City councilman indicted on 16 felonies

BELLEVUE — A Bellevue city council member who was arrested last month for allegedly breaking into a woman's home and strangling her was indicted Friday by a grand jury. Joseph N. Burkhart, 38, of the 200 block of Madden St., was indicted by a Huron County grand jury on the following charges, according to a grand jury report: • Three counts of menacing by stalking, each a fourth-degree felony • Three counts of possession of drugs, each a first-degree misdemeanor • Three counts of strangulation, which were separately classified as second, third and fourth-degree felonies • Two counts of tampering with evidence, each a third-degree felony • Two counts of aggravated possession of drugs, each a fifth-degree felony • Two counts of telecommunications harassment, each a first-degree misdemeanor • One count of aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony • One count of grand theft when the property is a firearm or dangerous ordnance, a third-degree felony • One count of theft of drugs, a fourth-degree felony • One count of obstructing official business, a fifth-degree felony • One count of theft, a fifth-degree felony • One count of trafficking in drugs, a fifth-degree felony • One count of assault, a first-degree misdemeanor The alleged crimes occurred on or about Sept. 19, according to his indictment. Background Burkhart was arrested by the Huron County Sheriff's Office on Sept. 19 and booked into Huron County Jail the same day on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges. Bellevue police initially responded to the call involving Burkhart but requested that the Huron County Sheriff's Office take over the investigation "due to a potential conflict of interest," according to a news release from the Huron County Sheriff's Office. The release states that the investigation began after deputies responded to reports of a "domestic-related incident in Bellevue." "Allegations included unlawful entry, physical assault, harassment and threats. During the course of the investigation, deputies also recovered suspected controlled substances and other related evidence," the release states. At approximately 9 p.m. on Sept. 19, sheriff deputies and Bellevue police officers located Burkhart at a residence on Madden Street. He allegedly attempted to flee from law enforcement on foot and "was observed discarding suspected narcotics," the release states. Burkhart was apprehended shortly after, and law enforcement seized additional evidence. According to court documents from the Bellevue Municipal Court, Burkhart allegedly "put his hands around the throat of" the alleged victim. Burkhart was allegedly also in possession of a bag that contained methamphetamine, court documents state. As of Monday afternoon, Burkhart was released on bond from the Huron County Jail, according to court records. He has an upcoming court hearing scheduled at 9 a.m. on Oct. 21. No comment from city officials Questions sent to Bellevue's city council on Sept. 23 regarding Burkhart's arrest and criminal charges remain unanswered as of Monday afternoon. Bellevue city council president Ronald Smith responded to an emailed list of questions from the newspaper stating that he had no comment due to the case being an ongoing investigation. Council members Duane Baker, Steve Hill, Nadean Muniz, Beverly Ommert, Kendall Shepherd, Caleb Wynbissinger, did not respond to the same list of questions. Additionally, Burkhart's appointed attorney, David Longo, and Burkhart himself have not responded to the newspaper's questions.