LISBON — With four cases, including 10 felonies reflecting his theft and drug activities on five different dates, Christopher Shiflett was sentenced to five and a half years Monday afternoon by Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton.

“It’s insane to me that you picked up this amount of charges in a short amount of time,” Bickerton said, adding Shiflett also appears to be facing charges in another county currently. “Do you want to spend the rest of your adult life in prison?”

Shiflett’s defense attorney Colleen Hall Dailey said her client has always denied he was the one who committed these crimes, but wanted to take the plea deal anyway because of the possible risk of an even longer sentence if he would be convicted during a trial.

“I apologize for wasting your time,” Shiflett said prior to sentencing.

Shiflett, 33, Niles, formerly of Salem, pleaded guilty on Oct. 21 to the charges from four different cases. He pleaded guilty to aggravated possession of drugs, a second-degree felony; aggravated trafficking in drugs, a second-degree felony; tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony; breaking and entering, fifth-degree felony; grand theft of a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony; aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony; and three counts of fifth-degree felony receiving stolen property. If all of those potential sentences were to have been run consecutive to each other, Shiflett could have spent 33 and a half years in prison and paid $57, 500 in fines.

Additionally, he pleaded guilty to another charge of receiving stolen property and aggravated possession of drugs, both fifth-degree felonies. One of those was for having a Diamond C dump trailer belonging to Lincoln Way Sales on July 18, 2019. Another was for hydromorphone in his possession on Dec. 25, 2018.

On March 27, 2020, Shiflett had a 1995 Honda EX ATV belonging to Theodore Cassinger.

On April 18, 2020, Shiflett was found to have a Kubota tractor and a homemade utility trailer belonging to Burton Hartley, as well as a carry-on utility trailer belonging to Charles Houshour. On the same date, he was also found to have methamphetamines for sale exceeding five times the bulk amount and buprenorphine. Ohio law mandates a prison sentence for large amounts of meth.

On April 28, 2020, Shiflett broke into the county sheriff’s impound lot to try to take evidence out of his vehicle, which was being held there. On April 29, 2020, Shiflett was found to have methamphetamine.

Assistant County Prosecutor Alec Beech noted this was “an ongoing crime spree” where Shiflett was stealing the property of others due in part to his underlying drug problem. Shiflett also has multiple prior felony convictions, according to Beech.

Shiflett was credited with 464 days already served toward the sentence. Bickerton suggested Shiflett spend the time left on his sentence making a plan to do better, to stay clean and become a better father to his children.

“Your children deserve a better father than what you’ve given them so far,” Bickerton said when Shiflett pointed out he will not see his three children for a long time. “You’re a grown man. This nonsense has got to stop.”

djohnson@mojonews.com