A Lancaster man will spend at least 11 years in prison after admitting he tried to strangle two people while locked up at the Multi-County Juvenile Detention Center, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty on March 30 to two counts of attempted murder and one count of felonious assault.
Court Hands Down Sentence
Prosecutors said 20-year-old Anthony Allen was indicted by a Fairfield County grand jury in November 2025 and was being held in Fairfield County on Licking County juvenile charges at the time of the attacks. Allen pleaded guilty on March 30, and Judge Richard Berens imposed an 11- to 16.5-year prison term at a hearing on Tuesday. As reported by 10TV, prosecutors laid out the plea agreement and sentencing recommendations in court.
According to prosecutors, the charges grew out of two separate incidents at the Lancaster facility, where Allen allegedly used his handcuffs to try to strangle a corrections officer and later attempted the same against another juvenile. Court filings also say he wrote journal entries expressing homicidal intent, material the prosecution underscored at sentencing. "Anything less would demean the seriousness of these offenses," Judge Richard Berens said, according to 10TV.
Inside The Detention Center
The Multi-County Juvenile Detention Center in Lancaster operates as a joint district serving Fairfield, Hocking, Licking, and Perry counties, providing secure beds for youth awaiting court action, according to state auditors. A board representing the four counties governs the center, and state audit documents spell out how the district is structured and what role it plays in the region. The Ohio Auditor's Office describes the facility's governance and responsibilities.
Why It Matters
Violent incidents inside juvenile facilities reignite long-running debates about staff safety, the use of restraints and whether secure detention actually helps or harms the young people held there. Research and advocacy groups say incarceration can worsen outcomes for youth and note that disciplinary practices such as mechanical restraints are still common in many facilities, prompting calls for alternatives and tighter oversight. Prison Policy Initiative research highlights those trends and the broader policy fights they continue to fuel.
What Comes Next
With the sentence now on the books in Fairfield County, prosecutors said they had a "vested interest in pursuing the case," and the local docket reflects Allen's guilty plea and the prison term ordered by the court. The Licking County juvenile matters that led to his original detention remain part of his legal history, and defense filings or post-sentencing motions could still surface. Officials did not immediately say where Allen will serve his prison term.
