MONROE - A Monroe man facing almost 50 charges of bail jumping had most of his charges dismissed Thursday before being sentenced to two years of probation.
Thomas Jon Ott, 50, was charged with 47 Class H counts of felony bail jumping from various offenses between December 2016 and March of this year.
Nearly all of Ott's charges stem from incidents during which he consumed alcohol despite being prohibited from doing so by his bond from a case of domestic assault.
Ott appeared in Green County Circuit Court on Thursday morning for a sentencing hearing on several of his charges. Ott pleaded no contest to one charge of felony bail jumping, one misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct and one charge of misdemeanor theft.
Ott's attorney, Guy Taylor, and Green County District Attorney Craig Nolen agreed on an imposed and stayed sentence of nine months in jail, to be imposed should Ott violate a two-year probationary sentence. As a condition of his probation, Ott will have to serve 35 days in jail.
Taylor said Ott's actions had done more harm to himself than to anyone else and added that his abuse of alcohol was partially because he is "bedeviled" by pain from lingering medical issues.
"He's either going to quit drinking or he's going to die," Taylor said of Ott.
Taylor also requested that Green County Judge Thomas Vale delay the beginning of Ott's jail term so that Ott can make medical appointments. Vale agreed, delaying Ott's start date by 30 days.
As part of Ott's plea agreement, his remaining 46 bail jumping charges, as well as a felony charge of strangulation and misdemeanor charges of obstructing an officer and battery, were dismissed.
Thomas Jon Ott, 50, was charged with 47 Class H counts of felony bail jumping from various offenses between December 2016 and March of this year.
Nearly all of Ott's charges stem from incidents during which he consumed alcohol despite being prohibited from doing so by his bond from a case of domestic assault.
Ott appeared in Green County Circuit Court on Thursday morning for a sentencing hearing on several of his charges. Ott pleaded no contest to one charge of felony bail jumping, one misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct and one charge of misdemeanor theft.
Ott's attorney, Guy Taylor, and Green County District Attorney Craig Nolen agreed on an imposed and stayed sentence of nine months in jail, to be imposed should Ott violate a two-year probationary sentence. As a condition of his probation, Ott will have to serve 35 days in jail.
Taylor said Ott's actions had done more harm to himself than to anyone else and added that his abuse of alcohol was partially because he is "bedeviled" by pain from lingering medical issues.
"He's either going to quit drinking or he's going to die," Taylor said of Ott.
Taylor also requested that Green County Judge Thomas Vale delay the beginning of Ott's jail term so that Ott can make medical appointments. Vale agreed, delaying Ott's start date by 30 days.
As part of Ott's plea agreement, his remaining 46 bail jumping charges, as well as a felony charge of strangulation and misdemeanor charges of obstructing an officer and battery, were dismissed.