Methamphetamine & Murder: A Week In News

1. There were a lot of high-profile sentencings this week in Lake County.

Gary Stroud -- the former police officer and special deputy who murdered his wife with a hammer -- this Wednesday.

"I can't judge you -- not the sort of judgment you deserve," Judge Joseph Gibson said to Stroud. "That's going to come from something far beyond me, someone who doesn't have to run for public office."

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2. The next day, the man who was accused of trying to in prison.

James Richardson, 37, of Perry, pleaded guilty to the illegal assembly of chemicals for the manufacture of meth Thursday in Lake County Court of Common Pleas.

Richardson did not have much to say during the hearing. When given the chance to speak, he apologized and said he did what he did "because of the drugs."

3. Finally, Amandalyn Tomcany -- -- was sentenced to three months in jail.

She will also have to take alcohol and drug treatment classes, as well as a parenting course through Lake County Job and Family Services.

Her attorney, Public Defender Mandy Gwirtz, said Tomcany already understood she is an alcoholic and is seeking help.

"This isn't someone denying who her problem is," Gwirtz said.

Gwirtz also said that Tomcany realized part of her problem was her boyfriend, Kevin Payerchin.

Payerchin, 27, of Mentor, was . He was convicted of endangering children.

4. Even our usually upbeat Pet Pause column was somber this week.

News broke last week out of Mercer County, in western Ohio, that a hot car had claimed yet another dog's life — this time, that of a K-9 unit.

K-9 Zak had been left inside a parked patrol car on Wednesday afternoon while his handler, Deputy Chad Fortkamp, finished a traffic crash report inside the sheriff's office.

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5. A bright note on a mostly somber week: