Ron Welch
Muskingum County Prosecutor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 26, 2026
Complex Investigation Results in Prison for Neighborhood Thieves
Case Minnich, 29, of Zanesville appeared last week in front of Judge Kelly Cottrill to receive his sentence for receiving stolen property and tampering with evidence.
After hearing statements during the hearing, Judge Cottrill sentenced Minnich to a sentence of three years in Ohio prison. Minnich’s prosecution was led by Assistant Prosecutor Lucas Howard.
Case Facts:
Minnich was the suspect of a significant number of theft offenses that were under investigation by Zanesville Detective Jason Keck when the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a stolen truck.
Monitoring the reports and comments from witnesses on Facebook, Detective Keck began searching for the vehicle. Keck found the vehicle on Lexington Avenue in the city.
Although the vehicle was unoccupied, Keck knew Minnich lived nearby. Gathering witness statements and videos from across the city, the detective was able to piece together Minnich’s travels from a downtown restaurant, to a well-known drug house on the South end of town, and ultimately to the place where the truck was abandoned.
Minnich’s passengers were identified in videos, but they would not cooperate with the investigation. Minnich was caught wearing matching clothing on video during an appearance in the Zanesville Municipal Court.
Detective Keck recalled a previous report where theft victims from Virginia Street reported items missing from their work site and was able to match items found in the stolen truck to those earlier thefts.
Finally, Keck was able to link Minnich’s Facebook page to advertisements of items stolen from the Muskingum County Fairgrounds. His investigation was complicated by Minnich’s interactions in the same area with John Goins, a different thief who was also targeting the same South-side neighborhood.
Last December, Judge Cottrill sentenced Goins to four to six years in prison for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, in a separate prosecution handled by Assistant Prosecutor Warren Edwards.
Both Minnich and Goins are no strangers to prison, each having numerous prior felony cases and prison sentences for similar behavior.
“Certain people in our society are incapable of being productive citizens,” said Prosecutor Ron Welch. “They have been given chances to change but refuse to do so. The lack of desire to be a law-abiding citizen is not rooted in poverty, race, or socio-economics, it is a choice. Criminals make choices to commit crimes and we will continue to hold them accountable as long as they do so. “
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