Piqua man given maximum sentence in county break-ins

CELINA - A Piqua man was sentenced to the maximum of 11 years in prison by Mercer County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Ingraham on Tuesday afternoon.

A jury on Friday found Roland Mote, 33, guilty of three counts of breaking and entering, fifth-degree felonies, and one count of corrupt activity, a second-degree felony.

Mote was convicted of breaking into the Mercer Landmark offices in St. Henry and Celina and the St. Henry Tile Co. in Chattanooga on the night of Jan. 3-4, 2014.

Mote remained mum as Ingraham asked him if he had anything to say prior to his sentencing.

"Nope," was all Mote said.

Ingraham gave Mote the maximum sentence, one year on each burglary charge and seven years on the corrupt activity charge, to run consecutively. Mote will also have to serve three years of parole once released from prison.

During sentencing, Ingraham cited Mote's criminal record, which dates back to when he was a juvenile, and his "total lack of remorse."

Ingraham also sentenced Mote to an additional year in prison since Mote was on parole for two breaking and entering charges and one burglary charge and a possession of a deadly weapon while under detention from Miami County. He was also on parole for breaking and entering charges in Van Wert and Allen counties when he committed the Mercer County burglaries.

Mote was ordered to pay $2,670 in restitution; the $1,213 found on Mote when he was arrested will be applied to the restitution, by order of Ingraham.

"It's a sad situation you find yourself in," Ingraham told Mote. "I don't see any other way to protect the public and punish you (than) by sending you back to prison. You were out of prison for only a short time before you went right back to what you told your accomplice you do - break in and steal things. I don't know of any other treatment or punishment that will keep you from violating others' property."

Prosecutor Matt Fox was pleased with the sentence.

"We were successful in getting a conviction due to all the hard work from the investigators in this case, from the Celina Police Department, the police in St. Henry and those from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations," Fox said. "The failure would be Mote's continued failure to abide by the rules of society and continue to commit crimes."

Mote has 30 days to appeal, which defense attorney Dan Myers expects his client to do.

Since Mote's arrest, additional charges have been filed against him stemming from his behavior while incarcerated at the Mercer County Detention Center.

Court records show he is charged with obstruction of justice, a fifth-degree felony, aiding escape, a fourth-degree felony, and harassment with bodily substances, a fifth-degree felony. Mote was indicted on those charges Aug. 21 and pleaded not guilty Aug. 27.

He has also been charged with vandalism, a fifth-degree felony, and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony. He was indicted on those charges Dec. 21 and pleaded not guilty Jan. 21. A pretrial hearing is set for Feb. 18.

Patrick A. Miller, 39, West Milton, also faces a breaking and entering charge in connection with the break-ins. Miller pleaded not guilty to the charge Jan. 23, 2014, and has a pretrial hearing set for Feb. 4.