Former St. Marys patrolman sentenced

WAPAKONETA - A former St. Marys police officer was sentenced to a brief stint in jail and probation this week in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court, after using his police database to attempt to identify visitors at his estranged wife's residence.

Lucas M. Wessel, 39, was sentenced Monday to 540 days in jail, with all but 10 days suspended, and five years of community control sanctions on four counts of possession of criminal tools, all first-degree misdemeanors.

His jail time was furloughed to Sept. 30, and he was also ordered to pay $1,000 of a suspended $4,000 fine by Sept. 1.

His probation officer will report to the court on Sept. 2 as to whether he complied with all of his probation conditions. He is subject to escape charges should he venture out of state without written permission, or fail to appear for his jail sentence. However, he was permitted to travel out of state for employment purposes.

As a part of his probation conditions, he's not permitted to have any deadly weapons or firearms under his control or possession; not permitted to have any access to any law enforcement database system whatsoever; and not permitted any contact with his ex-wife, except to the extent specifically allowed in domestic relations court.

Wessel was originally indicted in August 2025 on four counts of unauthorized use of LEADS, all fifth-degree felonies, and one count of possessing criminal tools, a first-degree misdemeanor.

The charges were amended early last month when special prosecutor Brian Boos filed a bill of information charging Wessel with the four misdemeanor charges, for which Wessel then pleaded guilty.

Wessel was accused of driving by his estranged wife's home on multiple occasions and running the license plates of vehicles parked outside through the Law Enforcement Automated Database System (LEADS), which he had access to as a patrolman for the St. Marys Police Department.

His initial indictment came in August following a six-month investigation conducted by the Mercer County Sheriff's Office at the request of St. Marys city officials after they were contacted by Wessel's ex-wife.

The Auglaize County Sheriff's Office declined to conduct the investigation to avoid any potential conflict of interest.

Wessel was placed on paid leave in February 2025 pending the outcome of the criminal investigation. He resigned on July 22, 2025, before any charges were brought forth after almost 12 years with the department.

Investigators learned over the course of their inquiry that on at least four separate occasions between Nov. 28, 2024, and Dec. 31, 2024, outside of his jurisdiction as a St. Marys police officer, Wessel allegedly drove by his wife's home and ran the license plates of vehicles parked outside the residence through LEADS in an effort "to learn who it may have been at his separated wife's residence," Mercer County Sheriff Doug Timmerman previously told The Daily Standard.

At the time of his indictment, Wessel and his wife were still legally married but separated amid dissolution proceedings. She was granted a civil stalking protection order against him in March 2025. Their dissolution case has since been closed.

Timmerman stressed that allegations such as those against Wessel jeopardize the reputation of all area law enforcement officials.

"At the end of the day, people need to know that there are checks and balances for everything, and we're (law enforcement) no more important than the next person, and this is completely inappropriate," he said.

A special prosecutor was assigned to the case to avoid further conflict of interest.