While students of Ohio University head home to work and intern during the summer months, four men charged with various felonies are set to go on trial in Athens County.
A former OU student charged with involuntary manslaughter of another student is set to go on trial in August.
James T. Wagers, 21, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and aggravated trafficking in drugs after he allegedly sold hallucinogenic mushrooms to Eric Hansen in 2009, according to court documents. Hansen fell from his dorm window in Weld House and died while using the drug.
Wagers’ trial is set to begin Aug. 22 at 9 a.m. in the Athens County Court of Common Pleas.
Involuntary manslaughter is a first-degree felony and aggravated trafficking is a fourth-degree felony. Wagers could spend a maximum of 11 years and six months in prison and pay a maximum fine of $25,000 if convicted, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
The former head of the Athens County Narcotics Enforcement Team, who is charged with eight felony counts, is also set to go on trial this August.
Jerry Hallowell, 44, is charged with four counts of sexual battery, one count of bribery, one count of attempt to commit sexual battery, one count of theft in office and one count of unauthorized use of Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway.
The sexual battery charges stemmed from three different incidents Aug. 6, Sept. 3 and Sept. 5, when Hallowell allegedly had sexual with an undercover female informant. The attempted sexual battery occurred Sept. 9, when Hallowell was found at the Super 8 motel, 2091 E. State St., with the informant and an unknown female during an arranged sexual encounter.
The other charges were the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, a department in the Office of the Ohio Attorney General.
Hallowell had been on paid leave from the time of his arrest until his resignation May 6. He has a final preliminary hearing July 7 and his trial is set to begin Aug. 2 at 9 a.m.
Hallowell could spend a maximum of 29 years in prison and pay up to $62,500 if convicted of all charges, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
Two men are set to go on trial for sex charges in Athens County in July.
Richard L. Merryman, 20, was charged with two counts of rape after he allegedly raped a 4-year-old and 5-year-old boy on April 2.
Merryman, of Canton, allegedly enticed the 5-year-old victim in a bathroom stall at the Albany Community Center, secured the door, pulled down the child’s pants, touched his buttocks and performed oral sex on him, according to court documents.
Merryman allegedly raped the second victim at the center the same day.
Merryman’s competency is being evaluated to determine if he is able to stand trial. He has a competency hearing scheduled for June 28. If he is found competent, his trial is set to begin July 12 at 9 a.m.
Because the victims were under the age of 10, Merryman could be sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life without parole if convicted at a trial, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
David R. Hartzog, 39, is charged with three counts of gross sexual imposition for molesting two children in 2009.
Hartzog, of The Plains, allegedly performed oral sex on a 3-year-old boy and fondled a 9-year-old girl while she was in the shower, according to court documents.
The Athens County Sheriff officers arrested Hartzog after being tipped off about child pornography in The Plains by Utah law enforcement officers, according to Acting County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn.
Hartzog has a final preliminary hearing July 18 and his trial is set to begin July 26 at 9 a.m.
Hartzog could spend a maximum of 15 years in prison and pay a maximum fine of $15,000 if convicted of all charges, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
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