Cool changes to guilty plea of child endangerment

WOOSTER -- A woman indicted on four counts of endangering children changed her plea Wednesday.

Mary R. Cool, 35, of 430 N. Honeytown Road, Wooster, entered a guilty plea to four counts of child endangering and one count for cultivating marijuana.

All five felony counts stem from a July 9 incident when the Medway Drug Enforcement Agency executed a search warrant at the residence of Cool and her boyfriend, Richard Yeagley, 41, according to Director Dave Smith. Assistance was provided by the Wooster Police Department and Wayne County Sheriff's Office.

Smith said they found what appeared to be a meth lab and "deplorable living conditions" at the residence.

Large amounts of waste, meth by-product and chemicals were found at the residence. A one pot method, or "shake and bake" method, was used to manufacture the drugs, said Smith.

Yeagley was sentenced in October to three years in prison for manufacturing meth at the residence after he was indicted with Cool in July.

Felony counts against Cool, who changed her plea Wednesday in Wayne County Common Pleas Court, charge she knowingly allowed her four children (one per charge) to be in the vicinity of the meth operation. Each child was under the age of 18.

The cultivation charge carried a juvenile specification for growing marijuana within 100 feet of a juvenile in an amount between 200-1,000 grams, also found at the residence.

Judge Cory Spitler said each of the endangering counts carry a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The maximum sentence for the cultivation charge is up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Spitler ordered a presentence investigation be completed before sentencing.

Cool's recognizance bond remains in place.

Reporter Steve Huszai can be reached at 330-287-1645 or shuszai@the-daily-record.com. He is @GeneralSmithie on Twitter.

By STEVEN F. HUSZAI Staff WriterPublished:January 10, 2013 4:00AM

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