Hillsboro man sentenced on burglary charge

A Hillsboro man was sentenced recently to at least two years in prison after pleading guilty to a second-degree felony burglary charge.

Bradley W. Oates, 42, was indicted by a Highland County grand jury in Hillsboro and charged with burglary, a second-degree felony; trespass in a habitation when a person is present or likely to be present, a fourth-degree felony; and assault, a first-degree misdemeanor.

According to court records, Oates pleaded guilty to the burglary charge two weeks after his indictment, with the remaining charges dismissed.

For that count, the indictment alleged that on or about Nov. 8, Oates “did by force, stealth or deception knowingly trespass in an occupied structure when a person, other than an accomplice of the offender, was present, with purpose to commit therein a criminal offense.”

Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss sentenced Oates to a minimum of two years in prison, with jail time credit of 74 days. Under the Reagan Tokes Law, Oates could serve up to three years.

Oates is incarcerated at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

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