Dispatch: Victim frustrated with sentences in home invasion

NEWARK, Ohio — A Pataskala man walked out of a Licking County courtroom yesterday, his faith further shaken by a system he believes is too lenient on criminals.

Alan Abrams had monitored previous court proceedings for a band of robbers he said terrorized him and his wife during a home invasion last year.

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So far, he’s disappointed by the sentences.

Common Pleas Judge Thomas Marcelain yesterday sentenced Nathan S. Jago, 20, to six years in prison — three years for a mandatory gun penalty — for his role in the robbery.

"The police department did a great job in their investigation," Abrams said later. "They got the job done."

But the two judges who have overseen the cases, he said, have disappointed him.

In March 2002, five armed and masked robbers used duct tape to bind Abrams and his wife to chairs inside their home on Old Maid Lane.

One of them hit Abrams in the face with a gun. The men stole a $60,000 diamond ring, a $30,000 watch, a sport-utility vehicle and other items.

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A Licking County grand jury indicted six Madison County men, including a getaway-car driver, earlier this year in the robbery. Jago is the fourth to be sentenced.

None has received more than nine years in prison. Judge Jon Spahr sentenced the first three.

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Abrams has criticized the outcomes of those cases, too.

Three Pataskala police officers who attended Jago’s hearing and a later change-of-plea hearing for Chad Sullivan, the group’s reputed ringleader, also questioned the length of the sentence.

"Mr. Jago was looking at 49 years (in prison)," Police Lt. Bruce Brooks said. "I think it’s a travesty."

OFCC PAC Commentary:
Just one more example of how Ohio's laws favor criminals who use firearms, while penalizing innocent, defenseless, law-abiding Ohioans who wish to protect themselves and their families.

Click here to read the story in the Columbus Dispatch (subscription site - paid access only).