Demarkus Hardison, 32, of Toledo, will be sentenced April 6 following his pleas of guilty to burglary and the attempted violation of a protection order. The charges stemmed from a Sept. 6 break-in at a residence in the 3100 block of Elijah Parkway by Hardison and fellow Toledo resident Rolland Houke.
J Swygart | The Lima News
LIMA — A Toledo man charged in connection with a September home break-in pleaded guilty to reduced charges Thursday in Allen County Common Pleas Court.
Demarkus Hardison, 32, will be sentenced April 6 following his pleas of guilty to burglary, a second-degree felony, and the attempted violation of a protection order, a felony of the fourth degree.
Hardison was indicted by a grand jury in December on those charges, along with a first-degree felony count of aggravated burglary. Earlier this month another session of the grand jury added repeat violent offender specifications to the burglary counts.
As part of the negotiated deal with prosecutors, the newest charges were dismissed, along with the original aggravated burglary count.
The charges stemmed from a Sept. 6 break-in at a residence in the 3100 block of Elijah Parkway by Hardison and fellow Toledo resident Rolland Houke.
According to police, the estranged wife of one of the men lived in the home. Houke was shot after asking a male occupant to leave the home, although police say it is unclear who fired the shot.
Both men fled toward Toledo, where Hardison was arrested with assistance from the Toledo Police Department’s Gang Unit. Houke was located at a Findlay hospital where he was being treated for gunshot wounds.
Houke, 30, was sentenced to four years in prison on a second-degree felony charge of aggravated burglary earlier this month.
