Monroe County court accepts multiple guilty pleas, schedules Nov. 13 sentencing and hears probation revocations

Monroe County Circuit Court on multiple dockets this session accepted guilty pleas and set several sentencing and hearing dates, amid a string of probation-revocation hearings and specialty-court referrals.

The court accepted a guilty plea in 25CR0025 from William Miller on a first-degree methamphetamine possession charge and scheduled sentencing for Nov. 13; the plea was entered with an agreement that a one-year jail sentence would run consecutively to a separate Monroe Circuit indictment, and the Commonwealth opposed probation and shock probation in that case.

In 24CR0046/25CR0056, Ashley Pedigo pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine). The Commonwealth’s written recommendation — accepted by the court — called for two years probated with five years supervised and enrollment in the Monroe specialty (drug) court; the order provided for release to orientation and credit for time served, and sentencing was set for Nov. 13.

Jason York pleaded guilty in two separate indictments (25CR0040 and 25CR0041) to trafficking in a controlled substance, first degree. The court accepted an agreement that combined the two cases into consecutive terms totaling seven years, with 180 days of home incarceration followed by the balance probated for five years supervised; York was referred to the social-service clinician and given Nov. 13 for formal sentencing.

Other arraignments and plea acceptances recorded the court’s routine practice of waiving formal readings, entering not-guilty pleas where requested, and setting negotiation dates for Nov. 7 and pretrial appearances for Nov. 13 for multiple defendants across the docket.

The court also addressed multiple probation-revocation matters. A request for shock probation in 20CR0053 involving Brian Cook (possession/related DUI matter) was denied after the judge cited the seriousness of the violation and the risk posed by reoffending. At least one other revocation hearing (Justin Gillespie, 25CR0049) resulted in the court declining to adopt a proposed agreement with the Commonwealth and scheduling the case for trial after the defense sought to withdraw the plea agreement.

Probation and parole officers appeared in several matters to summarize supervision histories and violations; for example, Officer Wesley Bray (Probation/Parole) testified about repeated EPO/DVO-related convictions and contacts involving Dustin Jesse during a revocation hearing, which the court ultimately said it would consider in light of related pending criminal actions in other counties.

On the record the court repeatedly reminded counsel and defendants that documentary discovery and reciprocal discovery orders were conditions of bond for indicted cases, and it directed the clerk to set transport and calendar obligations for incarcerated defendants to appear on the scheduled negotiation and pretrial dates.

The session also included routine procedural items: agreed orders on release of records in one matter, continuances for defendants who were medically unavailable or in custody elsewhere, and scheduling of suppression and other pretrial motions for the Nov. 13 docket.

Looking ahead, the court left numerous matters for the Nov. 7 negotiation day and Nov. 13 sentencing and pretrial calendar, and it signaled that specialty-court placements (drug court/orientation) would affect release dates for defendants ordered into those programs.