MOUNT VERNON — A Columbus man changed his plea on one amended charge and had others dismissed in a hearing in the Knox County Court of Common Pleas on Thursday.
Kelvin O. Asenso, 22, Columbus, withdrew his previous plea of not guilty and pled guilty to one count of possessing criminal tools, which is a fifth-degree felony. The count was amended and others, including a fifth-degree felony count of receiving stolen property and two forfeiture specifications, were dismissed.
He is alleged to have used a cell phone to order other phones online and had them delivered to vacant homes in Knox County. Law enforcement in the county was notified of his activities by Franklin County authorities and he was apprehended in July 2018 in Mount Vernon. The cell phone that he used to order merchandise online is considered the criminal tool.
Asenso is originally from the west African country of Ghana and not a citizen of the United States, so his plea of guilty could affect his immigration status. Any two convictions could lead to deportation and he has a previous case from 2015, but it is sealed.
Other hearings from Thursday include:
Edward Cary, 27, changed his original not guilty plea to guilty in a case where he is charged with two counts of harassment with bodily substances, both felonies of the fifth degree.
The charges stem from an incident at Mohican Reservation where, after a fight Aug. 11, 2018, Cary was apprehended and then allegedly spit blood onto the officers on two occasions.
Cary will be sentenced May 9 and after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation.
Andrew Schuster, 29, withdrew his plea of not guilty and submitted a guilty plea to aggravated trafficking of drugs, a felony of the third degree.
On Aug. 31, 2018, Schuster allegedly sold $13 of meth to a woman in a vehicle which was stopped within 1,000 feet of a school.
He will be sentenced May 16.
