Guilty plea in cold case investigation

SIDNEY, Ohio (WDTN) - Vance Allen Short pleaded guilty Wednesday in Shelby County Common Pleas Court to reduced charges brought against him in the cold case murder of Gregory A. Trapp in May of 1998.

Charges of aggravated murder and murder were dismissed and Short admitted to charges of conspiracy to commit murder and complicity to commit aggravated burglary, both felonies of the first degree.

A bill of information was presented to the court Wednesday afternoon shortly before he changed his plea. According to Shelby County Sheriff John Lenhart, the deal had been discussed prior to the change of plea.

"I would say it has been in consideration for a short period of time and that the prosecution and defense were talking," said Lenhart. "It came about from Mr. Trapp being released. At that point Mr. Short decided he wanted to plead."

A co-defendant in the case, William Trapp Jr., the victim's brother, was released from custody recently due to severe health problems.

Short could face up to 10 years in prison on each count. The special prosecutor and defense attorney recommended to Judge William Zimmerman that Short receive 14 years in prison. Each charge could also bring a $20,000 fine. Zimmerman ordered a pre-sentence investigation and Short could be sentenced within the next six weeks.

Lenhart commended the initial investigators with laying a good foundation for the cold case squad. "First of all I want to thank the cold case officers," said Lenhart. "All the former personnel that worked with the deputies and the cold case squad did a great job. It's all about teamwork."

Lenhart also added that homicides traditionally can go for a long period of time without a resolution and said he is happy to see this case resolved. "It's a conclusion to a case that is 13 years old," said Lenhart. "Chris Wagner, the special prosecutor, did a great job of bringing this to conclusion and I also complement Judge Zimmerman. For him to step up to the plate and take this case rather than us having a visiting judge from another area saved Shelby County taxpayers a lot of money."

Short and Trapp were originally charged in January 2011. The state recently dropped all charges against Trapp due to his failing health.

Short was also previously convicted of tampering with evidence in connection with the case several months after the murder. He reportedly removed two duffel bags from the scene of the murder and hid them in a nearby woods. He later said that the bags contained marijuana and he had hidden them in an attempt to protect Greg Trapp.

He was sentenced in 1999 to probation for his misdemeanor conviction for tampering with evidence, but he was ordered in 2001 to serve a prison term of 18 months which had been suspended on a probation violation charge, after he was charged in Miami County on several counts of forgery and receiving stolen property.