THE GOSHEN NEWS
GOSHEN —
A Goshen bail bondsmen who was charged with several felony counts after an encounter with the relative of a client in late 2006 was found guilty on six counts after a weeklong jury trial which ended Monday.
Bart Dewald, 51, Goshen, was charged with aggravated battery, a Class B felony, criminal confinement, a Class B felony, intimidation, a Class C felony, and pointing a firearm, also a Class D felony, as well as misdemeanor intimidation. He was charged after he and an associate stopped a woman driving a vehicle near Clinton Street and Greene Road, detained her for a brief time as he searched for a person for which he had posted a bond. After he was charged in the original case, he was later charged and accused of trying to have someone harm a prosecuting attorney.
A jury trial ended Monday in Elkhart Superior Court 1 with guilty verdicts in all counts.
Judge Evan Roberts will hold a sentencing hearing in the case next month. Conviction of a Class B felony may result in a prison sentence of up to 20 years, a Class C felony has a maximum penalty of eight years and a Class D is up to three years..
Dewald has been held in the county jail on $3 million bond.
Other action
In other superior court action, Kathy Ellen Niles, 48, Goshen, who was convicted of making methamphetamine, a Class B felony, and neglect of a dependent, a Class C felony, received a 30-year term with 10 years suspended. She many also spend 10 years of the term in community corrections, if accepted into a program. She was sentenced in Elkhart Superior Court 3 on Thursday.
Shane Lee Cummings, 35, Nappanee, who was found guilty of six counts of child molesting after a jury trial last month in Superior Court 3, was sentenced Aug. 19.
Judge George Biddlecome imposed sentences of 40 years, 15 years and six years, but ordered the sentences to be served concurrently. He named Goshen attorney Ken Martin as appellate counsel for Cummings.
Raymond D. Beard, 36, Goshen, who was found guilty of dealing in cocaine, a Class B felony, received a sentence of 17 years with four years suspended. He was also ordered to pay $500 for a public defender and a $200 drug interdiction fee. A second count of dealing in the drug was dismissed.
