MOUNT VERNON — A Mount Vernon man was sentenced to 30 months in prison after driving a truck into a tree in the backyard of City Law Director Robert Broeren.
At Thursday’s Knox County Common Pleas Court hearing, Jonathan Burke, 40, appeared in court for sentencing on one count of driving while intoxicated, a third-degree felony, and one count of driving under suspension, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Also appearing in court was Broeren, who gave a victim impact statement before sentencing.
Broeren said when he looked into the truck, he saw a prosthetic leg which he later discovered belonged to Burke. Burke had been fitted for a new prosthetic and the leg in the truck was the old one.
Burke has accumulated three OVI cases in ten years. At the time, Burke was driving under suspension from a 2017 case.
Broeren said that Burke later came back to his house with no memory of what happened on the night of the incident, and at one point claimed someone else was driving.
Broeren asserted that Burke showed “a pattern of substance abuse” and “lack of genuine remorse” and suggested that a prison sentence is “the only way to protect the public from Mr. Burke.”
Broeren asked the court to impose a maximum sentence of lifetime license suspension and five years in prison. Broeren later corrected the request to three years after Common Pleas Judge Richard Wetzel pointed out that Burke’s charges did not include the specification that would allow for a five-year prison sentence.
Burke was also allowed to make a statement in open court before sentencing.
Defense attorney Jo Kaiser expressed that Burke “has a terrible addiction” and thanked the court for its time and thoughtfulness on the case.
Burke supplied in his statement that he was in recovery for alcoholism and had been 22 months sober before his treatment program was discontinued. One month later, he crashed into Broeren’s backyard.
Burke said he does feel remorse and is taking responsibility every day by changing his behavior.
Burke said he had returned to Broeren’s house because he woke up in the hospital with no memory of the incident and was still trying to figure out “How did this happen?” He also returned to look for items missing from the truck that were not recovered by the police.
Burke said he is done wondering what happened and realized he has to move forward.
Burke has three children and one on the way. Having previously been incarcerated, Burke said that prison — “a storage unit of people” — would not help him. Instead, he pledged to continue to work the 12 step program and stay away from toxic people and situations.
After hearing from all parties, Wetzel addressed Burke personally. Wetzel explained that while prison is not the solution to all ills, there are different purposes to incarceration. One purpose is to protect the public — as Broeren advocated — and another purpose is to protect defendants from themselves.
“That’s an optimistic view of prison,” Wetzel said and added: “I want to be a little optimistic.”
Wetzel acknowledged that Burke does need additional help for his alcoholism but explained that the statute for sentencing was relatively well defined.
Burke was sentenced to 30 months in prison and lifetime license suspension, in addition to three years of post-release community control.
Also sentenced to 30 months in prison Thursday was Amanda Shafer, 34, Mount Vernon, for escape, a fifth-degree felony, petty theft, a first-degree misdemeanor, receiving stolen property, a fourth-degree felony, having weapons while under disability, a third-degree felony, and inducing panic, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Nicole Derr stated that Shafer committed the series of offenses in a short time, including her appearance at the Danville Elementary School with two guns in her car leading to the school to shut down for several hours.
Derr argued that Shafer's behavior indicates she cannot comply with community control at this time and recommended a prison sentence.
Public Defender John Dankovich explained that the two firearms discovered in Shafer’s vehicle belonged to her friend and that Shafer drove onto the school property not intending to cause harm but because her car ran out of gas.
According to Dankovich, Shafer had a good life before she went through a traumatic time which led to her making terrible choices and self-medicating with drugs.
Dankovich said that Shafer’s condition has improved greatly since she was able to get a new diagnosis and medication at Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare.
Dankovich argued that prison would not be able to help Shafer with her mental health to have a good life and be productive again.
When imposing a prison sentence, Wetzel said: “I always take the long view, because life is a long story.”
Wetzel told Shafer that the court is not giving up on her. Wetzel said he looked at the case in the long run and considered a prison sentence appropriate while relevant parties try to make a plan that would allow Shafer to be the best person she could be.
