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Sandusky man angry with sentencing

WARREN — A Sandusky man, thinking he was getting a lesser prison term through a plea deal, erupted angrily and had to be escorted out of a Trumbull County Common Pleas courtroom Thursday by sheriff’s deputies after a judge sentenced him to eight years in prison for his part in a December 2019 incident where a Liberty township police cruiser was stolen and crashed.

Jeffrey A. Willard, 31, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including theft, grand theft motor vehicle, obstructing official business, failure to comply with the order of a police officer, escape and being a felon with a weapon.

Willard said he believed his attorney and prosecutors had come to an agreement in which he would serve three years in prison. However, the last word in the matter went to Common Pleas Court Judge Ronald J. Rice, who gave the defendant consecutive sentences that totaled eight years.

“Eight years, that’s not what I (expletive) agreed to,” an angry Willard shouted at Rice as he was led out of the courtroom. “That is a bunch of (expletive).”

Willard earlier said he was sorry for the incident in Liberty in which he was taken into custody for being drunk and disorderly at a township bar. He said he was in Trumbull County working in construction in an effort to support newborn twins.

Willard told the judge he would agree to 18 months in prison before agreeing to plead guilty to the charge when he was offered three years. But judges have the right to ignore plea-deal sentencing agreements and give their own terms if they stay within the law, Rice said.

According to the police report, at 11:21 p.m. Dec. 6, Willard was at Shakers Bar and Grill, 4520 Belmont Ave., when he was thrown out by the bar’s manager, Jason Sharpe, because he was bothering other customers. Once outside, the man broke a window of the manager’s car and then tried to break into another vehicle.

The report stated Willard was held by bar employees until Liberty police arrived.

When police arrived, Willard was handcuffed and placed in the rear seat of the cruiser. While officers were talking to witnesses, the man began to bang his head against the partition between the front and rear seats, the report states. The fire department was then called after Willard complained about becoming sick, the report stated.

According to police Capt. Ray Buhala, during this time, Willard somehow slipped his handcuffed arms from behind him, squeezed through the partition and put the car into drive.

The cruiser began moving out of the bar’s parking lot at a high speed, striking the rear driver’s side of an unoccupied vehicle. The airbag was deployed and the cruiser stopped in the middle of busy Belmont Avenue. Willard then exited the cruiser, running toward Joe Ann Drive. He was found trying to get into a car pulling out of a driveway near Middle Drive, the report states.

While at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, the man resisted assistance by hospital personnel and police officers each time he woke up after being medically subdued, the report states.

Buhala said both the department’s Explorer and the parked vehicle sustained significant damage and Liberty police officials had asked Judge Rice to order restitution of $10,000 for the vehicle damage and $4,500 for the overtime needed to watch over the defendant.

Court records also show that Willard is also wanted on a warrant out of Erie County, Ohio, for a probation violation.

Sandusky man angry with sentencing

Jeffrey A. Willard, who stole Liberty cruiser, says he didn’t get his plea deal

WARREN — A Sandusky man, thinking he was getting a lesser prison term through a plea deal, erupted angrily and had to be escorted out of a Trumbull County Common Pleas courtroom Thursday by sheriff’s deputies after a judge sentenced him to eight years in prison for his part in a December 2019 incident where a Liberty township police cruiser was stolen and crashed.

Jeffrey A. Willard, 31, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including theft, grand theft motor vehicle, obstructing official business, failure to comply with the order of a police officer, escape and being a felon with a weapon.

Willard said he believed his attorney and prosecutors had come to an agreement in which he would serve three years in prison. However, the last word in the matter went to Common Pleas Court Judge Ronald J. Rice, who gave the defendant consecutive sentences that totaled eight years.

“Eight years, that’s not what I (expletive) agreed to,” an angry Willard shouted at Rice as he was led out of the courtroom. “That is a bunch of (expletive).”

Willard earlier said he was sorry for the incident in Liberty in which he was taken into custody for being drunk and disorderly at a township bar. He said he was in Trumbull County working in construction in an effort to support newborn twins.

Willard told the judge he would agree to 18 months in prison before agreeing to plead guilty to the charge when he was offered three years. But judges have the right to ignore plea-deal sentencing agreements and give their own terms if they stay within the law, Rice said.

According to the police report, at 11:21 p.m. Dec. 6, Willard was at Shakers Bar and Grill, 4520 Belmont Ave., when he was thrown out by the bar’s manager, Jason Sharpe, because he was bothering other customers. Once outside, the man broke a window of the manager’s car and then tried to break into another vehicle.

The report stated Willard was held by bar employees until Liberty police arrived.

When police arrived, Willard was handcuffed and placed in the rear seat of the cruiser. While officers were talking to witnesses, the man began to bang his head against the partition between the front and rear seats, the report states. The fire department was then called after Willard complained about becoming sick, the report stated.

According to police Capt. Ray Buhala, during this time, Willard somehow slipped his handcuffed arms from behind him, squeezed through the partition and put the car into drive.

The cruiser began moving out of the bar’s parking lot at a high speed, striking the rear driver’s side of an unoccupied vehicle. The airbag was deployed and the cruiser stopped in the middle of busy Belmont Avenue. Willard then exited the cruiser, running toward Joe Ann Drive. He was found trying to get into a car pulling out of a driveway near Middle Drive, the report states.

While at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, the man resisted assistance by hospital personnel and police officers each time he woke up after being medically subdued, the report states.

Buhala said both the department’s Explorer and the parked vehicle sustained significant damage and Liberty police officials had asked Judge Rice to order restitution of $10,000 for the vehicle damage and $4,500 for the overtime needed to watch over the defendant.

Court records also show that Willard is also wanted on a warrant out of Erie County, Ohio, for a probation violation.

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