CRAWFORD COUNTY- Diane Ross, 51, resident of Galion, was recently arraigned for charges that violated her community control.
According to court documents from the Crawford County Common Pleas Court, there was a notice of violation with Ross.
In a previous article published by the Galion Inquirer it stated, Ross pleaded guilty to child endangerment, a third-degree felony, in November 2021 in Crawford County Common Pleas Court. Ross was charged in relation to an incident that occurred on May 18, 2021, in which a four-year-old male child suffered a gunshot wound to his face. The child received treatment for his wounds at Avita Galion Hospital and was later transported via helicopter to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus for additional treatment, but passed away from his injuries.
The article continued and stated the toddler, who was Ross’s grandson, was in her care at the time of the incident. She was the owner of the firearm, a .22-caliber pistol, that was involved in the incident. In December 2021, Judge Sean Leuthold sentenced Ross to 12 months in the county jail as part of a sanction to her five years of community control. Judge Leuthold further ordered that if Ross failed to successfully complete the community control, she would be subject to up to 36 months in prison.
According to court documents, some of the conditions within her community control included no weapons, no contact with victim’s immediate family or any juveniles including grandchildren. Ross was also ordered to complete a drug/alcohol assessment.
The previous article in the Inquirer shared Judge Leuthold’s remarks during the sentencing hearing. Judge Leuthold said he wanted “to make it 100% clear that this was an accident.” He said there was no intent on Ross’s part to harm the child, that emergency personnel were contacted immediately, and that measures were taken in an attempt to save the child’s life.
However the previous Inquirer article also stated, according to photographs entered as evidence in the case that Leuthold reviewed, the pistol was not secured and was accessible to the child on a shelf that he could reach. “It is extremely negligent to have a gun visible with children in the house,” Leuthold said.
During the court appearence held on Monday, December 12, court documents showed Judge Leuthold entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Ross and her bond was set at $50,000. The court documents also showed Judge Leuthold appointed Jerry Thompson as the attorney who will represent Ross .
