A Putnam County man facing a rape charge agrees to a plea deal.  27-year-old Zachery Lambert pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of sexual battery.  With the plea deal, the severity of the charge dropped from a felony one to a felony three.   Lambert says that he and the adult female victim were drinking at her home when she fell asleep.   Lambert then sexually assaulted her, and when she told him to stop, he did and left the home.   He will be sentenced at a later date, but he will be classified a sex offender.

77-year-old Larry Burkhart was found guilty of 3 counts of Rape and 6 counts of Gross Sexual Imposition in May. According to the indictment, the incidents involve two girls under the age of 13 and happened between January of 2017 and October of 2019.

Larry J. Burkhart appeared with his representation for the second day of his court trial. Burkhart is facing multiple charges, three first-degree felony rape charges, four third-degree gross sexual imposition charges, and two fourth-degree felony gross sexual imposition charges. Burkhart's representation pleaded that the defendant was coerced into a false confession and that other factors must be taken into account when discussing the alleged crime.

21-year-old Roberto Garza was sentenced in Putnam County Common Pleas Court to 60 days in jail and 5 years of community control after pleading guilty to one count of Gross Sexual Imposition. As part of the plea deal, two counts of Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor and another count of Gross Sexual Imposition were dropped. Garza admitted to touching the teen inappropriately on top of her clothes two different times. The judge also ordered Garza to be labeled a tier one sex offender and must register with the sheriff’s office for the next 15 years.

According to an Indictment, Marcos Jesus Zavala was arrested after failing to seek medical attention for his son during the dates between May 17th, 2019 to August 21st, 2019, resulting in serious physical harm. Zavala was then indicted on one count of Felonious Assault (2nd Degree Felony) and one count of Endangering Children (3rd Degree Felony).

Kelvin Bish is facing charges of two counts of Unlawful Sexual Conduct With A Minor. Bish appeared for an arraignment in court Thursday morning, where he received an own recognizance bond. The bond orders that Bish must reside at his listed address, not consume alcohol or illegal drugs, not possess firearms or dangerous weapons, and have no contact with the alleged victims, as well as to not have unsupervised contact with minor children.

Marcos Jesus Zavala appeared in Putnam County Common Pleas Court on Thursday for his final pre-trial. According to the indictment, Zavala was arrested after failing to seek medical attention for his son during the dates between May 17th, 2019 to August 21st, 2019, resulting in serious physical harm. Zavala was indicted on one count of Felonious Assault (2nd Degree Felony) and one count of Endangering Children (3rd Degree Felony). 

Richey was sentenced to 12 years in prison for when he threatened former Putnam County judge, and now Allen County assistant prosecutor, Randall Basinger. Four videos were discovered on Richey's Facebook page from last summer. He says he won't die until the man that ruined his life, his children and grandchildren all die, but he mentions no name. 

An Ottawa man has admitted to sexual crimes against a teenage girl, in Putnam County Common Pleas Court.

Daniel Salazar accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to an amended charge of sexual battery and a charge of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The original charge of rape was dismissed. Salazar could now face up to eight years in prison. Court documents state these incidents happened between June and July of 2018. The victim would have been between 15 and 16 years old. Salazar will be sentenced on Sept. 14.

Travis Soto is back in Putnam County Common Pleas Court for the first time since the Supreme Court declined to hear his case.

Soto's lawyers filed 14 different motions as they get back to the case, now headed for a trial. Among those motions are to determine the eligibility for the death penalty, have law enforcement turn over all information from their investigation, and to close all pretrials and prohibit any photograph or video recording of the proceedings. The state will respond to the motions by Aug. 28 and a hearing will be set in September.