Whited sentenced to 180 days in jail

By Jane Beathard

Staff Writer

A London woman caught in an undercover drug investigation conducted by London police last spring was sentenced to 180 days in Tri-County Regional Jail on Tuesday.

Lisa L. Whited, 45, 32 Miller Ave., appeared before Madison County Common Pleas Judge Robert D. Nichols to re-enter a guilty plea to a single count of trafficking heroin on March 21.

Nichols vacated a previous guilty plea by Whited after a woman, a confidential informant and an undercover officer working the investigation, provided conflicting accounts of the March drug deal.

On Tuesday, Whited, 45, of 32 Miller Ave., chose to re-enter the guilty plea and avoid a jury trial that might end with a conviction and stiffer penalty.

Nichols told Whited he may consider work release during her jail time, if she secures a job.

Whited, who has a minimal criminal history, told the judge she is currently participating in drug support and treatment groups in an effort to shake her opiate use.

Whited’s brother, Richard Boggs, who was also netted in the April drug sting, failed to show up for his July jury trial on heroin trafficking charges. Boggs is presumed to be on the lam and out of state, said London Police Chief Dave Wiseman.

In other common pleas court action on Tuesday:

• Dallas L. Fritz, 31, an inmate at Mansfield Correctional Institution, pleaded guilty to a single count of passing a bad check at Buckeye Ford, north of London, on June 15, 2010.

Nichols sentenced Fritz to nine months in prison and ordered the time to run concurrent with a four-year and nine-month sentence the man is already serving for burglary and felonious assault in Huron and Richland counties. He is due for release in 2015.

Nichols also ordered Fritz to pay $1,000 in restitution to the dealership.

Defense attorney Shannon Treynor argued salesmen at Buckeye Ford agreed to delay deposit of the check until July 2010 in return for Fritz’s business. In the interim, Fritz was imprisoned for the burglary conviction and was unable to make the check good. A paperwork shuffle delayed prosecution of the case as Fritz was moved throughout the prison system.

• Brittany Whalen, 22, 201 North Ave., Plain City, was ordered held in Tri-County Regional Jail under a $10,000 surety bond after allegedly violating the terms of her community control on a forgery and theft conviction.

Whalen was sentenced on July 21 to a year of community control after pleading guilty to charges stemming from incidents in August and October 2010.

However, the court’s probation department accused Whalen of failing to attend local drug counseling and fleeing supervision on Aug. 3.

Nick Adkins was appointed to represent Whalen at an Aug. 26 hearing in the case.