A defendant who was apparently upset with his sentence in Bartholomew Superior Court 1 is accused of slamming an entryway door to the courtroom as he left the court hearing, breaking glass that fell into the exterior hallway.
Jermaine Ford, 33, Columbus, was arrested in May 2018 on two counts of dealing in methamphetamine after Columbus police stopped his vehicle near State Road 11 and Carl Miske Drive, according to police.
At a sentencing hearing Wednesday morning which began at 10 a.m., Ford was sentenced by Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton to 26 years in prison for dealing in methamphetamine, with four years suspended. Ford became irate at the sentence and began making threats and yelling, according to court personnel.
Ford is accused of breaking the door as he was being taken from the courtroom, and continued to yell and make threats as that occurred, court personnel said.
Those who were on the second floor of the courthouse were ushered into the law library and juvenile court to get away from Ford. No injuries were reported.
Worton added an additional six months of prison time to Ford’s sentence for contempt of court, according to court personnel.
The glass in the door was original to the courthouse and courtroom.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
