Saturday, May 30

Dismissed and

sentenced

A Dunkirk man has been sentenced in one of his cases, while another has been dismissed.

Richard A. Swafford, 48, pleaded guilty to strangulation, a class D felony.

His guilty plea was accepted May 20 in Jay Superior Court and he was sentenced to 18 months in the Indiana Department of Correction, with all but six months suspended and credit for time served since Feb. 24.

He was also ordered to pay $164 in court costs and a $50 domestic violence prevention and treatment fee. He was placed on probation for one year.

He was arrested July 11, 2007, by Dunkirk police after he choked his wife.

Charges of intimidation, a class D felony, and domestic battery, a class A misdemeanor, were dismissed as part of a plea agreement in the case.

Also as part of the plea agreement, another case against Swafford was dismissed.

In this case he was facing charges of domestic battery, a class D felony, and interference with reporting of a crime, a class A misdemeanor. The case was dismissed May 20.

Swafford was arrested Dec. 1 for allegedly battering his wife.

Venue date changed

A change of venue hearing for a Portland woman accused of breaking several of her baby's bones has been rescheduled.

Ruby E. Sacher, 22, is facing a charge of battery resulting in serious bodily injury to a person less than 14 years old, a class B felony. The hearing for her change of venue request is now scheduled for June 16 at 9:30 a.m. in Jay Circuit Court.

On April 21, she filed a motion to have her trial moved to another county because of pretrial publicity.

She was arrested Dec. 1 by Portland police for allegedly shaking her 6-week-old daughter. The child suffered two broken arms, two broken legs, a black eye and a broken collarbone.[[In-content Ad]]