Glass
LIMA — A Lima man pleaded guilty to drug charges and was sentenced to a non-mandatory seven years in prison Friday. This was the second sentence he received in the case after he filed an appeal when he was found guilty by a jury last year.
Robert Glass, 48, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated possession of drugs, third- and fifth-degree felonies, and a third-degree felony count of having weapons under disability. With the sentence being non-mandatory, he would be able to apply for judicial release.
In March 2023, Glass was indicted on two counts of aggravated possession of drugs, fifth- and second-degree felonies, for having methamphetamine; a one-year firearm specification; and two counts of having weapons under disability, which were third-degree felonies. One of the weapons under disability charges was dismissed prior to the trial beginning.
The jury found him guilty of all of the charges and he was sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison with seven mandatory years.
Glass filed an appeal, and the appellate court reversed these decisions and sent the case back down to the Allen County Common Pleas Court because the mother of Investigator Aaron Montgomery of the Lima Police Department and the West Central Ohio Crime Task Force was on the jury when Montgomery was the prosecution’s law enforcement courtroom representative and testified in the trial as the lead investigator in the case.
“Glass argues that his right to a fair and impartial jury was violated and that the trial court committed plain error and structural error by permitting Investigator Montgomery’s mother to be seated on the jury,” the appellate court’s judgment read.
The charges stemmed from an incident on Aug. 11, 2020. Montgomery was conducting surveillance at the Lima residence at 2241 Lakewood Avenue where Glass lived when he witnessed an exchange between Glass and someone who pulled up to the residence. Drugs were discovered in the car when officers performed a traffic stop when the car drove away.
Glass was also subject to a traffic stop and while sitting in a police cruiser, a bag of suspected methamphetamine was found at his feet. Methamphetamine was also located in the house where Glass’s belongings were.
Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451.
