Case connected to fatal wreck dismissed from municipal court

An underage consumption case stemming from a 2012 fatal crash has been dismissed in Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal Court. According to court documents, Judge Mark Repp dismissed the first-degree misdemeanor charge last week that had been filed against Rachel M. Pennington, 22, of Tiffin, after special prosecutor Robert Feightner filed a motion that the court no longer prosecute the case. Feightner, an assistant law director in Findlay, had been assigned to the case after Fostoria Law Director Timothy Hoover recused himself from the case. According to an opinion written by Repp, Feightner had requested in September the case be dismissed because he could not prove the venue of the alleged underage possession/consumption and that the citing law enforcement officer, Trooper Jonathan Weasner of State Highway Patrol, was going to be on military leave for 18 months. In his opinion, Repp argued the state would not need to show where alcohol was consumed, but rather that the defendant was under the influence of alcohol in a public place. Repp also argued the case could have been tried prior to Weasner’s absence, which was scheduled to begin Dec. 6. “While it is not the responsibility or the province of the court to instruct the parties on how to proceed in this case, it does appear that the request to dismiss the charge well before the trooper has taken military leave or the failure to read the entire statue evidences a reluctance or even unwillingness of Mr. Hoover or Mr. Feightner to proceed with this matter for unknown reasons,” Repp’s opinion states. “Nevertheless, the court will grant the state’s motion to dismiss this case, and hope that motives of the parties are for the best interest of justice for all concerned.” Pennington had been charged with the offense earlier this year in connection to a single-vehicle accident Oct. 27, 2012, on TR 71A. The accident, which involved speed and alcohol, claimed the life of 20-year-old Jacob Hohman, of Bascom, who had been a passenger. Kevin T. Wertz, 23, of Bascom, the driver, was found guilty last year of vehicular homicide and sentenced to six months in jail. Pennington was one of four charged with underage possession/consumption following the crash. Shiloh Sauber, 22, of Tiffin, and Dylan Shellhouse, 20, of Tiffin, were convicted of the underage possession/consumption charge and were sentenced by Repp to 30 days in jail each. Alexander Ratchen, 20, of Tiffin, had his case transferred in September to Wood County after a motion filed by Ratchen’s attorney requesting Repp be disqualified from the case was granted. The case was to be reviewed by its prosecuting attorneys. A spokeswoman from Bowling Green Municipal Court said Monday there were no charges filed against Ratchen.