A Waterloo man shortened his trip through the judicial system Wednesday by pleading guilty to the charge against him at his arraignment in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court.

James Shuff, 30, of 2550 County Road 210, admitted to Judge D. Scott Bowling he was guilty of improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle.

Bowling sentenced Shuff to four years community control sanctions under intensive supervised probation (CCS/ISP) plus 200 hours of community service.

Typically arraignments are the time at which the prosecutor’s office formally presents the charge or charges against a person, who typically pleads not guilty.

The arraignment is usually followed by pretrial conferences in front of a judge, who typically sets a trial date if the person does not plead guilty beforehand.

Also Wednesday, Albert Jenkins, 30, of 630 Lawrence St., Ironton, admitted he violated his community control sanctions, also known as probation, by testing positive for drug use, getting into new trouble leading to new charges and by misleading his probation officer about his use of illicit drugs.

Bowling sentenced Jenkins to 30 days in jail and 200 hours of community service and ordered him to continues with his probation.

“My client, I think, has learned his lesson. He’s had a pretty big scare from this. His girlfriend is having a baby at the end of June and he wants to be there when the baby is born,” Jenkins’ attorney, Warren Morford said.

Jake Dodson, 18, of 322 Ridgeway St., Coal Grove, pleaded guilty to one count of theft. Bowling sentenced him to four years CCS/ISP and ordered him to successfully complete a rehabilitation program at the STAR Community Justice Center and 200 hours of community service.

Dodson was one of two men accused of stealing metal parts from Mid Continental Coal and Coke Co. His cohort, David A. Jackson, 31, of 315 Ridgeway St., Coal Grove has already pleaded guilty to the same charge.

Dodson’s attorney, Mike Gleichauf, characterized his client as a young man who “made a poor decision” that led to his brush with the law.

Kayla Barry, 20, of 11287 County Road 1, Chesapeake, was sentenced to four years CCS/ISP after she previously pleaded guilty to one count of theft. Bowling also ordered her to pay $4,205 in restitution to her victim and perform 200 hours of community service.

Julian Russell, 31, of 766 Township Road 278S, Chesapeake, pleaded guilty on a bill of information to two counts of breaking and entering.