Wooster man sentenced to prison for meth

A Wooster man who admitted to making meth in his duplex was sentenced to two years in prison.

Mark Holdredge, 62, last known address of 581 Northwestern Ave., was sentenced in Wayne County Common Pleas Court after being found guilty of illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of meth (a third-degree felony) and aggravated possession of drugs (fifth-degree felony).

Holdredge pleaded no contest to the charges last month.

"I'm embarrassed and regretful of the behavior I was involved in. ... I'm committed to changing my ways," Holdredge told Judge Mark K. Wiest during sentencing on Thursday.

The charges against Holdredge stem from a Dec. 15 incident at his home when the Wooster Police Department was called after a woman -- who turned out to be his codefendant, Cherish Schwarz, 34, of Wooster -- reported she was strangled by a third person at the residence.

During a search of the home, police located a one-pot meth operation and all of the ingredients to make the drug, along with several marijuana plants.

Holdredge's attorney, David Sheldon, argued his client has had basically no criminal record, but "he's got a drug problem." He sought some type of treatment program for Holdredge instead.

"The person standing before you isn't your typical drug dealer," Sheldon said, noting Holdredge ran his own business and has his master's degree, then "bills exceeded income."

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Olivia Boyer said the state had concerns.

First, Holdredge was making meth with a 5-year-old living in the duplex unit adjacent to his own. She said he knew the child was living there.

"That's inexcusable," Boyer said. She added she doubted Schwarz had "the mental capacity" to make meth, whereas his two degrees are in science fields. She argued this operation could occur only with Holdredge.

Wiest agreed with that assessment and added this operation occurred in a residential neighborhood near the Wooster YMCA and Parkview Elementary School.

Schwarz was sentenced to 30 months in prison Aug. 19 and is incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. She was found guilty of the same charges as Holdredge, and also found guilty of misuse of credit cards in a separate case.

By STEVEN F. HUSZAI @the-daily-record.com