Updated: Deputy pleads guilty

NORWALK — A Huron County sheriff's deputy pleaded guilty in Norwalk Municipal Court on Thursday to a count of dereliction of duty. Deputy Shannon Lyons, who is the cousin of Sheriff Todd Corbin, received a suspended 90-day jail sentence, a $100 fine and court fees, according to Norwalk Municipal Court records. The Register and Reflector made public records requests Monday morning to the Ashland County Sheriff's Department for its reports related to the case, records from Norwalk Municipal Court as well as records from the Huron County Sheriff's Office related to Lyons' employment status with the office and his personnel records. The case against Lyons was investigated by the Ashland County Sheriff's Office, according to a document from the Norwalk Municipal Court. A date listed in the court record matches the date a search warrant was executed by Huron County Sheriff deputies that was later investigated by the Ashland County Sheriff's Office. In that investigation, a probe looked into evidence purportedly going missing from the inventory of property seized during a warrant search conducted by the Huron County sheriff's deputies. The Ashland County Sheriff's Office confirmed it conducted an administrative investigation of the missing evidence allegation but later stated it never completed it because Huron County Chief Deputy David Ditz asked it to stop investigating, an assertion confirmed in an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation report. In the past, prior to becoming a deputy, Lyons was charged with domestic violence, theft, obstruction and disorderly conduct, according to records previously obtained from the Sandusky and Perkins police. In all, there are more than 120 pages in three different arrest and incident reports that list Lyons as a criminal suspect. He was ages 19 and 22 when he was arrested. Huron County Chief Deputy Dave Ditz confirmed to the Reflector that an internal investigation conducted in reference to Lyons' criminal case is complete and the agency is "awaiting a copy of the results." It was not immediately clear how Lyons' plea would impact his employment at the sheriff's office. Corbin and Huron County prosecutor James Sitterly did not respond to requests for comment by deadline Monday.