Ottawa County: Court orders expungement hearing in bomb threat case

By: 
Larry Limpf

A man convicted of inducing panic by making telephone threats to schools in 2014 will have his request to have the convictions expunged from his record heard by the Ottawa County Common Pleas Court.
The Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals has ruled the common pleas court must schedule a hearing to determine if Charles Tingler is eligible for expungement and if so, whether he is entitled to expungement.
In March 2015, Tingler was found guilty of two counts of inducing panic, which are second degree felonies; one count of disrupting public services, a fourth degree felony, and one count of aggravated menacing, a first degree misdemeanor.
He was sentenced to four years in prison.
In June 2019, Tingler filed a document with the trial court, stating he would like to expunge and seal the records.
The prosecutor’s office didn’t file an opposing motion and on March 26, 2020 the court issued an order that stated: “This cause comes before this court upon defendant’s motion to expunge and seal the records…on June 3, 2019. Said motion is found not well taken and is hereby denied.”
The appeals court wrote that Ohio’s expungement statutes permit a first-time offender under certain conditions to apply to the sentencing court for an order to seal the record of conviction. An eligible offender must not have more than five felony convictions in Ohio or any other jurisdiction. None of the offenses can be violent or sex offenses.
Ohio law permits eligible offenders to apply for sealing records of the case at the end of three years after the offender’s final discharge if convicted on one felony. The wait period extends to four years if the applicant has two felony convictions and to five years for three, four or five felony convictions.
When an application has been filed, the court shall set a hearing date and notify the prosecutor’s office of the application, the appeals court wrote. The prosecutor will have the option of filing an objection and the trial court shall direct its probation officer or probation department where the applicant lives to prepare a report on the applicant.
The appeals court noted Tingler’s brief doesn’t comply with the rules of appellate procedure but it would still address his arguments.
“Upon review, almost a year after appellant filed his motion to seal and expunge the records of his criminal case, the trial court denied the motion, without explanation, and without first holding a hearing. Since the record is silent as to why the trial court denied applicant’s motion, we find the trial court erred by not complying with the mandates of ….(revised code). Accordingly, appellant’s assignment of error is well taken.
“The ….judgment of the Ottawa County Court of Common Pleas is reversed. The matter is remanded to the trial court to schedule a hearing to determine whether appellant is an eligible offender….and….whether appellant is entitled to expungement…”
The bomb threats to the Benton-Carroll-Salem schools were placed near the end of the school day. High school students were in the process of leaving school but middle school students were still in session and were evacuated to a nearby football field while law enforcement personnel searched the building.
He also made phone threats to Port Clinton City Schools.

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