Man gets decade in prison for threats

PORT CLINTON — A Bellevue man will spend the next decade in prison after threatening numerous court officers. Eric R. Braun, 49, of the 300 block of County Road 300, was found guilty by a jury on June 13 of four counts of intimidation of an attorney, victim or witness in a criminal case, all of which are third-degree felonies. He was additionally found guilty of one first-degree misdemeanor count of aggravated menacing. Judge William R. Finnegan sentenced Braun to 10 years in prison. He had faced up to three years for each felony and up to six months for the misdemeanor. The sentencing report was unavailable through the Ottawa County Clerk of Court's website as of late Monday. Braun was initially charged for a road rage incident, according to a press release from the Ohio Attorney General's Office. That incident occurred in Feb. 2023. "During the criminal proceedings, Braun threatened to kill his attorney, the judge, the assigned prosecutor and the elected prosecuting attorney," the release states. In that case, Braun was charged with improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony and aggravated menacing, a first-degree misdemeanor. The two cases were joined and Braun was also found guilty of those two counts at the conclusion of the same trial. The road rage incident was investigated by troopers from the highway patrol, while the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office detectives handled the threats case. The case was prosecuted by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's special prosecutions section. Asst. prosecuting attorney Denise Salerno represented the state, according to court records. Michael P. Dunham represented Braun. As of late Monday, Braun is incarcerated in Ottawa County Detention Facility, awaiting transfer into Ohio's prison system.