HAMILTON, Ohio — A Hamilton man will have to wait until next year to learn his fate after he admitted guilt in an act of vandalism that destroyed a statue of Jack Daniel and hundreds of bottles of alcohol at a Main Street business.
Jacob Shane Wright, 26, of the 2000 block of Princeton Road, was indicted in October on three counts of vandalism, obstructing official business, resisting arrest and attempted petty theft, according to the Journal-News.
His sentencing hearing was scheduled for last Monday afternoon in Butler County Common Pleas Court before Judge Michael Oster, but it was postponed until 1 p.m. Jan. 11, according to court records.
In November, Wright pleaded guilty to two counts of vandalism, one a fifth-degree felony and the other a fourth-degree felony. The remaining charges were dismissed.
Wright faces a maximum of 30 months in prison.
He walked into Noonan’s Party Store at 4:35 p.m. Sept. 13 and attempted to steal a bottle of liquor, according to Hamilton police. He was told to put the bottle down and leave, but he went outside and broke off the leg of a statue of Jack Daniel and returned screaming and threatening employees, said owner Tom Noonan.
Wright kicked the store door and ran. He was spotted a short time later in a CVS parking lot and was eventually apprehended by officers, but not before he put a dent in a police cruiser after jumping on it, police said. An officer also received a hand and leg injury, according to the police report.
Damage estimated to the store’s inventory is about $10,000, with total damage estimated at $15,300, including to the door, statue leg and police cruiser, according to the police report.
Noonan said he expects to repair Daniel’s leg after it’s released by the Hamilton police department. The leg is evidence, because it allegedly was used to threaten his employees, he said.
Noonan said he has attended the court hearings and looks forward to seeing how the case is resolved.
The Journal-News is a media partner of WCPO 9 News.
