Kevin Bronson, one of three local men indicted on various charges, will continue to spend the next year in jail.
Bronson was arrested Dec. 31, 2014, for possession of cocaine with intent to deal. This morning, he appeared in Kosciusko County Circuit Court before Judge Michael Reed to be sentenced on that charge. Bronson submitted a guilty plea agreement Feb. 22, which Reed accepted today.
Bronson was sentenced to 854 days in jail, starting immediately. He has been in jail since the offense and has accumulated 435 days of jail time credit, meaning he will serve 419 more days. Due to his situation with Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine and Grace College professor Mark Soto, the other two men indicted recently, he will be transferred to Marshall, Stark or another surrounding county jail.
Following the sentencing, Bronson had an initial hearing for his indictment charges. The indictment, served last week, charges Bronson with 10 various felony charges. When the prosecutor read through these charges, Bronson could be seen shaking his head in disagreement.
The purpose of the hearing was to determine if Bronson had proper legal counsel. He was found indigent and will be appointed an attorney at public expense. Reed scheduled a status conference for attorneys April 11 and a pretrial for May 9. Reed assured Bronson that he would be represented by a fair attorney. He then recused himself from all further proceedings as judge.
Rovenstine and Soto have initial hearing scheduled for March 17, though their attorneys can choose to waive them.
The indictments were filed Dec. 16 and released Feb. 29. Rovenstine, Soto and Bronson were charged various offenses relating to official misconduct, bribery, intimidation and corrupt business influence. Rovenstine and Soto were both arrested Feb. 29 and bonded out immediately. The charges took place between 2011 and 2015.
