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EL man sentenced for breaking into homes

LISBON — An East Liverpool man was sentenced Monday in Common Pleas Court to at least four and a half years in prison for several crimes from 2019 including those related to breaking into two homes in Wellsville and another home in East Liverpool.

William D. Barrett, 39, Laura Avenue, East Liverpool, apologized while calling his own actions “drug-fueled events.” He went on to state he is not a bad person, just someone who made some bad choices. He called his crimes non-violent.

Judge Scott Washam noted Barrett also has a lengthy misdemeanor record and denied the request his defense attorney, Jennifer Gorby, was making for community control.

Chief Assistant County Prosecutor John Gamble was asking for a five-year prison term. Barrett was sentenced to at least four and a half years, although new sentencing guidelines could keeping him in prison fb3

or up to six years on these charges should the parole board not grant him release after the four and a half years. In one case, he has just more than a year of jail credit already served.

In September, Barrett had pleaded guilty in three separate cases. He pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property, a fifth-degree felony, and complicity to burglary, a second-degree felony. Those charges involved having property belonging to Shania Voigt, including a wide screen high-definition TV, women’s makeup, compact discs and an Xbox game hand controller on May 18, 2019, as well as breaking into the Milbourne Avenue home of Lisa Thompson on Sept. 20, 2019.

In a separate case, he pleaded guilty to burglary, a third-degree felony; breaking and entering, a fifth-degree felony; and a misdemeanor count of receiving stolen property. Those involved a garage at one Maple Avenue, Wellsville address, and a home at another Maple Avenue location nearby, both on Aug. 15, 2019. Barrett was found with stolen items — a Mongoose bike, a Craftsman air compressor, an Xbox and an Xbox game controller.

Finally, Barrett had pleaded guilty to complicity to breaking and entering, a fifth-degree felony, for assisting co-defendant William Jacquet in breaking into a coin operated vending machine on Oct. 31, 2019.

Washam ran his sentences in the three cases consecutively to each other.

Additionally, Barrett has other unrelated charges of vandalism for allegedly damaging a surveillance camera at the county jail still pending before Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton.

djohnson@mojonews.com

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