, and on the morning of Dec. 6 the owner noticed the vehicle was gone and suspected that Dettwiller may have used the van to visit his girlfriend in Clinton County, according to the indictment.
The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office contacted Dettwiller’s mother, who told them she had not seen her son but confirmed he was in possession of the van, the indictment said.
On Dec. 18, 2020, the vehicle was returned to the owner’s residence after being recovered by the Hillsboro Police Department on Dec. 14.
Seven days later, Greenfield police received a call that the vehicle had been stolen again, and that Dettwiller was still in possession of the keys.
On Christmas Day, Dettwiller was arrested in Clinton County while in possession of the stolen van. Four days later he asked how he could be charged in two separate cases for stealing the same vehicle, and was told that it was because the vehicle had been stolen, recovered, returned and stolen again, the indictment said.
Dettwiller was quoted in the indictment as telling the officer he thought that was unfair.
In the judgment entry of confinement, he was given consecutive sentences of 15 months each on the two counts, with 126 days credit for jail time already served.
However, since the crimes were committed while he was under community control, he was also sentenced to an additional three years minus the 399 days he served while under probation.
Johnny L. Locey, 67, Leesburg, was sentenced Wednesday to three years community control after being convicted of the fourth-degree felony charge of aggravated assault.
The court’s bill of particulars said that he had been charged with shooting a Leesburg man in the left leg on June 12, 2020 after a verbal altercation at the man’s residence near the railroad tracks on Monroe Road.
In the judgment entry imposing community control sanctions, Locey was ordered to have no contact with the victim, and that the weapon used in the shooting, identified as a Ruger Mini 14 rifle, was to be forfeited to the Highland County Sheriff’s Office.
Reach Tim Colliver at 937-402-2571.
