Jayden Campbell
A change of plea hearing for a local man facing charges ranging from auto theft to leaving the scene of an accident is scheduled for Monday.
The hearing for Jayden Michael Campbell, 33, of 630 Beatty Lane was originally scheduled to be held Feb. 7 in Bartholomew Superior Court 1. But Campbell asked that his plea hearing be held concurrently with a pre-trial conference at 11 a.m. on Monday.
Campbell is charged with a Level 3 felony count of possession of methamphetamine; a Level 6 felony of resisting law enforcement, and two misdemeanor charges: driving without ever receiving a license and leaving the scene of an accident.
Although prosecutors had also originally charged him with being a felon carrying a handgun, as well as possession of an altered handgun, those two charges were dismissed on Oct. 17, 2019.
The defendant was arrested July 15, 2019 for fleeing on a motorcycle after a Columbus Police Department officer tried to stop him. The officer attempted to stop Campbell near State and Brooks streets, but the suspect increased his speed and disregarded a nearby stop sign when the officer activated his police car’s emergency lights, Columbus Police spokesman Lt. Matt Harris said.
A short time later, the officer located Campbell’s wrecked motorcycle near Fodrea Elementary School in an alley near Brooks Street and Kentucky Avenue. During a search of the property left by Campbell, the officers located a loaded handgun with the serial number removed as well as methamphetamine, Harris said. Campbell was taken into custody a short time later outside a residence on South Hinman Street, Harris said.
In a separate case that will also be part of Monday’s hearing, Campbell is charged with a Level 6 felony count of auto theft; a Level 6 charge of theft where the value of property is between $50,000 and $750,000; and driving without a license, a misdemeanor.
These charges stem from the theft of a GMC Yukon from a home off South Gladstone Avenue on New Year’s Day, 2019. Campbell was found driving the sports utility vehicle with a damaged steering column one day later. About $5,800 of tools that were in the back of the Yukon were gone, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The defendant missed two separate local court hearings in both 2020 and last year because he was reportedly in federal custody on unrelated court proceedings.
In total, seven change of plea hearings, two jury trials and several other court dates in the local court have been postponed for Campbell since his arrest. However, online court records state a number of those delays were due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
