By Diane Smith
Record-Courier staff writer
An estimated 105 bleary-eyed defendants filled the Portage County Municipal Court in Kent Sunday, only hours after being arrested in downtown Kent during the unofficial Halloween celebration.
Judge John Plough said it was “without question” the highest number of cases he’d seen in the post-Halloween Sunday court. Last year, 81 cases were processed and about 60 defendants came through the court in both previous years.
“No doubt this was the largest,” said the judge, who also held a Sunday court this fall to deal with the high number of arrests when students returned to classes. “It was well over the number of people I usually deal with.”
The cases were processed within two hours and 45 minutes, a record he attributed to the clerk’s office, his staff and two deputies who assisted.
“It was all well coordinated,” he said.
Of the 105 people whose cases were processed, only 35 had been in custody. All defendants were released after posting a bond or having their cases put through a diversion program. That, Plough said, saves the city of Kent and the Portage County Sheriff’s Office money — although not everybody minded the crowded accommodations.
“I asked one person, ‘Did you have fun last night?’” Plough recalled. “And he said, ‘No, but I had fun once I got to jail.’”
Each defendant was invited to have candy, courtesy of the judge.
“Only two people were charged with assault, and only one was charged with criminal damaging,” he said. “Everything else was alcohol related. It’s a little easier to be lighthearted and have fun in court. These kids were just there to have a good time and ended up getting arrested.”
The time in court, he noted, was less painful than watching the Cleveland Browns , who lost 30-6.
Most of the people charged with alcohol or drug-related offenses were able to go through a diversion program, which allows defendants to have their cases dismissed in exchange for a drug and alcohol assessment, community service and a class.
Plough said he was downtown watching the Halloween festivities with his family Saturday and thought everyone seemed to be having a good time. He estimated the crowd at 15,000 to 20,000, and said he believed police should have closed the streets for the safety of the pedestrians.
He knew of only one defendant from out of state, but said many of them were students at other universities in Ohio.
“There are only two parties in Ohio: OU and Kent State,” he said.