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Bidwell woman sentenced to jail timeGALLIPOLIS, Nov 28, 2012 (Gallipolis Daily Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A Gallia County woman charged with trafficking in drugs, drug possession, tampering with records and for failing to appear for her plea hearings was recently sentenced to serve consecutive sentences in each of her three cases. Dawn N. Caldwell, 21, Bidwell, was sentenced to serve five and a half years in the Ohio Reformatory for Women during a recent hearing in the Common Pleas Court of Gallia County. Caldwell was initially indicted on two charges of trafficking in drugs and two drug possession charges after she sold or offered to sell one oxymorphone (Opana) tablet on January 19, 2011, in the vicinity of a school and allegedly sold or offered to sell one Opana tablet within the vicinity of a school three days later on January 22, 2011. The defendant was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to these charges on May 18, 2011. She was subsequently released on an own recognizance bond. A plea hearing was later set for December 20, 2011, in this case. In a second common pleas case, a bill of information was filed with the clerk of courts stating that the defendant falsified a "pre-buy and post-buy recorded interview" kept by a governmental agency -- the Gallipolis Police Department. The defendant was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to this charge on October 20, 2011. She later posted an own recognizance bond for her release and was directed to return to the court for a plea hearing in this case also scheduled for December 20, 2011. Caldwell later failed to appear for the December 20 plea hearings in the common pleas court and a bench warrant was issued for her arrest. As a result, Caldwell was faced with a third case and was indicted for failing for appear for both of the December 20 hearings as required. On September 10, 2012, the defendant was arrested on the warrant for failing to appear. She subsequently appeared before common pleas Judge D. Dean Evans on September 24 and was arraigned on two counts of failing to appear. Her bond was set at $20,000, 10 percent and was revoked in her previous two cases. A plea and sentencing hearing was later rescheduled for November 15 in all three of Caldwell's cases. In her first case, she pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in drugs and was sentenced to serve a 36-month sentence in the Ohio Reformatory for Women. Credit for 74 days served was given in this case and she was ordered to pay $75 in restitution to the Gallipolis Police Department, pay a mandatory fine of $5,000 and had her operator's license suspended for five years. In her second case, Caldwell pleaded guilty to tampering with records and was sentenced to a 24-month term of imprisonment for that charge. She was given credit for 83 days served in this case. The defendant also pleaded guilty to one count of failing to appear in her third case. She was sentenced to serve six months as a result of this case and was given credit for 67 days served. The sentences in each of Caldwell's cases were ordered to be served consecutively for a period of five and a half years in the Ohio Reformatory for Women. ___ (c)2012 the Gallipolis Daily Tribune (Gallipolis, Ohio) Visit the Gallipolis Daily Tribune (Gallipolis, Ohio) at www.mydailytribune.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |