MAHONING VALLEY Ex-deputy pleads guilty

A judge ordered the former deputy to stay away from drugs and alcohol.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A former Mahoning County deputy sheriff has pleaded guilty to 16 charges of deception to obtain drugs.
William Frease, 53, of Southern Boulevard in Boardman, entered the pleas Thursday in the courtroom of Judge John Stuard of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
Both the defense and the prosecutor agreed that Frease will receive drug rehabilitation treatment in lieu of conviction, which means he won't have to go to jail. The judge ordered Frease to remain free of drug and alcohol and to abide by the rules of his probation officer.
If Frease has no other criminal charges and does not take drugs or alcohol for a year, the 16 charges will be dismissed, court officials said.
Frease could have faced up to 24 years in prison.
Frease retired on a disability from the Mahoning sheriff's department last year. He has stated that his disability is related to injuries he suffered to his shoulder in 2000, court records show.
Prescription drugs
Frease was arrested at his home in September 2001 by Trumbull County deputies a few hours after he was secretly indicted by a Trumbull grand jury.
Deputies said Frease is charged with trying to illegally obtain OxyContin, a powerful prescription painkiller.
The Ohio Board of Pharmacies helped investigate.
Officials declined to say exactly how Frease got the drugs or how much.
Frease was a sergeant and had been with the department since June 1977.
Moments after Frease entered his pleas, Michelle Hilty, 39, of Cortland, also pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of drugs and two counts of deception to obtain drugs.
Hilty, a nurse, also will receive drug rehabilitation treatment in lieu of conviction, and won't go to jail, court officials said.
sinkovich@vindy.com