Plea hearing for sheriff’s stalker moved to Jan. 5

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The change of plea hearing for a Columbus man charged with cyberstalking Delaware County Sheriff Russell Martin has been delayed until Friday, Jan. 5 in U.S. District Court.

The plea agreement for William E. Young, 54, was reached with federal prosecutors on Nov. 27 in U.S. District Court.

Young was indicted by a federal grand jury in August and charged with cyberstalking Martin ever since Martin arrested Young for stalking a woman in 1999. Court documents indicate that Young created four web pages about Martin and allegedly mailed letters on numerous occasions to Martin’s wife and family, and to the Delaware Police Department, Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, Delaware County Jail, and numerous other local organizations and businesses.

Court documents indicated that Young had reached an agreement with prosecutors and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.

In November, Federal Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King scheduled hearing for the plea on Dec. 8, but the hearing was later delayed to Jan. 5 at 10 a.m. A reason for the delay was not specified in court records.

Martin said on Twitter in November that he was “continually grateful for the diligence and competency” of the FBI and federal prosecutors. He added that he would release a statement after Young’s case is adjudicated.

After Young was indicted, Martin released a statement saying, “Over the last three decades in law enforcement, I’ve arrested or investigated thousands of criminals, many of them violent and extremely dangerous. The man the FBI arrested has threatened and harassed me and my family for years, and while I signed up for this job, my family didn’t. We deserve to be safeguarded from danger — just as any other citizen…”

Officials report that in a May 2010 interview with agents of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Young stated he wanted Martin fired and wanted him to “eat his gun.”

Federal officials also said that in September 2015, Young mailed a 62-page letter to Martin’s wife which included the following statement: “I’ll force his hand if the powers that be make the mistake of coming after me again. Then I’ll take everyone down who had a hand in what was done to me one by one.”

Young remained in federal custody Wednesday.

Young
http://www.delgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2017/12/web1_william-E-Young-1.jpgYoung

By Glenn Battishill

[email protected]

Contact Glenn Battishill at 740-413-0903. Follow him on Twitter @BattishillDG.

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