Monday, August 10th, 2026
Court dismisses drug case against ex-EMS worker
By Abigail Miller
CELINA- A drug theft case against a former Coldwater EMS worker was dismissed this week upon the state's request due to the discovery of new evidence.
Less than a month after she was set to stand trial, Assistant Ohio Attorney General Drew Wood motioned Friday for the 25-count indictment against Ashlee R. Heinl-Botkin, 41, Coldwater, be dismissed without prejudice and cited "newly discovered evidence."
"This request is based on recent developments of the evidence. While probable cause existed at the time of the indictment, the dismissal is requested based on newly discovered evidence," Wood wrote.
Mercer County Common Pleas Judge Matthew K. Fox granted the motion and dismissed the charges without prejudice on Friday.
A dismissal without prejudice means the case is not permanently closed and may be filed again with certain corrections or modifications.
Heinl was previously set to go to trial from July 9-24, however Fox continued the trial upon a July 8 request from Wood. That motion was filed after Wood said the state received discovery from Heinl's attorney Samuel H. Shamansky on July 7.
Heinl was first indicted in Mercer County Common Pleas Court in October of 2023, when a local grand jury handed down a 20-count indictment: eight fourth-degree felony counts of theft of drugs, four fifth-degree felony counts of possession of a fentanyl-related compound, one third-degree felony count of tampering with records, three first-degree misdemeanor counts of theft and four first-degree counts of possession of drugs.
Almost a year later in October of 2024, after the county prosecutor's office obtained new evidence, a superseding indictment of 25 charges was handed down: four counts of possession of a fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony; nine counts of theft of drugs, a fourth-degree felony; three counts of tampering with records, a third-degree felony; five counts of drug possession, a first-degree misdemeanor; and four counts of misdemeanor theft, a first-degree misdemeanor.
A superseding indictment is a criminal complaint brought by a grand jury that changes, adds to or replaces an original indictment.
If convicted, Heinl-Botkin faced up to 31 years in prison and a maximum fine of $94,000.
She pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The charges emerged out of a lengthy investigation into missing medication at the Coldwater branch of Mercer County EMS, then county sheriff Jeff Grey said in a 2023 news release.
A routine inventory review conducted at the Coldwater EMS facility found that medication was missing from a secured box, the release states. The county sheriff's office was notified of the missing medication on July 5, 2023 and its detectives launched an investigation, which included reporting to the Ohio Board of Pharmacy and the Drug Enforcement Administration and assistance from an Ohio Board of Nursing investigator.
The most recent trial dates were the fourth time the case had been scheduled to go to trial, with previous jury trials scheduled for October 2024, March 2025 and August 2025 each continued just before they were set to commence.
Special prosecutors Wood and Kaitlin Wilkin from the state attorney general's office got involved in Heinl's case in August of 2025 to avoid a potential conflict of interest with the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office. County prosecutor Erin Minor handled the case before their appearance.
