Scott Seitz will be released from prison almost two years early after a judicial release hearing at the Allen County Common Pleas Court Friday morning.
Jessica Orozco | The Lima News
LIMA — A Lima man sentenced to four years in prison for second-degree felonious assault will be released almost two years early as decided at a hearing Friday morning.
Scott Seitz, 43, will instead spend three years on community control and return to his home with his wife and adult children.
According to the indictment, Seitz used a baseball bat to physically harm Eric Glover on Oct. 8, 2019. On the witness stand during his jury trial, Seitz said Glover “got what he deserved” after the men fought over methamphetamine transactions.
During his testimony, Seitz openly admitting striking Glover “because he had ripped me off before and was there to rip me off again” in the Oct. 8 drug transaction. Asked by Defense Attorney Carroll Creighton of his intentions when Glover arrived at the private residence, Seitz replied, “I was gonna beat his ass.”
But during Friday’s hearing Seitz spoke differently of his actions, saying he regretted them deeply and was fueled by drug addiction. He said in the more than two years that he had been incarcerated, he got off drugs and reconnected with his family.
Seitz said while in prison, he realized that he had taken his family and his life for granted, and he now wants to be there for his aging parents, his wife and his children. In a letter asking for judicial release, Seitz said while he was using methamphetamine, he had believed he was causing harm only to himself, but he now knows that he damaged his family as well.
Seitz said he has “healed” his mind and will no longer let his temper get the best of him.
Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge Terri Kohlrieser said she “rarely sees a report this good” on a person’s time in jail and that Seitz participated in numerous groups and programs in prison. She said as a condition of his community control, Seitz will complete reentry court weekly for at least one year to help him acclimate to life outside prison.
Seitz said as soon as he returns to his family, he will eat a roast and seven-layer cookies prepared by his mother.
“I want to never see you in stripes again,” Kohlrieser told Seitz.
