BRYAN — A Bryan man is awaiting sentencing next week in Williams County Common Pleas Court here after recently entering a plea in his attempted murder/rape case.
Sammy Celestine II, 43, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and two counts of rape, each a first-degree felony. This includes repeat violent offender (RVO) and sexual motivation specifications.
The RVO increases the potential penalty imposed upon Celestine from 1-10 years. Each of the other charges carries terms of 3-11 years.
Two additional counts of attempted murder and two other counts of rape, all first-degree felonies, will be dismissed at sentencing as part of the plea agreement between Williams County Prosecutor Katherine Zartman’s office and Celestine’s attorney, Aaron Cook of Bryan.
Celestine’s sentencing has been scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Williams County Common Pleas Court. According to Assistant Prosecutor Nicholas Fee, who handled the state’s case, his office has recommended a prison term of at least 12 years.
Celestine was being held Tuesday in the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio where he has been incarcerated since his arrest on the charges in 2022.
His bond ($500,000) was revoked after he entered his guilty pleas, according to court documents. This came on the day Celestine’s case was scheduled to go before a jury at trial.
A Williams County grand jury had returned an indictment against Celestine in December 2022, alleging a series of crimes against a former girlfriend on Nov. 26, 2022.
According to Fee, he and the victim “were in an on-again, off-again relationship for about a year,” and had had “incidents of violent, and this one got very violent.”
Fee noted that Celestine kept the victim from leaving his apartment in Bryan, then struck her multiple times, strangled her on three occasions, attempted to force her to take prescription medicine and forced himself upon her sexually several times. He also had held a knife to her in different places, causing superficial cuts, according to Fee.
He said initially she tried to leave the apartment, but when Celestine restrained her, she stayed for some time before going to her workplace a couple days later and disclosing that day what had happened.
Asked to comment on the case’s resolution, Fee said “I know that our office is pleased with the result. We were confident we would be able to prove all the charges, but for the victim’s sake I think this was a great resolution.”
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