St. Marys man sentenced to more than 16 years

WAPAKONETA - A St. Marys man has been sentenced to more than 16 years in prison on charges from two separate cases.

Dustin Ball, 28, was sentenced Friday morning by Auglaize County Common Please Judge Frederick Pepple to 12 1/2 years on aggravated robbery and theft of a motor vehicle charges and an additional 48 months on burglary, theft and forgery charges. Ball had pleaded guilty to the charges last month.

The aggravated robbery and motor vehicle theft charges stem from a June 20 incident in which Ball forced a 69-year-old woman to put money orders she had just gotten from a local bank into her 2014 Chrysler 200. Ball then stole the vehicle and fled the scene, assistant prosecutor Andrew Augsburger said.

The other charges stemmed from incidents in May in which Ball broke into a home and stole 12 checks and a guitar

Ball cashed the checks for $100 to $150 at several banks in St. Marys to obtain cocaine and heroin, Augsburger said.

Ball told Pepple that heroin has destroyed his life, especially in the past year.

"I got fired from my job at the beginning of the year and a button got pushed," Ball said. "I had everything I needed. My wife, my three kids. Heroin has turned my life upside down and now I've lost everything."

Ball had faced up to 18 1/2 years in prison but pleaded with Pepple to be given less than 10 years so he could stay with his family and watch his children grow.

"I apologize and know this is my fault," Ball said. "But I couldn't get help for my addiction anywhere. I'm not asking not to be sent to prison but for at least a little leniency. Maybe some time in jail, community service and probation."

"He is seriously addicted to heroin," defense attorney Mark Weller said. "Maybe if he wasn't, none of this would have happened."

Pepple told Ball that since he had "traumatized" an elderly woman by robbing her at knifepoint, a longer prison term was needed to keep the public safe. The judge also ordered Ball to pay the victim $200 in restitution and included a mandatory five years of post-release control.

In the other case, Pepple ordered Ball to repay $4,015 to the banks, CashLand and the victim and ordered three years of post-release control.

Prior to the sentencing, Augsburger said he wanted Ball to spend at least 15 years in prison due to his record and the fact one victim was an elderly woman.

Court records show Ball had been convicted of breaking and entering, burglary and theft in early 2006 and was sentenced to four years and 11 months in prison for an incident at the Celina Music Store.

He was granted early release from prison in November 2006 and placed on five years of community control sanctions, the records show.