By Marci Piltz
Record-Courier staff writer
A Randolph man was sentenced to 10 years in prison this week after pleading guilty to seven felony charges stemming from a string of break-ins in Portage County.
Brandon W. Ruyten, 36, of 4470 Fairgrounds Road, entered the plea and received the sentence from Portage County Common Pleas Judge Laurie Pittman.
According to previous statements by Portage County Sheriff Duane Kaley, Ruyten was arrested earlier this year following an investigation by detective Trent Springer and Beth Hurd into a string of robberies. The robberies occurred throughout the county, including in Randolph, Atwater, Charlestown, Franklin and Ravenna townships and in the city of Kent, Kaley said.
Ruyten was indicted on two separate cases, the first in January. That indictment charged him with three counts of burglary, all second-degree felonies, according to court records.
The second case stemmed from an April indictment by a Portage County grand jury and charged Ruyten with 10 counts of breaking and entering, all fifth-degree felonies; two counts of attempted breaking and entering; two counts of burglary, second-degree felonies; three counts of theft and one count of vandalism, all misdemeanors.
Portage County Prosecutor Victor Vigluicci said Ruyten was sentenced to five years on each of the two cases, and Pittman ordered the sentences to run consecutively for a total 10-year sentence.
"The sheriff's office really solved quite a few burglaries and breaking and entering cases with this guy," Vigluicci said.
Ruyten, who has been in the Portage County jail since his January arrest, soon will be transferred to the custody of the Ohio Department of Corrections to begin serving his prison term.