Hillsboro man gets 3 years after 14 people victimized in lake area

A Hillsboro man charged with 15 felony and misdemeanor counts of receiving stolen property from 14 different victims in the Rocky Fork Lake area has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison. 

Joshua Arnold, 23, was not initially eligible to be sentenced to prison time, according to Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins. However, following multiple violations to his pre-trial supervision and a failure to appear on time during his original sentencing hearing, Arnold could then be sentenced to more than community control. 

Arnold appeared for sentencing Wednesday in Highland County Common Pleas Court with his attorney Lee Koogler. Koogler had been scheduled for sentencing on April 4 at 9 a.m. However, Arnold did not appear at that time, and Judge Rocky Coss issued a capias for his arrest. Arnold appeared in court after the noon hour, where he was taken into custody. Arnold told Coss that he had been confused and appeared at Hillsboro Municipal Court. When he found out that he was in the wrong place, Arnold told the court, he began walking from the Highland County Justice Center to the Highland County Courthouse. 

Arnold has no pending cases out of Hillsboro Municipal Court, according to Coss, and he did not find Arnold's explanation credible. 

Coss said Wednesday that he found Arnold's explanation for missing his hearing to be "lame excuses. In fact, your explanation for missing your sentencing hearing was as lame an excuse as I've heard in a long time. It just doesn't make sense." 

After pleading guilty in February to 13 counts of receiving stolen property, two of which are felonies of the fourth degree; three are felonies of the fifth degree; and eight are misdemeanor counts, the court released Arnold on an OR bond.       

"Despite there being 14 victims in this case, (the defendant) was only eligible for community control under because he had no previous criminal record," Collins said. "I don't think the intent of HB 86 was to reward someone who commits 15 crimes. The court has to follow the law, regardless of the intent."

Collins said that the additional violations include leaving his home without notifying his probation officer and testing positive for the contraband substance K2, which is also known as "spice."

Koogler said that while he agreed with Collins that the consequences of HB 86 was not necessarily the intent of the legislature, "nonetheless, that is what the law is." Koogler argued that he did not feel the violations were egregious enough for Arnold to be sentenced to prison.  

Arnold told the court that he left his residence when he had injured his wrist and went to Highland District Hospital without notifying his probation officer. He also said that he did not know that K2 was a contraband substance. 

"I didn't know it was illegal," Arnold said. "All I can say is I'm sorry. I had two little mishaps. I have a job lined up. I'm ready to pay restitution. I'll walk the the line. You won't have no more mishaps out of me." 

Coss said that the "lines" Arnold had been walking were "crooked. You have a miserable history with community control." 

Coss said that the Legislature, "in their finite wisdom, passed a statute that led to serial first-offenders to receive mandatory community control."

The judge said HB 86 was "political expediency to balance the budget under the guise of prison reform." 

It was noted that when Arnold committed the felony offenses, he was under community control sanctions from municipal court. 

"Because of that, the court finds that it would be an extreme waste of everyone's time and resources," Coss said. "It is inconceivable (community control) would turn you around. The only thing that could turn you around is the life-changing experience of being in prison."

Coss sentenced Arnold to seven months in prison on each of the five felony counts, to be served consecutively, for a total of  two years and 11 months in prison. Coss noted that was the minimum prison sentence on the offenses, but that Arnold could appeal the sentence. 

Arnold was ordered to begin serving the sentence immediately, with six days of jail time credit.