Judge sends Overmyer back to jail

FREMONT — A judge scolded suspended Sheriff Kyle Overmyer Thursday and then ordered him to return to jail."There is too much undercurrent here," visiting Judge Patricia Cosgrove said. "The court finds you violated the conditions of your bond."Deputies handcuffed Overmyer and he was later booked into the Erie County jail after the bond hearing inside a makeshift courtroom at Terra State Community College ended. Cosgrove raised his bond, changing it from from $150,000 to a $250,000 full cash bond.Watch the hearingThe judge called Overmyer and his attorney, Andrew Mayle, to stand in front of her before she announced her decision.She expressed surprise Overmyer was still a candidate for sheriff, seeking re-election. And she said she was troubled by the depth of involvement of the sheriff's sister, county clerk of courts Tracy Overmyer, and her husband, Sandusky County sheriff's Capt. Michael Meggitt."I had to file court documents in the case under seal for a while," Cosgrove said, complaining that information was getting out before attorneys on either side were receiving them.Read more: Overmyer under fireSpecial Prosecutor Carol O'Brien argued that Overmyer violated the conditions of his bond in seven different incidents, including having contact with employees of the sheriff's office, attempts to intimidate witnesses, improper conversations about his former top detective, Sean O'Connell, and the purchase of a weapon.The sheriff also allegedly tampered with a county owned computer, wiping its hard drive clean before returning it as he was ordered to do. He could be charged for that, Cosgrove said. "Presumably it had county information on it," she said. "That is going to be for another day, and then they can decide if they are going to charge you with tampering with evidence."Cosgrove said she also had concern that Meggitt was at Gibsonburg police Chief Paul Whitaker's home. Meggitt's is married to Tracy Overmyer, who was accused in January of attempting to intimidate the chief and the mayor of Gibsonburg. Whitaker's wife saw the marked sheriff's SUV parked in front on the home. Meggitt did not deny being there, but said he was taking photos of a memorial more than two blocks from the Whitaker home. It's not clear why he parked in front of the chief's home, two blocks away from his destination. Mayle argued Overmyer was not with Meggitt at the time, and there was no proof he was involved. Mayle also argued Overmyer himself did not try to intimidate any potential witnesses.Cosgrove didn't accept those explanations and she also wasn't buying the explanation that sheriff bought a crossbow as a present for his son. "I told you, don't buy any weapons. When I say don't do something, you do not do it," she told Overmyer.The judge also ordered the court to review the docket and determine if Overmyer's trial could be moved up from the current scheduled date in March.Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer is escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs after being found in violation of his bond by Judge Patricia Cosgrove at the temporary offices of the Sandusky County Court of Common Pleas at Terra Community College in Fremont on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016. Special Prosecutor Carol O'Brien testifies during Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer's bond hearing at the temporary offices of the Sandusky County Court of Common Pleas at Terra Community College in Fremont on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016. Judge Patricia Cosgrove examines a piece of evidence with witness Paul Whitaker during Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer's bond hearing at the temporary offices of the Sandusky County Court of Common Pleas at Terra Community College in Fremont on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016. Judge Patricia Cosgrove hands down her decision during Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer's bond hearing at the temporary offices of the Sandusky County Court of Common Pleas at Terra Community College in Fremont on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016. The booking photo of Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer taken Thursday after he was ordered back to jail for violating his bond.