Copeland remanded to custody to await sentencing
By Bob Robinson

GREENVILLE – Lacie D. Copeland was remanded to custody on $50,000 bond pending sentencing on four Felony 2 counts of Burglary Feb. 18. Sentencing will take place April 14.

Copeland was charged with five F2 counts of Burglary. She pleaded guilty to four of them. The fifth count was dismissed in return for her plea and cooperation with the state should a trial be necessary for co-defendant, Matt Bowlin. Bowlin is currently in prison on an unrelated charge. A second co-defendant, Terry Goodpaster, pleaded guilty and is serving four years in prison.

Darke County Prosecutor Kelly Ormsby said in return for her cooperation the state was recommending community control, restitution, court costs and local jail time. Copeland’s defense attorney, David Rohrer, concurred with the recommendation.

Darke County Common Pleas Judge Jonathan Hein confirmed Copeland understood she was pleading guilty to four counts of burglary, which is defined as unlawful trespass in an occupied structure. He advised her the maximum sentence for each count was eight years in prison and a $15,000 fine. Four charges, consecutively, could result in 32 years in prison and $60,000 in fines. The maximum sentence, however, is not required.

Hein noted the 21-year-old was already on community control supervision in Darke County and told her probation violation sentences could be in addition to the current sentences. He set April 14 for sentencing.

Probation Officer John Tabler told Hein the defendant was discharged from Darke County Recovery on Feb. 3 but had an appointment with him on Feb. 13. She was a “no-show.” Following this report Hein ordered Copeland remanded to custody on $50,000 bond to await sentencing.

Ormsby later noted all five felonies were in the same month. “It was the usual,” he said. “She was taking stuff and selling it to buy drugs. That seems to be the modus operandi these days.” He added she was incarcerated because she was “not doing well with probation.”

She has been indicted three times by the Grand Jury: in June 2012 for possession of heroin; August 2012 for theft, forgery and receiving stolen property and last September for the burglary charges. According to court records, earlier charges were dismissed. Both co-defendants have a history of drug related and other charges.

Published courtesy of The Early Bird