OTTAWA — A 34-year-old man is facing more charges after officials said he threatened a judge.
Matthew Stateler, of Columbus Grove, is charged with retaliation, a third-degree felony; harassment with bodily substance, fifth-degree felony; and aggravated menacing, a first-degree misdemeanor. He faces up to four years in prison.
Stateler is scheduled to enter a plea Friday in Putnam County Common Pleas Court.
The incident happened May 20 after Stateler had left the courtroom before Judge Randall Basinger on another pending criminal case in which he is charged with domestic violence and felonious assault.
After the hearing, when deputies were escorting Stateler back to the Putnam County jail on May 20, he made a threat against Basinger, Lammers said.
“He was in the cruiser being transported back when he made a statement to the transport officer,” Lammers said.
Lammers did not disclose exactly what was said other than it was a threat.
Stateler apparently was unhappy with some decision, possibly on a request for a lower bond, that Basinger made, Lammers said.
“Whatever happened, he did not feel things were going in his favor. For whatever reason, he was not happy,” Lammers said.
The charge of harassment with a bodily substance accuses Stateler of spitting on a deputy after officers placed him in a restraint chair at the Putnam County jail, Lammers said.
