Judge delays sentence for ex-Springboro teacher, citing coronavirus concern in jail

A judge has stayed execution of a six-month jail term for a former Springboro teacher another 90 days following a status conference Tuesday in Warren County Common Pleas Court.

Judge Donald E. Oda II issued the stay for Amy Panzeca, 51, who was convicted in a bench trial in February 2019 for permitting drug abuse and contributing to the delinquency of children, including her son.

Panzeca was seeking a modification of the six-month jail sentence that Oda imposed in 2019 and was affirmed on Feb. 3, 2020 by the 12th District Court of Appeals in Middletown.

In his entry, Oda said, “The Court finds the Defendant’s health issues, when combined with the COVID-19 risks associated with a lengthy jail time stay, warrant that imposition of jail time continue to be stayed.”

He said the prosecutors reserved the right to respond to the motion in writing.

Oda said another status conference will be set for Jan. 14, 2021.

The case stems from traffic stops in 2017 by Springboro police and a raid in May 2017 by the Warren County Drug Task Force of the Panzeca home in the Settlers Walk community in Springboro.

The son was accused of selling LSD and marijuana to as many as 30 Springboro kids, some of the drugs acquired online with Bitcoin with his mother’s help.

He pleaded no contest to charges of trafficking in drugs and possession of controlled substances and was sentenced in December 2017.

Panzeca resigned her job as a teacher in Springboro school district where she worked for 23 years.

The appeals court ruled Panzeca’s conviction for permitting drug abuse was supported by sufficient evidence and that the trial court did not err in her case.

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