Wednesday, October 29th, 2014
St. Henry man can't enter his business as condition of sentence
By Kathy Thompson
CELINA - A St. Henry man cannot enter the business he co-owns or initiate contact with employees after pleading no contest to charges related to a camera he placed in the business's restroom.
Timothy A. Knapke, co-owner of Tru-Edge Grinding Inc. in St. Henry, was arrested Aug. 27 and charged with attempted voyeurism and obstructing official business.
Knapke, 52, 282 Elm St., pleaded no contest in Celina Municipal Court on Tuesday afternoon to misdemeanor charges of obstructing official business and criminal trespass.
The attempted voyeurism charge was amended to criminal trespass, city attorney George Moore said.
"Once certain facts came to light, the trespassing charge seemed more appropriate," he said.
Judge James Scheer ordered a 90-day jail sentence, which he suspended, and ordered Knapke not to have any similar violations for the next five years, to forfeit the camera and not to initiate contact with employees without the court's permission.
"If they call you regarding business matters, that's OK," Scheer said. "But you can't go to the business or call them."
Knapke also was fined $750 and court costs.
Mercer County Sheriff's deputies were called to the business on Lachey Drive Aug. 27 after receiving an anonymous tip that a camera had been placed in a unisex restroom at the facility. When officers arrived, the camera had been removed and thrown into a trash bin, which had already been emptied by a trash company, according to arrest reports. Officers were able to track down the truck before it reached a landfill and retrieve the camera.
Deputies executing a search warrant at the business found evidence identifying Knapke as the person who had placed the camera, reports said.
