LOGAN — August could be a busy month for Hocking County Common Pleas Court, with a number of major criminal trials scheduled to take place.
These include the cases of two former county officials who are both facing theft and other charges; a Fairfield County man charged with stabbing a man to death in an altercation at a Hocking County rental cabin; a former law enforcement officer charged with firing a hail of rifle rounds at police from his home; and a couple accused of sexually abusing two young children.
Barring any re-schedulings, these are among the cases slated to go to trial in August:
Aug. 6-9 – Jessica Dicken
Dicken, a former secretary of the Hocking County Agricultural Society, unseated incumbent Hocking County Commissioner Jeff Dicken in the 2022 Republican primary, and went on to win a seat on the commission the following November.
Less than a year into her term of office, however, she was indicted by a county grand jury on charges of theft, telecommunications fraud, election falsification, money laundering, and soliciting or accepting improper compensation, following an investigation by the Ohio Auditor of State’s office.
She is alleged to have made fraudulent credit card purchases of more than $19,000 using a credit card belonging to the Agricultural Society, when she was with the organization. The purchases allegedly included both personal expenditures, and spending on her 2022 political campaign.
Dicken has been suspended from office by a commission appointed by the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. Her criminal case is being handled by special prosecutors from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, and heard by an appointed judge.
Aug. 19-23 – Caleb Moritz
Moritz was the second-in-command at the Hocking County Sheriff’s Office when he submitted his resignation as chief deputy in March of last year. After a local attorney reportedly tipped off county officials to illegal activity by Moritz, the county sheriff’s and prosecutor’s offices launched a joint investigation, culminating in a search of Moritz’s home last July in which multiple items, allegedly stolen from the sheriff’s office, were seized.
The following month Moritz was indicted on charges of theft in office and intimidation of an attorney, victim or witness in a criminal case. Then last month a grand jury On Friday afternoon a Hocking County grand jury issued a superseding indictment against Moritz, adding seven more felony counts to the three he was already facing.
The complete list of charges now includes two counts of intimidation of an attorney, victim, or witness in a criminal case; one count of grand theft; two counts of corrupting another with drugs; one count of tampering with evidence; two counts of unlawful transactions in weapons; one count of forgery; and one count of theft.
As with Dicken, Moritz’s case is being handled by special prosecutors from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, and heard by an appointed judge.
Aug. 19-23 – Isaac Pence
Fairfield County resident Isaac Pence, 21, is facing charges of murder, felonious assault, obstructing justice and tampering with evidence. He is alleged to have killed a 22-year-old Lancaster man, Charles D. Starner, during a fight in the aftermath of a party at a Sullivan Road rental cabin in April 2023. He is also accused of disposing of the knife used in the slaying.
Aug. 26-30 – Steven Hardbarger
Hardbarger, 46, of Logan, is facing a 21-count indictment including charges of kidnapping, attempted aggravated murder, felonious assault, assaulting a police dog, discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises, vandalism, domestic violence, with many of the counts including firearm specifications.
In July of last year, officers from the Hocking County Sheriff’s Office and some nine other agencies responded to a domestic violence call at Hardbarger’s home. He is alleged to have assaulted his wife, then fired a gun into the ceiling and told his wife and two children that he was going to kill them.
When officers showed up after a 911 call from Hardbarger’s daughter, he allegedly barricaded himself inside the residence and began firing on officers with a rifle, letting off more than 150 rounds. His family reportedly told officers afterward that he had been very intoxicated. Hardbarger finally surrendered and was arrested.
According to testimony from a sheriff’s detective during a hearing in Hardbarger’s case, one of the bullets allegedly fired by Hardbarger grazed a sheriff’s deputy, and another hit a Logan Police K-9 officer in the head, requiring surgery. The barrage of gunfire also damaged two sheriff’s office and two LPD cruisers, doing damage estimated at $90,000 or more.
Hardbarger is reportedly a former law enforcement officer, who at the time of his arrest was working for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
Hardbarger’s case is being handled by special prosecutors from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
Aug. 27-30 – Paul Sebring and Irene Day
Paul Sebring, 53, of Marietta, and Irene Day, 40, of Logan, are both facing multiple counts of rape and gross sexual imposition (GSI), with Sebring also being charged with failure to register as a sex offender. They are alleged to have sexually abused two juvenile victims, both under the age of 10.
Both Sebring and Day have asked that they not be tried together, but Judge Jason Despetorich granted a request by a special prosecutor handling the cases that the two cases be combined and heard in a single trial.
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