Two people received prison sentences while four others were given three years of community control following sentencing hearings Wednesday in Highland County Common Pleas Court.

Liam G. Souders, 25, Greenfield, received a 24-month sentence with one day credit for jail time served after being convicted of aggravated possession of methamphetamine, a third-degree felony.

The reason for the prison sentence, according to the court’s judgment entry of confinement, was that he violated a term of the conditions of his bond.

In the court’s bill of particulars, Souders repeatedly denied knowing where the items found in his car by police came from following a traffic stop on May 16, 2020 in Greenfield.

After being arrested on an active warrant, officers found an electronic scale with powder residue on his person, while a search of his vehicle turned up a plastic baggie containing a white crystal substance inside a backpack, a glass jar containing a green leafy substance, a vape pen and rolling papers.

Later analysis by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation determined the white crystal substance to be methamphetamine.

Joshua W. Dennis, 33, Martinsville, was sentenced to a total of 24 months in prison on a third-degree felony charge of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer; and a fourth-degree felony charge of receiving stolen property, and was given credit for 100 days of jail time served.

The court’s judgment entry of confinement ordered 18 months incarceration on the failure to comply count, and six months on the receiving stolen property charge, to be served consecutively.

He was also ordered to pay the Lynchburg Masonic Cemetery $485.89 in restitution, and a total of $1,375 to two individuals.

Court records showed that on Dec. 28, 2020, Dennis was arrested after stealing a truck and then attempting to ram a police officer’s parked patrol vehicle before fleeing at a high rate of speed in Lynchburg. In his attempt to elude police, Dennis damaged several properties before eventually ending up inside the Masonic Cemetery, damaging several headstones and disabling the vehicle.

Police apprehended him two hours later while he was hiding in a nearby wooded area. He later admitted he stole the truck while under the influence of methamphetamine.

Austin Hilterbran, 26, Hillsboro, was sentenced to three years community control after his conviction on failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, a third-degree felony.

His judgment entry imposing community control sanctions ordered that he successfully complete substance abuse disorder treatment at Massie House and any recommended aftercare, that his driver’s license be suspended for a period of three years and that he pay $1,000 in restitution to a private individual.

Derek W. Meyers, 40, Greenfield, was sentenced to three years community control and gained entrance into the New Way to Recovery Drug Court Docket after pleading guilty to a charge of aggravated possession of a fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony.

Jonathan D. Birkhimer, 48, Greenfield, was sentenced to three years community control after his conviction on one count of aggravated possession of a fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony, and a fourth-degree felony count of failure to appear. He was ordered to successfully complete residential treatment and aftercare at The Counseling Center.

Dana L. Peacock, 41, Hillsboro, received jail time and three years community control after her conviction and sentencing on theft from a person in a protected class, a third-degree felony.

In the judgment entry imposing community control sanctions, she was ordered to serve 60 days in the Highland County Jail, with two days credit for prior time served, that she not seek employment in a fiduciary position or as a personal caretaker, and to complete a mental health treatment program.

The court’s bill of particulars stated that Peacock had been employed as a caregiver for an elderly Hillsboro woman for eight years. Unknown to the woman, Peacock opened up a credit card account in the woman’s name and added herself as an authorized user in October 2018, running up charges totaling $9,586.

A sentencing hearing had been scheduled for Wednesday in the case of Ashleigh P. Myers, 33, Wilmington, after she pled guilty to a third-degree felony charge of aggravated possession of methamphetamine, and possession of drugs, fifth-degree felonies on Feb. 5.

However, she failed to appear for her sentencing hearing and a capias warrant was issued for her arrest.

Reach Tim Colliver at 937-402-2571.