Adriania Denson's case will be heard in front of a jury in May after she said no to a deal that would have her pleading guilty to Felonious Assault with a Firearm. Denson is also charged with Improperly Discharging a Firearm into a Home and Discharging a Firearm Near a Prohibited Premises. Court documents allege Denson was shooting at Tony Slusher and his home was allegedly stuck during the incident.
Vicky Shellabarger is facing Murder, Involuntary Manslaughter, and Endangering Children charges. Shellabarger has been offered other deals in the past for reduced charges but has turned them down. On April 29, 2018, Madilynn was found unresponsive in a Delphos apartment and died later at the hospital. During the investigation, they found that the cause of death was blunt force trauma. Shellabarger's trial has been set for March 30th.
Susan Walendzik's lawyers tried to get her bond lowered from half a million dollars. Judge Jeffrey Reed denied that request. Walendizik and Grant Rose were indicted by the Allen County Grand Jury on multiple charges including promoting prostitution and human trafficking. The two were arrested during a prostitution sting in December.
It took a lot of deliberation, but Jazz Howell has pleaded guilty to a charge of rape. The prosecutor has dropped a second charge of rape and a charge of kidnapping. Howell initially was unsure of the deal and thought about going to trial which would have been next month.
The woman who allegedly murdered her 22-month-old daughter in 2018, was offered a plea deal. 37-year-old Vicky Shellabarger has until February 25th to accept the deal or her case will go to trial in March in Allen County Common Pleas Court. There are no details released yet of what kind of deal was offered, but she is facing one count each of murder and involuntary manslaughter, and two counts of endangering children. If she is found guilty of the murder charge, she could face a sentence of 15 years to life.
The court case of a convoy man, accused of having sexual conduct with a minor, will move forward, after he was found mentally competent to stand trial. 39 year old James Hershberger was ordered to undergo psychological treatment in October, but doctors now say he is able to stand trial on the charges of Rape, Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor and Sexual Battery. Judge Terri Kohlrieser set his jury trial for May. Hershberger is a co-defendant of Jay and Christy Holliday. Last week, Jay Holliday was sentenced to 156 years in prison for 24 sex related charges that involve minors. Hershberger was facing a human trafficking charge when he was arrested in April 2019, before the Allen County Grand Jury indicted him on new charges.
A Lima man facing multiple felonious assault and kidnapping charges will be getting a new lawyer two months before his trial is set to begin. The lawyer who 29-year-old Marquavius Shurelds hired to represent him has stepped down from his case, and now he will have to get a public defender to represent him moving forward in Allen County Common Pleas Court. According to Lima police, Shurelds and two other men allegedly held a man, woman, and child hostage to rob them. The man being held also suffered a stab wound to the leg. In an unrelated incident, Shurelds was also indicted for allegedly shooting another man in the face in a drive-by shooting near the Valero Gas Station. Both incidents happened in 2018. Shurelds' trial is scheduled to begin on March 3, 2020.
A Lima man is looking at possibly spending life in prison after pleading guilty to raping a young girl. 35-year-old Terry Jackson pleaded guilty to two counts of rape. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped kidnapping and pandering child pornography charges. The state also dropped the sexually violent predator specifications placed on his rape charges. According to the grand jury indictment the crime happened on May 27, 2019, and court documents say the victim was an 11-year-old girl. Jackson will be sentenced in December, he is facing 10 years to life in prison for each rape charge.