Pickerington man gets 13 years in prison for Pataskala area home invasion
NEWARK - A Pickerington man was sentenced to 13 years in prison for his role in a Pataskala area home invasion that turned into a police chase earlier this year.
Joseph T. Powell Jr., 32, of Pickerington, pleaded guilty to one count each aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony; kidnapping, a first-degree felony; failure to comply with order or signal of police officer, a third-degree felony; and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony, in Licking County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday.
According to Assistant Licking County Prosecutor Cliff Murphy, the Licking County Sheriff s Office was called to a home on Ford Avenue around 9:49 p.m. Feb. 23 for a reported home invasion. While the agency was en route, Murphy said dispatch advised the suspects had robbed the victims with firearms and bullet proof vests before fleeing in a white van.
NEWARK - A former Zanesville police officer was sentenced to three years of community control on Friday morning after he pleaded guilty to charges related to a shooting incident in Newark.
Charles A. Lewis, 35, of Gnadenhutten, pleaded guilty to one count each discharge of a firearm on prohibited premises, a third-degree felony; improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony; and using weapons while intoxicated, a first-degree misdemeanor, in Licking County Common Pleas Court.
In February 2020, Licking County law enforcement responded to reports of someone firing a weapon out of a moving vehicle on Ohio 16 eastbound near Marne Road in Newark. The suspect vehicle, a 2015 Ford Fusion, was located in Muskingum County and stopped in the area of Kearns Drive.