FREMONT — After having his bond revoked, being thrown in jail, and losing his bid for re-election, suspended Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer apparently is ready to cut his losses.
Mr. Overmyer, 42, of Clyde is scheduled to appear in Sandusky County Common Pleas Court at 1 p.m. Thursday for a change-of-plea hearing. He is expected to change his previous not-guilty pleas to at least some of the 43 charges he’s facing.
In August, the sheriff was indicted on 38 felonies — 15 counts of deception to obtain a dangerous drug, 12 counts of tampering with records, six counts of theft in office, and five counts of theft — as well as five misdemeanor counts of filing false financial disclosure statements.
Among the allegations, he is accused of deceiving physicians and pharmacists to obtain prescription pain medication and taking medications from prescription drug disposal boxes.
Neither his attorney, Ronald Mayle, nor a spokesman for special prosecutor Carol Hamilton O’Brien of Delaware County would comment on the proposed plea agreement, citing a gag order that was put into place by visiting Judge Patricia Cosgrove, a retired Summit County Common Pleas judge.
Mr. Overmyer had been free on bond but lost that privilege Nov. 3 when Ms. O’Brien told the court he had violated the terms of his bond by contacting and intimidating witnesses in his case, contacting sheriff’s office personnel, buying a crossbow, changing addresses without notifying the court, and wiping a computer clean before turning it in.
Judge Cosgrove set a $250,000 cash bond, and Mr. Overmyer has been held at the Multi-County Correctional Center in Marion, Ohio.
Though he had continued to campaign for another term as sheriff, Mr. Overmyer was soundly defeated Nov. 8 by independent candidate Chris Hilton, a lieutenant in the Perkins Township Police Department.
A second independent candidate, James Consolo, also received more votes than Mr. Overmyer, who was appointed county sheriff in 2008 and first elected in 2009.
Contact Jennifer Feehan at: jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-213-2134.
First Published November 16, 2016, 5:00 a.m.