Greenfield man sentenced in vehicle theft case
A Greenfield man was sentenced to nine months in prison this week after pleading guilty to a vehicle theft charge.
As previously reported, Anthony W. Hawkins, 59, was indicted in March and charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle beyond the scope of express or implied consent, a fourth-degree felony.
The indictment alleged that on or about Dec. 18, 2023, Hawkins “knowingly obtained or exerted control over” an SUV “beyond the express or implied consent of the owner or the person authorized to give consent.”
Hawkins pleaded guilty to the charge June 5, with the sentencing hearing scheduled for July 10.
According to court records, Hawkins did not arrive for the 9 a.m. hearing, and Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss issued a capias warrant for his arrest. The hearing resumed at 11:48 a.m. after Hawkins was located.
Although Hawkins’ attorney Denny Kirk asked the judge to sentence his client to community control, Coss referred to the presentence report in issuing a prison sentence.
“One of the things I noted in this report is that you claim you had agreed to purchase this vehicle for $1,000,” Coss said, noting that Hawkins’ claim was denied by the victim and a witness. “In your presentence report, you said you ‘I thought I was doing right for the first time, except I didn’t get a receipt.’ All of those are lies.
“The other thing is I don’t know why you would want to be buying a car. You didn’t have a license.”
Coss told Hawkins, “You had no right to even be driving. You couldn’t get tags for this if you wanted to because you didn’t have a license. That tells me you were trying to steal.
“You seem to think this is a minor disruption, that it’s not a big deal, but it is,” the judge said.
Coss sentenced Hawkins to nine months in prison, with jail time credit of five days.
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