HANCOCK COUNTY — Several cases going through the county courts were settled last week through plea agreements with the county’s prosecutor’s office.
Baylee Elizalde, 22, Westville, admitted guilt as part of a plea agreement to a Level 4 felony count of burglary and was given a 10-year term. Hancock County Circuit Court Judge Scott Sirk suspended eight years, with two years to be served on home detention, and three years on probation. A Level 6 felony count of theft was dismissed as part of the plea agreement. Elizalde was sentenced on Thursday, July 6.
The case against Steven Michael Hoelscher, 35, Greenfield, ended up in a plea agreement. Hoelscher pleaded guilty to a Level 5 felony count of burglary on Thursday, Aug. 6. Sirk handed down a four-year term, with two years suspended and 252 days of credit. The balance of the term is to be served through home detention.
In another burglary case, Joshua E. Crossman, 27, Greenfield, had his Level 4 felony count of burglary dismissed on Thursday, Aug. 6, as part of a plea agreement. Crossman pleaded guilty to two Class A misdemeanors, and Sirk sentenced him to 240 days for each count, with 240 days jail credit.
In another case, Joshua Adam Lewis Priest, 33, Greenfield, had his Level 4 felony case settled as part of a plea deal.
Priest, who was facing a Level 4 felony count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon pleaded guilty to the charge on Tuesday, Aug. 4 in Circuit Court. He was given a six-year term by Sirk with 343 days of jail credit. Upon successful completion of a substance abuse treatment program, the court will consider a modification of the sentence, court documents said.
Priest also was handed a two-year term for a Level 6 felony charge of intimidation with 343 days of credit for time served. A motion to reconsider the sentence was filed Friday, Aug. 7, court records show.
On Monday, Aug. 3, Saul Torres, 24, Burbank, California, also saw his case reach a plea deal. A Level 5 felony count of dealing hashish oil was dismissed, as was a Level 5 felony count of dealing hashish oil. Torres pleaded guilty to a Class A misdemeanor charge of possession of hash oil and was given a three- year term. Sirk give him credit for four days spent in jail and suspended the rest of the term, 1,091 days.
In another Level 4 felony case, a warrant was issued for Paul A. Dover, 48, Lapel, who was scheduled to be sentenced Thursday, Aug. 6. He’s facing two Level 4 felony charges of dealing methamphetamine and two Level 6 felony charges of possession of meth.
