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Monday, February 10, 2025

Local man placed back on probation after appeal

Adam Gaiters, 46, of Zanesville was returned to the supervision of the Muskingum County Adult Probation department Monday morning by Judge Kelly Cottrill.

In an unusual development, Gaiters had previously pled guilty to tampering with evidence, assault, and falsification, with an agreement that he serve jail time and be placed on community control. After Gaiters served time in the local jail, the probation department filed a motion asking his community control be terminated unsuccessfully, and a judge signed the order without a hearing.

The Muskingum County Prosecutor’s Office appealed that decision on behalf of the victim of the crime. Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Palmer was successful in arguing that under Marsy’s Law, the victim had a Constitutional right to be present and heard concerning the probation termination motion.

The Fifth District Court of Appeals agreed and sent the case back, which is how it ended up before Judge Cottrill.

During a hearing on the issue, Assistant Prosecutor John Litle explained how the case developed.

In December of 2023, Gaiters was driving his vehicle when he became offended at the victim’s driving. He followed the victim to the victim’s friend’s house, confronting the two while claiming to have called the police. Without waiting, Gaiters spun his car tires out, driving towards the victim who had to hit his hood while getting out of the way.

Gaiters, now more enraged, exited his vehicle and charged at the victim, tackling him to the ground.

Gaiters then fled the scene.

Responding law enforcement officers took basic reports and then tracked down Gaiters who made a claim that the victim did thousands of dollars of damage to his car. When the reporting officers returned to the victim, they questioned him about the damages.

Ultimately, Gaiters went to a local body shop and got an estimate for damages on his truck which he turned in to law enforcement, dishonestly claiming the damages were due to the victim’s actions.

The victim’s father was able to obtain records from the same body shop demonstrating that Gaiters had turned in the same exact damages months earlier – proving with zero doubt that he was lying in order to frame an innocent 20-year-old in the matter.

Litle explained that, throughout the process, many things occurred which might leave any person frustrated with the legal system. There were issues with how the investigation began and progressed, and the victim was frustrated with the prosecutor’s office’s decision that the concussion injury in the case did not elevate the assault charge to a felony.

Finally, the victim was frustrated when seemingly out of nowhere, the punishment that Gaiters was receiving was terminated in a way that seemed hidden, and without his even having a say.

The victim was able to make a lengthy statement to Judge Cottrill who reviewed the matter and determined that Gaiters should remain on community control, ruling that the time passed between the prior erroneous termination and that morning’s hearing would be tolled, meaning that it would not count towards the full duration of the probation period.

“This case was extremely frustrating for the victim in this case,” according to Litle. “Employees at my office, myself included, spent dozens of hours getting the case into a position where it could actually be prosecuted in the first place, so some of that frustration is shared.

“It is our hope to ensure that all victims in our county have a voice, even if that doesn’t necessarily result in the exact outcome that they desire, and that effort has been well-demonstrated in the substantial efforts put into this case before, during, and after its prosecution.”

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