A Hillsboro man was sentenced in Highland County Common Pleas Court to 12 months in prison for failure to appear and community control for methamphetamine charges.

Steven Gibson, 51, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for failure to appear, a fourth-degree felony, on one case. He was also sentenced to three years of community control for aggravated possession of meth, a fifth-degree felony, from a different case that was ordered to be “tolled until completion” of the above case. Gibson was given 35 days of jail time credit.

For the first case, court records stated that Gibson would be ordered to report to the Highland County Probation Department on the next business day following his release from prison for his community control sentencing.

According to court documents for the first case, Gibson was indicted in Highland County Common Pleas Court on Jan. 10, 2023. He was arraigned on Jan. 12, 2023, and his bond was set at $2,500. He entered a guilty plea on Feb. 9, 2023, and a sentencing hearing was scheduled for March 8.

Due to an entry filed on Feb. 13, 2023, the court ordered that Gibson be released on an OR bond on Feb. 14, 2023, with the condition that Gibson be immediately transported to The Counseling Center and stay there until he was given further orders from the court. Gibson signed an OR bond on Feb. 13, 2023. He then left The Counseling Center and failed to appear for his sentencing hearing on March 8, 2023.

For the second case, Gibson must successfully complete the Star treatment program and recommended aftercare.

According to court documents for the second case, while a sergeant was investigating a traffic stop on North High Street on Aug. 1, 2022, they “discovered” that Gibson had an active warrant for his arrest and had recently left the scene. The sergeant began to patrol the area and s short time later Gibson was located, still on North High Street. The sergeant initiated contact with Gibson and confirmed through dispatch that Gibson had an active warrant for his arrest. He was then placed under arrest and searched before being placed in a police cruiser.

The sergeant found a glass container containing a crystal substance and a brown bag that held a glass pipe inside Gibson’s left pants pocket. Gibson told the officer the substance was probably meth.

Gibson was placed in a cruiser and transported to the Highland County Justice Center. On the way there, Gibson said that the substance would come back as meth and also said “that he only uses now and again when he is tired.” The substance found on Gibson was submitted to BCI for analysis and was found to contain meth.

Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.