Two Rocky Fork Lake area women were each given sentences of three years community control following sentencing this week in Judge Rocky Coss’ Highland County Common Pleas Court.
Court records showed that Arlena L. Minniear, 29, Hillsboro, entered a guilty plea to a fifth-degree felony charge of harassment with a bodily substance on Jan. 19.
The bill of particulars in the case stated that after being arrested on Aug. 6, 2020, Minnear told the arresting officer as he transported her to the Highland County Justice Center “that she was going to cause problems.” Upon arrival, she refused to have a seat in a holding cell and had to be forcibly taken there, and when she broke away and continued to resist, another deputy entered intake and had to physically restrain her so she could be handcuffed.
At that point, the court narrative stated that Minnear spit on one officer’s pants and shoe, and when the officers exited the cell, Minniear began kicking the cell door. Both officers returned and placed the woman in a restraint chair, and at that point, she spit in one of the officer’s face.
In the Feb. 17 judgment entry imposing community control sanctions, Minniear was also ordered to pay court costs and to comply with treatment recommendations of the Scioto Paint Valley Mental Health Center or another treatment provider.
Bethany L. Lovely, 28, Hillsboro, received a three-year community control sentence following her conviction on aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony.
She entered a guilty plea to the charge on Jan. 22.
The court’s bill of particulars stated that on Sept. 1, 2020, Lovely was found in a parked car in the parking lot of the Blueberry Hill Motel by a Highland County patrol officer, slumped over the steering wheel. After the investigating officer had awakened Lovely, the bill said she claimed to have been tired and had fallen asleep.
Upon being ordered to exit the vehicle, the officer noticed a hypodermic needle cap on the driver’s seat, which she claimed was there due to her being pregnant and diabetic, according to the bill.
She reportedly refused to give consent to a vehicle search and when another officer arrived on the scene, began acting erratic and attempted to get back into her car, later informing one of the officers that there were hypodermic needles in the vehicle and that she had just used fentanyl.
After being arrested and placed in handcuffs, an inventory of her vehicle revealed the presence of a white pill bottle that contained a white powder, a cellophane baggie with an unknown brown substance and a brown waxy substance that Lovely called “DAB,” according to the bill.
The court document stated that analysis by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation found the substances to be cocaine and fentanyl.
In the Feb. 18 judgment entry imposing community control sanctions, Lovely was also ordered to pay court costs and to successfully complete the Lawrence County Recovery Outpatient Program and aftercare.
Reach Tim Colliver at 937-402-2571.
