LIMA — The trial for a Lima man accused of operating a fentanyl pill press from the basement of a Broadway Street home ended in mistrial Thursday due to a lack of jurors.
Ronald Hesseling II, 42, is the first of three defendants charged for their alleged role in the operation to stand trial, but Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge Terri Kohlrieser declared a mistrial Thursday after two jurors asked to be dismissed before testimony resumed that morning.
The court dismissed one juror for a personal emergency Wednesday.
Two more jurors came forward Thursday morning to request early dismissal, one of whom had no sitter for her infant daughter. The other asked to leave for a previously undisclosed vacation, telling Kohlrieser he confused the dates of his trip.
Only two alternate jurors were selected for the trial, which started Tuesday afternoon.
Allen County Prosecutor Destiny Caldwell motioned for a mistrial after learning of the requests, citing concerns that the juror’s pending vacation may distract him during testimony or rush him during deliberations if the court ordered him to stay.
Defense attorney Anthony VanNoy described the situation as “unprecedented,” but did not object to Caldwell’s motion.
“I don’t want to get this wrong,” Kohlrieser said. She added, “One of my predecessors used to say: measure twice, cut once. That’s what I’d like to do in this case.”
“Thank you, your honor,” Hesseling said.
The court is now tasked with scheduling another trial for Hesseling, who faces 22 drug-related felonies for his alleged role in a major fentanyl operation.
Prosecutors dismissed 29 charges pending against Hesseling before the trial started Tuesday.
Co-defendants Eric Upthegrove, who severed his ankle monitor and fled before a pre-trial hearing in March, and Nicoya Darby, who testified against Hesseling on Wednesday, face similar charges after the West Central Ohio Crime Task Force raided Upthegrove’s Atlantic Avenue residence and a nearby home on Broadway Street two years ago.
Investigators found electronic and hand-crank pill presses in the basement of the Broadway Street home, along with thousands of suspected fentanyl pills, suspected fentanyl powder, binding agent used to mix fentanyl pills and other drug paraphernalia at both residences.
