Jacob Rice
In the second of two criminal cases, a local man already serving a 36-year prison sentence accepted a plea agreement in Bartholomew Circuit Court.
Jacob Rice, 40, pleaded guilty to dealing in a narcotic drug as a Level 2 felony. While the crime is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a plea bargain states the sentence will be served concurrently (at the same time) with prison time Rice received following a jury trial late last year.
All other charges connected with the second case, which includes possession of a narcotic drug and possession of methamphetamine, will be dropped, prosecutors said.
However, Judge Kelly Benjamin stressed she is under no obligation to accept the plea agreement when the sentencing hearing is held at 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 19.
On Feb. 23, Rice received the 36-year-sentence for possession of a firearm by a seriously violent felon, criminal recklessness, theft of a firearm and theft of a bicycle after a jury found him guilty of those charges.
A month before the hearing, Rice admitted he was an habitual offender. At that time, he had been convicted 27 times and sent to prison on six different occasions.
In response, Benjamin enhanced the jury’s conviction by adding an additional 20 years to the sentence.
Records show Rice had 47 different contacts with law enforcement over 30 years, 18 petitions to revoke probation, and an unusually high number of physical attacks on law enforcement officers, she said.
The crimes that finally landed Rice behind bars without bond occurred a few hours before dawn on the morning of June 27, 2021. An audio/video system linked to a security system alerted a vacationing homeowner in Ohio that someone was trespassing on his Grove Parkway property.
While approaching the home, Columbus Police Sgt. Lukas Nibarger saw Rice attempting to look through the windows of the home. The defendant fired a stolen 9mm Smith & Wesson M&P Shield handgun after Nibarger identified himself and demanded that Rice raise his hands.
But after nearly seven hours of deliberations, a six-man and six-woman jury said the prosecution did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Rice intended to shoot the officer. Nibarger said he fired his weapon and wounded Rice in the leg only after the suspect fired his weapon in the officer’s general direction, according to court records.
