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Man couldn’t get her out of his mind, will now do time

LISBON — Sherman A. Pritt Jr., the East Liverpool area man who refused to stop calling and writing to Stacey Dawson despite a protection order, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Monday.

Pritt, 42, of Y&O Road, appeared before Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam and pleaded guilty to three counts of violating a temporary protection order, all felonies, and a misdemeanor charge of attempted violation of a temporary protection order. Pritt had also pleaded guilty to an additional temporary protection order charge previously before Judge Megan Bickerton and that case was transferred to Washam’s court so the two cases could be sentenced at the same time.

Assistant County Prosecutor Tammie Riley Jones explained the various charges prior to sentencing, noting there is quite a history between the two of them. But at some point things fell apart and a protection order was issued by Magistrate Brad Allison at Common Pleas Court on Aug. 6, 2019.

About a month later, on Sept. 5, Jones said Pritt was on the phone at the county jail calling Dawson. Although Dawson had filed a request to have the protection order modified, that request had been denied. Jones said Pritt admitted he knew if he got caught this time it would be a felony and tried to make it sound like he was someone else calling.

Between May 29 and June 3, 2020, he used the phone PIN numbers of two other inmates to attempt to call Dawson on 10 other occasions, leading to the attempted violation of a protection order charge.

He succeeded twice in reaching Dawson, once on May 29 and again on May 30, leading to two more fifth-degree felony temporary protection order charges. A third charge was for letters written to Dawson and to another person between October 2019 and June 2020.

Additionally, Jones pointed out Pritt had four prior misdemeanor convictions for violating a temporary protection order.

“He simply didn’t care what was ordered,” Jones said. “He was going to do what he wanted regardless of whatever the court wanted him to do.”

Defense attorney Joseph King said he has known both Pritt and Dawson and even met with them both when they were together, before things fell apart. King said Pritt has learned a little too late that this is not about Dawson, but about violating the orders of the magistrate. Additionally, King said the motion to modify the protection order was filed because Dawson’s children wanted a chance to talk to him and send him pictures.

King asked Washam to follow the plea agreement recommendation by Jones for 18 months in prison. Pritt declined to comment prior to sentencing. Washam said he also had letters from both Annette Dawson Lindstrom and Patricia Baumgardner regarding the sentencing, but did not divulge the contents of the letters.

He went with the 18 months prison sentence and credited Pritt with 11 days already served.

djohnson@mojonews.com

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