Father, son sentenced
By Jane Beathard
Staff Writer
A father and son burglary team believed responsible for dozens of break-ins in seven counties during 2011 were sentenced to prison in Madison County Common Pleas Court on Monday.
Donald A. Rhoads, 58, and Matthew H. Rhoads, 28, both county residents, each pleaded guilty to 32 counts of burglary, stemming from incidents between January and April 2011 in Madison, Delaware, Pickaway, Union, Clark, Miami and Fayette counties.
Judge Robert D. Nichols sentenced the elder Rhoads to 12 years and the son to nine years behind bars, as part of a plea bargain with the county prosecutor’s office. Dozens of additional charges, including a violation of Ohio’s organized crime law, were dismissed.
Both men are admitted heroin addicts who stole on a nearly daily basis to buy drugs. Both are currently serving prison sentences for an additional burglary in Pickaway County.
During Monday’s brief hearing, Donald Rhoads thanked Sgt. Chris Carter of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office for the April 8, 2011 arrest that ended the team’s crime spree and access to heroin.
“You saved Matt’s life,” Rhoads told Carter.
Rhoads said he was a successful contractor until heroin consumed his life. He described himself as a good example of how bad associations can lead to drug abuse. In turn, Rhoads admitted pulling his son into addiction.
“I was my son’s bad association,” Rhoads said.
Nichols said Rhoads’ age made his case unusual since most defendants in today’s opiate-related cases are 18 to 22 years old.
“I’m sorry we don’t have some (high school) senior classes to hear you this morning,” Nichols told Rhoads.
Defense attorneys Michael Miller and Mark Collins indicated they will seek early release from prison for their clients.
Carter said the sheriff’s office confiscated dozens of stolen items from the now-abandoned Royal Motel at the intersection of Interstate 71 and state Route 56 where the Rhoadses lived in April 2011.
They were suspects in about 50 central and western Ohio burglaries. However, footprints, vehicle identification, trace evidence and phone records actually tied them to 32 of those crimes.
Carter said it was a theft of puppies from a Delaware County residence that presented the first major break in the case against the father and son.
Pictures of the missing dogs were broadcast on local television. When the pair attempted to sell the stolen animals in a Grove City bar, the prospective buyer recognized the puppies and alerted authorities.
Local deputies maintained surveillance on the Royal Motel hideout, following the pair to a Grove City “fence” and a Pickaway County break-in. Investigators Jim Hockenberry and Dean Harrison arrested the men in southern Franklin County, following the Pickaway County incident.
