Leroy Page talks to his attorneys from the Allen County Public Defender’s Office on Tuesday during a pretrial.
Charlotte Caldwell | The Lima News
LIMA — A Lima man’s bond was raised from $350,000 to $500,000 due to a possible superseding indictment, and the man decided to hold off on representing himself in his case and wanted additional time to seek a private attorney Tuesday in the Allen County Common Pleas Court.
During the pretrial hearing which lasted about two hours, Judge Terri Kohlrieser went through the ins and outs of what Leroy Page, 34, would have to do for his case if he decided to represent himself and how each hearing would go. When it came time for Page to sign the form confirming he would represent himself, he requested additional time so he could try to get private representation. Kohlrieser then scheduled another pretrial for Oct. 2.
Page was arraigned about a week ago and had to be removed from the courtroom because he interrupted the proceedings, saying he didn’t want to be represented by the Allen County Public Defender’s Office. With his current decision, public defenders will still represent him unless he changes his mind or finds new counsel.
Page then wanted to discuss his bond. Allen County Prosecutor Destiny Caldwell said she wanted the bond raised to $1 million because of a murder charge against Page in 2007 when he was 17 years old, which could lead to the state adding a repeat violent offender specification to Page’s current charges in a superseding indictment. She also said he has failed to appear in Lima Municipal Court cases before and is a “complete danger to the community” because of the background of the current case.
Page faces eight felony charges handed down by a grand jury in January ranging from kidnapping and felonious assault to the improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle and failing to comply with the order or signal of a police officer.
The charges stem from an incident that occurred in October 2022. According to a news release from the Allen County Sheriff’s Office at the time, Page was involved in a vehicle pursuit on Oct. 30, 2022, with the Lima Police Department when he crashed the vehicle near the intersection of West Elm Street and Fraunfelter Road. He reportedly fled the scene and forced his way into a residence on Fraunfelter Road where he “continuously assaulted” the homeowners for about two hours before forcing the residents to drive him to the intersection of Yoakam Road and West Breese Road. Page then fled the area, according to the report.
Page was apprehended in Las Vegas on July 31 and was extradited to Allen County.
Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451.
