BUCYRUS — Martin Nolen, 25, of Bucyrus, charged with a first-degree felony count of rape, will undergo a competency hearing. Nolen is being held at the Crawford County Justice Center.
He appeared in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on Thursday with his attorney Adam Stone of Bucyrus. Stone made a motion for a second competency exam and asked Judge Sean Leuthold to grant a motion for a $2,500 expert witness fee to pay for the exam.
A previous court-ordered competency exam concluded that Nolen is competent to stand trial. Stone said may pursue a defense supporting a not guilty verdict by reason of insanity, which is the reason for the request for a new hearing.
In granting the additional exam costs, Leuthold said it is a defendant’s right to have an additional exam if he chooses to do so. After granting the additional exam, Leuthold suspended hearing any additional motions until the results of the second exam are made available to the court.
In other court proceedings, Mario Villella, 35, of Mount Gilead appeared in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on felony charges for failure to pay child support.
Villella’s court-appointed attorney Tom Nicholson made a motion to the court to be removed from the case, saying Villella had hired different counsel. But Villella, who has been in a Morrow County jail on an unrelated charge, could provide no documentation saying he had other counsel. During a brief court recess, court officials also could find no record of Villella having different counsel.
Leuthold, however, released Nicholson from the case and appointed Jeffrey Stoll as Villella’s attorney. The judge then requested that the defendant be given a drug test.
“I’m not doing that,” Villella said.
Leuthold reminded Villella that because he was on a personal recognizance bond and that the court had every right to demand a drug test.
Villella then admitted to taking medication to sleep. He also asked to speak to his new attorney privately.
After talking with Stoll, Villella changed his plea to guilty on the child support charge and accepted the sentence for non-prison eligible felonies.
Villella was given five years of community control, ordered to pay his child support and work on the debts within a timely manner. Leuthold warned Villella that if he failed to abide by the terms of his community control, he would become prison eligible.
Also in court Thursday, Dalton Hoover, 21, of Bucyrus got a second chance when assistant Crawford County Prosecutor Ryan Hooveler and Leuthold agreed to permit Hoover to participate in the prosecution program known as intervention in lieu of conviction.
Hoover was arrested on a fourth-degree felony charge for burglary after he and a friend became intoxicated and wandered into the wrong house. When the homeowners awoke they found the strangers in their home and called police.
“You are a very lucky young man,” Leuthold said. “This could’ve ended very badly. Those homeowners could have shot you or you could’ve assaulted someone not really knowing where you were.”
Stone noted that his client had already begun treatment to address his alcohol issues. Upon his successful completion; the felony charge could removed from his record.
“You seem like a good kid. Take advantage of this program,” Leuthold said.
