Man charged in storage unit thefts pleads guilty to 14 charges
Nancy Molnar Times-Reporter staff writer
NEW PHILADELPHIA One of eight people charged in a series of thefts from storage units pleaded guilty to 14 charges on Monday in Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court.
Cory S. Stout, 32, of Barnhill, admitted to all charges in five cases, including aggravated drug possession, breaking and entering, theft and receiving stolen property.
The plea was the result of a negotiated agreement between the prosecution and defense.
Stout is to receive a two-year prison sentence, to be reserved in favor of two years' probation and completion of a residential program at the Stark Regional Community Correction Center, according to assistant county prosecutor Robert Urban.
Visiting Judge John Haas scheduled sentencing for Nov. 24. He ordered a background investigation on the defendant from the Community Corrections Program.
Haas, a retired Stark County Common Pleas judge, filled in for Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos on Monday. She is expected to sentence Stout.
Defense attorney Patrick Williams said Stout is facing additional drug possession charges from a recent grand jury indictment.
Dover police identified Stout as part of a group that targeted storage units in Dover, Strasburg, New Philadelphia and areas under the jurisdiction of the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office. Some items found locally were stolen in Carroll, Coshocton and Stark counties.
Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.
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