CALDWELL — Felony indictments out of Noble County are not a monthly, or twice-monthly exercise as in Washington County.

But that’s not the only difference.

Secret indictment, a practice where a case is presented to a grand jury and individuals are indicted on felony charges but their name is not yet publicly linked to alleged crimes, is more common in the rural county by utilizing existing state law.

“So anytime that you have an individual who, for one reason or another hasn’t previously been arrested for whatever crime we’re accusing them of … those remaining individuals are usually those of your cases where there’s some sort of ongoing investigation, and then you present the case directly to grand jury for the purpose of securing an indictment,” Jordan Croucher, Noble County Prosecutor explained Wednesday.

“Once you’ve done that, the reason we keep those ones secret is 1) they haven’t been publicly arrested and … 2) practicality. If you’ve been charged with a secret indictment, and you don’t know that the the local law enforcement is looking for you to essentially effectuate an arrest and bring you in for a felony charge, we don’t want to tip (the defendant) off and have folks leave the area, we want to be able to bring folks to justice.”

At the close of May, five secret indictments were published by the Noble County prosecutor including eight counts: aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony; trafficking in drugs, a second-degree felony; tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony; theft from the elderly, a fourth-degree felony; and four counts of possession of drugs of varying felony levels.

A look at the indictments in March and January of this year also show the practice put to use.

In January, secret indictments included 24 counts against 11 people.

To date, four individuals facing a cumulative seven counts remain secret including:

¯ Complicity in trafficking drugs, a second-degree felony.

¯ Two counts of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, both fourth-degree felonies.

¯ Three counts of possession of drugs (methamphetamine), all fifth-degree felonies.

¯ Possession of drugs (fentanyl), a fifth-degree felony.

Others secretly indicted who are now public from January’s true bills include:

¯ Emmitt Tolbert, 20, of 346 Chittened St., Akron, was secretly indicted for possession of drugs (meth), a second-degree felony; trafficking in drugs (meth), a second-degree felony; possession of drugs (fentanyl), a fourth-degree felony; possession of drugs (heroin), a fourth-degree felony.

Tolbert, according to Croucher, initially appeared but has subsequently not shown in court for additional hearings and a warrant is out for his arrest.

¯ Brian Ginn, 43, of 103 North Street, Belle Valley, was secretly indicted for two counts of rape, each first-degree felonies; and unlawful restraint, a third-degree misdemeanor. His jury trial is scheduled for later this summer.

¯ Logan Stevens, 25, of 212 North Street, Caldwell, was secretly indicted for felonious assault, a second-degree felony.

Stevens pleaded guilty to the charge on March 19, and was sentenced to two to three years in prison.

¯ Robert Boylen, 40, of 40001 Ashton Hill Road, Caldwell, was secretly indicted for corrupting another with drugs (meth), a second-degree felony; unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a third-degree felony; and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, a fifth-degree felony.

“He’s currently on a no-bond hold pending further outcomes,” said Croucher.

¯ Dominic Mincks, 22, of 19705 State Route 821, was secretly indicted for having weapons under disability, a third-degree felony.

¯ Edward Smith, 35, of 18515 Frostyville Road, Caldwell, was secretly indicted for disrupting public services.

Croucher said Washington County Assistant Prosecutor Joe Derkin has been appointed special prosecutor in the case.

¯ Drake Robert Guy Stewart, 29, of 1851 State Route 56, London, was secretly indicted for harassment by an inmate, a fifth-degree felony.

March secret indictments included 10 counts against eight people with only one count of aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony, still secret as of Wednesday.

The remaining March secret indictments, now public, include:

¯ Two counts of kidnapping, a first-degree felony; and having weapons while under disability, a third-degree felony.

Croucher explained that these charges against Roger Delancey, 57, of 48061 Sarahsville Road, Caldwell, were then re-indicted with additional weapons specifications in April and thus, are now public.

“Basically he held a couple people at gunpoint,” Croucher explained.

The case was brought forward to a special convention of the county’s grand jury at the same time it heard evidence against Tyler Thompson, 28, of 48569 Outpost Road, Caldwell, for aggravated murder and aligning charges out of the March 21 shooting death of Thompson’s fiancee, Leah Brook Hines.

That murder trial is still scheduled to take place this summer.

¯ Cecily Church, 31, of 48430 Outpost Road, Caldwell, was also secretly indicted in March for possession of heroin, a fifth-degree felony.

¯ Tanner Bates, 22, of 516 Miller St., Caldwell, was secretly indicted in March for possession of meth, a fifth-degree felony.

¯ Kristi Schoonover, 57, of 41011 Lawrence Davis Road, Caldwell, was secretly indicted in March for identity fraud, a third-degree felony; and theft from the elderly, a fourth-degree felony.

¯ Dalton Warner, 29, of 1101 North St., Caldwell, was secretly indicted in March for rape, a first-degree felony; and felonious assault, a second-degree felony.

¯ Toby Hall, 35, of 558 Dewey Ave., Cambridge, was secretly indicted in March for unlawful possession or use of hoax weapon of mass destruction, a fourth-degree felony.

Remaining 2021 Noble County public indictments include:

¯ Rolland E. Glidden III, 39, of 283 Columbua Court, Cambridge, was indicted in January on two fourth-degree felony counts: receiving stolen property and fictitious plates.

¯ Roberta L. Jackson, 57, of 25653 Pump Station Road, Caldwell, was indicted in January for tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony.

¯ Michael Barreca, 44, of Caldwell, was indicted in January for two counts of domestic violence, both fourth-degree felonies.

¯ Dillon Warner, 30, of 1101 North Street, Caldwell, was indicted for possession of drugs (meth), a fifth-degree felony.

¯ Ralph Cruickshanks Jr., 52, of 2245 Big Run Road E., Grove City, was indicted in January for aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony; and four counts of kidnapping, all first-degree felonies.

¯ Tina Cruickshanks, 51, of 11502 State Route 550, Athens was indicted in January for aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony; complicity in kidnapping, a first-degree felony; and escape, a second-degree felony.

¯ Tabatha McDaniel, 50, of 2554 Spaatz Ave., Columbus, was indicted in January for complicity in kidnapping, a first-degree felony.

¯ John Wilkos, 56, of 11502 State Route 550, Athens, was indicted in January for aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony; and complicity in kidnapping, also a first-degree felony.

¯ Briana Roberts, 41, of 201 North St., Caldwell, was indicted in March for violating a protection order, a fifth-degree felony, but the charge was eventually dropped with four previous protection violations garnering resolution in the case with two concurrent prison sentences of nine and 12 months, Croucher said.

¯ Rebecca Sergent, 30, of 2675 E. 30th St., Cleveland, was indicted in March for failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, a third-degree felony; and possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony.

Sergent has since pleaded guilty to the first count, following a high-speed interstate pursuit this year resulting in the charges, Croucher said. Sergent was sentenced to 18 months in prison and the second count for possession of heroin was dismissed.

¯ Christopher Gilreath, 35, of 50759 Wargo Road, was indicted in March for theft, a fifth-degree felony; and theft from the elderly, also a fifth-degree felony.

Gilreath has since changed his plea to guilty to one count of theft, with the second charge dismissed. Croucher said Gilreath stole approximately $700.

“To my understanding restitution has been made,” he concluded.

On May 28, a Noble County grand jury convened and publicly indicted an additional 12 individuals:

¯ Trevor Bates, 30, 43891 Rich Valley Road, Caldwell, was indicted in May for illegal conveyance of weapons or prohibited items onto grounds of detention facility or institution, a third-degree felony; and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony.

¯ Brian Davis Jr., 25, 22001 Zep Road East, of Sarahsville, was indicted in May for felonious assault, a second-degree felony.

¯ Phillip Hughes, 35, 201 Milton Drive, Marietta, was indicted in May for obstructing official business, a fifth-degree felony; and violating a protection order, a first-degree misdemeanor.

¯ Andrew Kent, 35, 4424 Millport Ave., SW, Canton, was indicted in May for trafficking in drugs, a fourth-degree felony; possession of drugs (heroin), a fifth-degree felony; possession of drugs (meth), a fifth-degree felony; possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony; and driving under OVI suspension, a first-degree misdemeanor.

¯ Joshua O’Brien, 37, of Cutler, was indicted in May for felonious assault, a second-degree felony; and domestic violence, a fourth-degree felony.

¯ Ethan Thompson, 21, of 12980 Belle Valley Road, Caldwell, was indicted in May for failure to stop after an accident on a public road or highway, a fifth-degree felony.

¯ Elana Webb, 42, 402 Private Road 13, Ironton, was indicted in May for retaliation, a third-degree felony; and aggravated menacing, a first-degree misdemeanor.

“That’s stemming from some threatening messages and posts she made essentially directed toward former Judge (David) Ellwood out of Guernsey County,” said Croucher.

The cases are to be prosecuted in Noble County Common Pleas Court, but not all by the new Common Pleas Judge Kelly Riddle, who took office the day before Tyler Thompson appeared for bond and arraignment in front of her bench in April.

“It’s tough to jump straight to judge from being the prosecutor for more or less the last decade, you’re going to have some conflicts here and there,” explained Croucher of his predecessor. “No one wants to be accused of having their ruling or their judgment swayed by their previous opinion or their previous job. So this is pretty clear cut (to) step off those cases and let the visiting judges handle those.”

Two retired judges have been appointed to the court to fill on as required, Judge John M. Solovan, out of Belmont County, and Judge Edward O’Farrell out of Tuscawaras County.