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September 2009
Man who raped, murdered young girl dies in prison
This didn’t happen in Dayton but Jessica Lunsford has family in Springfield and Warren County and this story gripped the country four years ago:
The Associated Press is reporting that the man who kidnapped, raped and buried alive 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford in 2005 died today, Sept. 30, of cancer.
John Evander Couey was removed from his prison cell and taken to a Jacksonville hospital shortly before his death, according to a Florida Department of Corrections spokeswoman.
Lunsford, whose mother lives in Warren County and has family in Springfield was kidnapped and raped by Couey, put in a trash bag and buried alive in Citrus County Florida in October 2005. Couey was sentenced to death for the brutal murder in 2007.
Travis Lunsford, 22, of Springfield, was 18 when his cousin was murdered and said the incidents are still too painful to talk about.
“I wish he could have suffered like she did,” Travis said. “He can’t touch another child like that again and that’s a good thing.”
TweetDetectives looking into shooting over clothes
DAYTON - Detectives are looking into the shooting of a 22-year-old who was hit in the arm after an argument over clothes.
Police were called to the 5000 of Northcrest Avenue about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, and found the victim shot in the arm.
The man was taken to Miami Valley Hospital and expected to recover, police said. The shooter has not been located.
Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to call 333-COPS.
TweetOne Tasered, three arrested at arson scene
DAYTON - A fire that roared through a two-story vacant house at 515 N. Broadway Avenue Tuesday night, Sept. 29, was set on purpose, arson investigators have determined.
Investigators found an accelerant was used to start the fire, which caused about $20,000 worth of damage to the home, fire officials said.
While firefighters battled the blaze, police said Ricky Mattison, 51, Shawn Mattison, 44, and Ronald L. Brodie, 43, were intoxicated and bothering officers trying to block of roads around the fire.
Officers approached the men, who refused to follow orders to stay out of the street and away from the scene, police said.
Ricky Mattison became combative and would not cooperate with police, according to a police report. Officers had to Taser Ricky Mattison in order to get him to comply, police said.
“In this case, this is an extremely dangerous situation,” Sgt. Wendy Stiver said. “Our job is to keep anybody who’s not wearing protective gear as far away from the scene as possible.”
All three men were arrested on misdemeanor charges of misconduct during an emergency and obstructing official business, according to Montgomery County Jail records.
Ricky Mattison also faces a misdemeanor resisting arrest charge. All three have court hearings set for today at 1:30 p.m., according to jail records.
Police said there is no evidence at this time the men were involved in the house fire.
Dayton Fire Department Capt. Mike Kenney said flames and heavy smoke could be seen coming from the home when crews arrived.
It appears the fire started on the first floor and when crews pulled their lines to the front door “the whole first floor lit up with fire,” Kenney said.
It took crews 15 to 20 minutes to put out the fire. There were no injuries or electric service to the home, Kenney said.
TweetMurder charge approved in social worker’s slaying
DAYTON - Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias Heck has approved an aggravated murder charge against the 21-year-old gang member accused of killing social worker Stephen Branham.
Cordell Mitchell Jr. has been in jail since Thursday night after the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force arrested him at 915 Steele Ave. Sheriff Phil Plummer said Mitchell has confessed to killing Branham and handed over what authorities believe is the murder weapon.
Mitchell also faces two felony counts of aggravated robbery and one felony count of having weapons while under disability, Heck’s spokesman Greg Flannagan said. The robbery and murder charges also carry three-year firearm specifications, which could mean additional prison time for Mitchell.
A grand jury still has to indict Mitchell. A court date has not been set.
Investigators said Mitchell and another man tried to rob Branham near Branham’s residence in the 4300 block of Springcreek Drive in the early hours of Sept. 6.
Branham, 46 and a well-regarded social worker who facilitated classes on anger management for violent offenders, had just returned from a local club when he confronted Mitchell, Plummer said.
During the confrontation, Branham was shot twice, Plummer said. Plummer said Branham was an innocent victim killed “for nothing.”
The second suspect, who is known to investigators, could also face charges related to Branham’s death, Plummer said.
Mitchell, Plummer said, is a member of the Balla Boy Mafia, a small gang with ties to the Dayton View Hustlers, which has emerged in the last year as the most violent gang in the area.
He was convicted of felonious assault with a deadly weapon in April 2007 and was released in December, court records show.
Branham was the area’s 38th homicide this year. You can check his and the 38 others by clicking here.
TweetKettering man killed in car accident
DAYTON - David Matthews was the man killed Monday, Sept. 28, in a wreck involving an SUV and heavy-duty truck, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s office.
Matthews, 45, of Kettering, died on the way to Miami Valley Hospital after he was removed from his Dodge Durango at the intersection of Stanley Avenue and Webster Street, according to police.
Matthews’ Durango or the truck, a hydraulic auger used to dig holes for utility poles, ran a red light at Stanley Avenue and Webster Street about 4:54 p.m., fire officials said Monday.
Police are still trying to determine who was at fault in the crash.
Two occupants in the truck were out of the vehicle when rescue units arrived. Neither was injured.
TweetOne sent to hospital after downtown crash
DAYTON - A three-car accident has been cleared from the intersection of East Fifth and Jefferson streets about 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28, after one person was removed to Miami Valley Hospital.
The person suffered non-life threatening injuries and crews are still investigating the cause of the crash, said a sergeant with the police department’s dispatch center.
The accident caused crews to shut down portions of East Fifth Street for less than 30 minutes, according to police radio traffic.
No other information is available at this time.
Tweet12-year-old’s new cell phone receives obscene texts
DAYTON - Officers spent a few hours Saturday, Sept. 26, trying to find out who was sending a 12-year-old girl pornographic text messages to her cell phone.
They determined that the girl recently got a new a cell phone number that had been previously used by someone else and then disconnected, police said.
They tracked the phone number assigned to the written messages, and after talking to the sender, determined the messages were meant for an adult, police said.
No criminal charges were filed against the person who sent the messages and the case is now closed.
TweetPregnant woman says she was slapped, kicked in stomach
DAYTON - Detectives are investigating the report of an assault of a 19-year-old pregnant woman who said another woman slapped and kicked her in the stomach Saturday, Sept. 26.
Police responded to the 2800 block of North Main Street about 11 p.m. after the woman, who is eight months pregnant, said two women entered her home and one of them started throwing things, according to a police report.
The pregnant woman said she told the couple to get out of her house, but was assaulted. She said the woman throwing things, whom she knows, slapped and then kicked her in the stomach, the report stated.
The victim said she knows the woman who kicked her and the two have a bad history. She reported to have some cramps after being kicked and was going to check with doctors about the condition of her unborn child, police said.
The suspect is known to police, but has not been arrested at this time.
TweetDayton men among six arrested in rape of Kentucky woman
DAYTON - Six movers from the Dayton area were arrested in Hazard, Ky., Thursday, Sept. 24, after an adult woman accused them of raping and sodomizing her in a Super 8 motel room.
Leslie G. Ivory, 43, of Dayton, Terry Bolin, 34, of Cincinnati, James W. Devoe, 20, of Lewistown, and Doyne S. Glass, 34, of Miamisburg, are in a Kentucky jail each on a felony rape charge, Hazard Police Chief Deputy Joe Engle said Friday.
Tajh E. Barton, 21, and Carlos Robinson, 20, both from Dayton, are in Clay County Jail in southeast Kentucky, Engle said. Both men are charged with one felony count of sodomy.
The adult woman said she was raped and sexually assaulted by a group of men from Ohio who worked for Lewis and Michael Inc., a Dayton moving company, Engle said.
She said the men raped her after she passed out in the motel room. Witnesses later spotted the woman passed out in a pickup truck at another hotel, Engle said.
When police arrived she was still passed out, but woke up and led officers to the movers’ motel room where they found about a dozen men, Engle said.
Citing police reports, The Hazard Herald newspaper reported that witnesses to the incident said Ivory, Bolin, Devoe and Glass had sex with the woman. One witness said Ivory later cleaned the woman off in the shower.
The newspaper also reported Barton and Robinson admitted to police they performed oral sex on the woman.
“We interviewed all of them and based on the physical evidence and those interviewed, we arrested those six individuals,” Engle said.
The movers were working a job in Hazard that involved moving furniture from an old library to a new library, Engle said.
Dave Lewis, owner of Lewis and Michael, said he is aware of the situation. “I have no comment other than I am as alarmed as any citizen would be. It’s a bad situation in a bad area,” Lewis said.
TweetFather, son return to find prison buddy burglarizing home
DAYTON - A father and son wrestled and held captive for police a man one of them knew from prison who allegedly tried to burglarize their house Thursday, Sept. 24.
The men returned from grocery shopping about 4 p.m. in the 100 block Linden Avenue to find a black Chevy Cavalier parked in their driveway and the front door open, according to a police report.
One of the men ran around to the front of the house to find a television and VCR unplugged near the front door, the report stated. Both men then noticed Kelly J. Burke, 41, standing in a bedroom.
The men went inside, locked the door and confronted Burke, realizing he was a friend with one of the men from a 2004 prison sentence, the report stated.
Burke at first threw his hands up in the air and tried to talk with the men, the report stated. But the victims weren’t buying it and started to fight with Burke.
The victims did notice two other men run outside the house who fled in the Cavalier, the report stated. When officers arrived Burke was yelling, “I was here for you,” talking to his old friend from prison, the report stated.
Burke was arrested on felony aggravated burglary and burglary charges. He has a court date scheduled for Monday at 1:30 p.m. The victims said they had no idea how Burke knew they lived at the house, the report stated.
Police are still looking for the men that fled in the Cavalier. Anyone with information is urged to call 333-COPS.
TweetMedics ‘can’t believe’ what they find at crash scene
DAYTON - Fire department medics on the scene this morning, Sept. 25, of an automobile accident in the 400 block of Kammer Avenue arrived and said they “can’t believe” what they found.
One of the vehicles involved in the accident was cut in half by the accident and the driver fled in another vehicle, police said.
Additional emergency crews were headed to the scene about 11:30 a.m. and police were looking for the driver. It is unclear if anyone was hurt or what caused the crash.
Stay with DaytonDailyNews.com for more information on this story.
TweetMan shot in neck taken to hospital, then jail
DAYTON - A 27-year-old man who told officers he was the gunshot victim involved in a neighborhood argument was the one who initiated the incident and has been arrested, police said this morning, Sept. 24.
Richard Forbus Jr. was taken to Miami Valley Hospital about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday after he was shot in the neck, police said. He has since been taken to Montgomery County Jail on felonious assault and illegal discharge of a firearm charges, jail records show.
Forbus at first lied to officers about what happened in the 600 block of Huffman Avenue and tried to portray himself as the victim, according to police.
But after talking with witnesses, detectives determined it was Forbus who started arguing with three people on a front porch and then left after threatening to shoot them, police said.
Forbus returned and started shooting at the people on the porch, according to police. One of the people on the porch had a gun and returned fire, hitting Forbus in the neck, police said.
It is unknown what the argument was about, but detectives said it was an ongoing dispute.
It appears the person who shot Forbus was acting in self defense and has not been charged with any crime at this time.
Jail records show Forbus has been arrested in the county nine times since 2001 on charges from drug possession to aggravated robbery. He is expected in court today at 1:30 p.m.
TweetMan shot in back over words about girlfriend
DAYTON - An 18-year-old man shot in the back while walking his girlfriend and her baby has been upgraded by doctors at Miami Valley Hospital from critical to serious condition this morning, Sept. 24.
The victim, whose name is being withheld, was walking in the 100 block of Bragg Place about 7 p.m. Wednesday when three men jumped out of a Buick Rendezvous and an argument ensued, according to police.
A confrontation between the victim and at least one of the three men ensued after someone from the group made a comment about the victim’s 20-year-old girlfriend related to her “physical appearance,” Sgt. Gary White said.
The woman fled the scene with the baby in her arms, but was later found unharmed, police said.
Homicide detectives have a nickname of one of the shooters, but have made no arrests as of 11:30 a.m., White said.
Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to call (937) 333-COPS.
TweetCouple stops to admire car, gets shot at and robbed
DAYTON - Police are looking for a 40-year-old man with a medium build who robbed and shot a couple who stopped to admire the paint job of a car Wednesday, Sept. 23.
The couple said they stopped in the 4400 block of Greenwich Village Avenue about 11:20 a.m. when the gunman approached and put a gun to the 31-year-old man’s head, according to a police report.
The man asked him if the gunman was “serious,” and if we was going to “shoot me in front of my wife,” the report stated. The gunman replied, “I’m a geeker. It’s what I do,” the report stated.
A geeker is commonly known as someone who sells or uses crack, according to police.
The gunman was able to get away with $1,000 from the couple, along with the 31-year-old man’s cell phone and wallet, the report stated.
The couple said they refused to leave the scene and saw the gunman after he ran off, the report stated. The gunman told them to get off his “block,” and fired four to five shots at them, the couple told officers.
Neither of them was hit by the bullets.
The couple told police they saw the gunman run into a house at 4433 Greenwich Village and there, officers found the stolen wallet and cell phone, the report stated.
There was no one inside the home, the report stated. Neighbors refused to cooperate with police. Anyone with information about the robbery is urged to call police at 333-COPS.
TweetMen pushing vehicle down road get officer’s attention
DAYTON - A 21-year-old man was arrested by police Wednesday, Sept. 23, after an officer noticed him pushing a stolen vehicle down Fountain Avenue.
Yhanteg Morrell and another man were pushing a GMC Jimmy the wrong way down a one-way street about 1:20 p.m. when Officer Gregory Mills ran the license plate of the vehicle through a police database, according to a police report.
The vehicle came back stolen as Morrell and another man pushed the SUV into a Marathon gas station, the report stated. Mills circled back around and when he returned, Morrell was inside the Jimmy, driving it away from the gas station.
Mills and another officer pulled the vehicle over without incident. Morrell, who does not have a driver’s license, told them a friend gave him the keys to the SUV, the report stated. His passenger was interviewed and then released.
Morrell was arrested on a felony receiving stolen property and misdemeanor driving without a valid license charges, the report stated. The owner of the vehicle was contacted and reclaimed the SUV as Morrell was taken to Montgomery County Jail.
Morrell is expected in court at 1:30 p.m. today.
TweetMan who beat victim over $29 arrested by U.S. Marshals
DAYTON - Deputy U.S. Marshals arrested a 27-year-old man this morning, Sept. 22, who police say severely beat and robbed a man in his home of $29.
Michael J. Goodpasture has been formally charged with one felony count of aggravated robbery and was booked into the Montgomery County Jail about 10:30 a.m. by deputies with the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strick Team.
It is at least the 35th time Goodpasture has been arrested since 2000, jail records show. It is unclear why Goodpasture is out of prison since he has been convicted twice in the last three years, once for felony robbery and once for aggravated felonious assault.
Dayton police said Goodpasture broke into a home in the 100 block of Springfield Street about 9:30 p.m. Sunday. Goodpasture allegedly beat his 45-year-old victim in the head, causing lacerations to the man’s eyes and mouth, according to a police report.
The victim said Goodpasture was introduced to him days before the robbery by a woman named Barbary Guffey who introduced Goodpasture as her brother.
Goodpasture showed up on the victim’s front porch Sunday, asking for a cigarette, the report stated. As the man went to get a cigarette, he said Goodpasture started hitting him in the head and asked, “Where’s the money,” the report stated.
The victim said Goodpasture threatened to “kill” him with a 3-inch knife if he didn’t give him the money, but the man said he only had $29 on him. Goodpasture took that, along with the man’s wallet, the report stated.
Police looking into Guffey’s role in the robbery, but have not filed any charges against her at this time.
“We are still investigating the incident and will present any relevant charges to the Montgomery County Prosecutor,” Lt. Patrick Welsh said.
TweetMan Tasered after running from officers, police say
DAYTON - A man had to be Tasered and taken to jail today, Sept. 22, after police said he fled from officers and tried to hide behind a pile of dirt.
Christopher Blake, 36, was pulled over by officer Chris Pawleski about 3 a.m. this morning in the 100 block of Elmwood Avenue for a traffic violation, according to a police report.
Blake put his car in reverse and fled from Pawleski, the report stated. Backup officers arrived in the area and had to slam on their brakes in the 2100 block of North Main Street to avoid hitting Blake, the report stated.
Blake bailed out of his vehicle in the 2100 block of North Main Street, jumped a fence and tried to lay down next to a pile of dirt to hide from officers, the report stated.
Officers said Blake refused to put his hands behind his back, so they had to “dry stun,” or place their Taser between his shoulder blades and apply a quick stun, the report stated.
Blake complied and was taken to jail on misdemeanor charges of failure to comply, resisting arrest and obstructing official business.
It is unclear why Blake, who is a city waste collection worker, fled in the first place.
TweetFather runs from police, leaves 1-year-old behind
DAYTON - Officers who chased a 21-year-old man arrested twice in the last two months for driving under suspension made a surprising discovery Monday, Sept. 21, when they went to search his car.
Officers were stopped in the 1200 block of Danner Avenue about 11 a.m. after they briefly chased Durrell McCullom, who was driving a 1984 Chevy Camaro, according to a police report.
McCullom, known by police to drive without a license, bailed out of the Camaro and fled, the report stated. When officers returned to the Camaro after searching for McCullom they noticed his wallet in the car, the report stated.
An officer reached in to grab the wallet he uttered “There’s a baby back here,” the report stated. Officers said McCullom left his 1-year-old son in the vehicle and fled to a relative’s house nearby.
They found McCullom, after checking on the baby, when they heard him talking on the front porch of a home at 1646 Tampa Ave. McCullom denied putting the baby in danger, saying he was just running into his aunt’s house quickly to grab something, the report stated.
He was arrested on a misdemeanor child endangering charge, along with driving on a suspended license, the report stated. Court records show it is the third time in two months he has been arrested for driving under suspension.
Montgomery County Children’s Services arrived and placed the child with a relative.
The child’s mother, Monique Jackson, arrived and she too was arrested on outstanding warrants for driving without a license and failure to appear, the report stated.
TweetChild taken from mother after cops find needles, heroin
DAYTON - A 2-year-old boy is in the custody of Montgomery County Children’s Services and his 25-year-old mother in jail after officers said they found drug paraphernalia near his car seat Monday, Sept. 21.
An officers was patrolling the area near North Main Street and Grand Avenue about 1:40 a.m. Monday when he noticed a silver Pontiac Grand Am with Indiana license plates sitting at a traffic light, the report stated.
The officer recognized the car as the one outside a drug house earlier Monday morning, the report stated.
The driver, Crystal Shaw, crossed marked traffic lanes while trying to merge onto Interstate 75 and was pulled over by the officer. Shaw said she was traveling with her son and friend Chad Riley from Richmond, Ind., to pick up her aunt, who had been drinking, the report stated.
But the officer noticed a bloody napkin in the car and asked to search the vehicle, the report stated. A search of the car turned up .14 grams of heroin and needles used for heroin use, including some in a baggie less than 18 inches from Shaw’s 2-year-old son.
Shaw said some family members were diabetic and that’s what the needles were for, the report stated. She later told officers on the way to the Montgomery County Jail that Riley did not know about the heroin Shaw brought with them, the report stated.
It is unclear if she bought the heroin in Dayton or Indiana, police said.
Children’s Services responded to check on Shaw’s son and took custody of him after a suitable relative could not be located, the report stated. It is unclear if the baby will remain in foster care or returned to relatives.
Shaw was arrested on felony child endangering, drug possession charges and misdemeanor charge of possessing drug paraphernalia. Riley was arrested on possession of drug paraphernalia, the report stated.
Both were expected to appear in court today about 1:30 p.m., according to jail records.
Tweet72-year-old man who shot robber was target of another robbery
DAYTON - The 72-year-old man who shot a would-be robber was deliberately sought by his assailant and told police he is a known gambler who was targeted during a recent heist in Springfield. The suspect, Phillip D. Anderson, was under armed guard at Miami Valley Hospital on Monday, Sept. 21, two days after Bert Watts Sr. shot him using a .40 caliber 96 series Beretta . Watts said he was driving home when Anderson, 24, twice cut him off in traffic in the 300 block of Brooklyn Avenue before getting out of a 2002 white Chevy Monte Carlo armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, Dayton police said. Watts sat in his car as Anderson approached —Â his face covered — pointed the rifle at Watts and said, “You know what this is about,” according to a police report. Watts, who is licensed to carry a weapon, told police he pulled out his handgun and from his car fired two times at Anderson, then twice more as Anderson tried to hide behind a car, according to police. Anderson fled, but later was dropped off at Miami Valley Hospital by someone in a silver van, according to police. He is expected to survive two gunshot wounds, police said. Watts told officers Anderson might have tried to rob him because he is known to carry a lot of cash. Watts also told officers he was the target of a recent robbery attempt in Springfield where two gunmen barged in on a “gambling game” and asked “Where was the old man at?” Police have not said whether Anderson is involved in both robbery attempts. Montgomery County prosecutors have approved aggravated robbery charges against him stemming from Saturday’s incident. No charges against Watts are expected, Lt. Brian Johns said.
TweetMan wounded in drive-by shooting while taking out trash
DAYTON - Police are looking for at least one gunman who drove down an alley near Oakridge Drive in a newer-model black Chevy Impala SS and shot a man in the leg Sunday, Sept. 20.
The 18-year-old male victim was dumping trash into a city-issued bin in the 2300 block of Oakridge about 4 a.m. when he said he heard a car speed up in his direction, according to a police report.
The victim said he was visiting his uncle and was trying to get back into the house when he heard three shots, the report stated. The victim said he knew he was shot immediately and friends drove him to the hospital, the report stated.
Officers noticed a medium-sized bullet hole in the victim’s calf. They did not find any shell casings or other bullet holes where the victim said he was shot, the report stated.
The victim could not provide a detailed description of the shooter(s), the report stated.
Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to call 333-COPS.
TweetMan formally charged with sexually assaulting toddler
DAYTON - A 24-year-old Hispanic man has been formally by Montgomery County prosecutors for gross sexual imposition involving his roommate’s 3-year-old son.
Ronald Azofeifa-Cruz was arrested about 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, on felony sexual assault, assault and resisting arrest charges, according to a police report. Police said Asofeifa-Cruz had sexual contact with the toddler.
Officers responded to the 100 block of N. Garland Ave. on the report of an assault, according to police. There, witnesses said Azofeifa-Cruz assaulted his roommate’s child, police said.
Officers found the suspect in an upstairs bedroom, police said. While being escorted to a police cruiser Azofeifa-Cruz charged at officers, but was restrained without further incident, according to police.
Assistant prosecutors approved a felony gross sexual imposition charge against Azofeifa-Cruz Sunday, Lt. Patrick Welsh, declining to give anymore details about the case.
He has a court hearing scheduled for today at 1:30 p.m., according to jail records.
TweetLocal gang member wanted by FBI arrested by U.S. Marshals
DAYTON - U.S. Marshals this week arrested a local gang member wanted by the FBI on federal weapons and drugs charges.
Torey A. Carter, 34, was arrested Monday, Sept. 14, by U.S. Marshals in Dayton and has been taken to the Butler County Jail, according to jail records. Carter is a member of the Dayton View Hustlers, a violent gang rooted in the city’s Dayton View neighborhood.
Carter was mentioned by an FBI official on Sept. 4 as a wanted man for his involvement in gun-related and gang-related crimes.
Dwayne Smith, 29, another known member of the Dayton View Hustlers, or DVH, was arrested Sept. 4 at his home on the west side of Dayton, FBI spokesman Eric Thomas said.
Authorities with the Safe Streets Task Force also arrested Anthony M. Craver Jr., 19, on federal gun and drug possession charges, Thomas said. Craver is not a member of DVH.
Both have been placed in federal custody.
Federal and local authorities are still looking for DVH member Sean Reid, 35, on weapons and drug charges.
Authorities have been focusing their efforts on the DVH gang after members sparked a series of shootings in April and May that left a high-ranking member of the gang, Thomas Tom-Tom Watson, dead.
Watson’s murder sparked a series of retaliation shootings, including one at a local church during a funeral service for homicide victim Raymond “Byrd” McDaniel.
TweetFacebook helps nab ignorant burglar
It turns out Facebook is also a site for dumb criminals, courtesy of the Martinsburg (W. Va., Journal-News):
The popular social networking Web site Facebook helped police in Martinsburg, W. Va., track down a thief who checked his Facebook page on the victim’s computer and forgot to log out before leaving.
Jonathan Parker, 19, of Fort Loudoun Pa., appeared in court this week on one count of burglary, The Journal-News reported.
Parker allegedly stole two diamond rings from the home on Aug. 28, but before leaving, logged on to the victims computer to check his friends’ status updates, the newspaper reported.
Police there said Parker broke into the home by crawling through a bedroom window. The victim’s friend knew Parker and led police to him.
If convicted Parker faces one to 10 years in prison.
TweetWoman who shot daughter headed to court
DAYTON - The 44-year-old mother who police said accidentally shot her daughter is expected in court today, Sept. 17, on misdemeanor charges of negligent assault.
Nora Young, was handling a gun in her home in the 700 block of Westwood Avenue Tuesday night when she accidentally shot her 23-year-old daughter in the abdomen, police said.
Her daughter was taken to Miami Valley Hospital and has since been treated and released.
Young will appear in court about 1:30 p.m., according to Montgomery County Jail records.
TweetPregnant mother charged with burning infant in scalding water
DAYTON - A 20-year-old pregnant mother has been formally charged with one count of child endangering after police said she placed her 10-month-old infant daughter in 140-degree bath water.
Donnishia Peterson was questioned by officers about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, after the child was placed in a hot-water bath at 3709 E. Cornell Woods Drive, according to police.
The child suffered second-degree burns on her legs and feet from the water —Â skin peeling off her toes, police said. Officers responding to Dayton Children’s Medical Center said the child was in such bad shape they too became emotional.
Peterson told officers that a fan she was using to dry carpet fell on her infant and caused the burns, police said. But investigators said, according to doctors, that story is not true.
Police are not sure why Peterson did not check the water before placing the infant in it, Sgt. Judy Abshire said. It is also unclear why the water was so hot.
The infant is recovering from the burns at Dayton Children’s Medical Center and is expected to recover, police said.
Peterson, who is nearly nine months pregnant with her second child, was charged with a third-degree felony county of child endangering Thursday afternoon by county prosecutors.
Children’s Services is investigating the incident and has no prior cases involving Peterson or her daughter, spokeswoman Ann Stevens said. Upon release from the hospital, the infant will be place with a suitable relative or in foster care, Stevens said.
TweetSexual assault reported at restaurant near UD
DAYTON - Special Victims Unit detectives are investigating the report of a sexual assault of an employee at the Cold Stone Creamery near the University of Dayton campus.
A 20-year-old woman said a man came into the restaurant, at 135 Jasper St., about noon Wednesday, Sept. 16, and sexually assaulted her, according to police. Officers were dispatched at 12:06 p.m., according to a police report, which listed no witnesses to the assault.
The woman was not physically harmed during the altercation and a description of the suspect has not been released by police.
TweetInvestigators await crucial autopsy results in Troy woman’s slaying
DAYTON - Investigators with the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office are expected this morning, Sept. 16, to conclude an autopsy of the Troy woman found shot multiple times in a city-owned, yard-waste dump.
Crucial to the investigation is determining whether Melissa A. Moore, 27, was shot in the back while trying to flee her alleged attacker(s), the coroner’s director Ken Betz said.
Betz would not offer any details of the autopsy Wednesday afternoon, only to say Moore was shot more than three times.
Police said they have not identified any suspects in her death. Moore is the city’s 32nd homicide victim this year. Check out the other 31 by clicking here.
Moore’s decomposed body was found at 1820 N. Gettysburg Ave. early Tuesday morning by city maintenance workers, Sgt. Moises Perez said. The area Moore was found in is used to dump leaves, grass and other yard waste.
The area is off limits to the public and partially fenced off. Workers arrived Tuesday morning to mow some high grass in the open field, a street maintenance supervisor said.
Moore’s body had been there for several days, Perez said.
Moore has a 5-year-old son, but left her parents home a month ago after she started using crack again, her mother said Tuesday.
A missing person report was never filed, with Dayton or Troy police, investigators said.
Moore was arrested just last week by Dayton police after officers conducting a traffic stop of her Oldsmobile Bravada found a crack pipe in her day planner, according to a police report.
She appeared in Dayton Municipal Court the next day and on Sept. 10 pleaded guilty to a drug paraphernalia charge, according to court records.
Police want anyone with information about her death to call (937) 333-COPS.
TweetViolent stabbing sends man into surgery, another to jail
DAYTON - Officers arrested a 42-year-old man who witnesses said violent attacked another man with a knife, sending the victim into surgery at a local hospital.
Police responded to the 400 block of Quitman Street about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15, and found Anthony Johnson walking away from some apartments, according to a police report.
Johnson eventually listened to officers telling him to stop walking and show his hands, the report stated.
Once Johnson was placed in a police cruiser, officers found the victim with stab wounds on his arm and the kidney area of his torso, the report stated.
The 50-year-old victim said Johnson was drunk and insulted a group of people sitting on the front porch of an apartment, the report stated. The victim said he confronted Johnson and pushed him, the report stated.
The victim said Johnson pulled out a small knife and stabbed him. The man said he then fell to the ground and Johnson jumped on top of him.
Witnesses said Johnson repeatedly stabbed the victim before saying he was going to get his gun and “take care of the whole problem,” the report stated.
Johnson was arrested and taken to Montgomery County Jail on a felonious assault charge after officers found the knife in his apartment. They were not able to locate a gun, the report stated.
The victim was listed in serious but stable condition at Grandview Hospital late Tuesday night and was heading into surgery, the report stated.
TweetViolent crime up slightly in Dayton last year, FBI says
DAYTON - Reports of violent crime in the city increased slightly last year compared to 2007, including robbery and aggravated assault, according to data released late Monday, Sept. 14, by the FBI.
The statistics, submitted voluntarily by law enforcement agencies from around the country and compiled by the FBI, showed there were 1,672 reports of violent crime in Dayton in 2008, up from 1,597 in 2007.
The FBI classifies violent crimes as murders, rapes, aggravated assaults and robberies. The U.S. Department of Justice classifies aggravated assaults as an “unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury.”
Murders in Dayton increased from 28 in 2007 to 37 last year, though the city has averaged 33 murders since 2004, according to FBI data.
As of today, Sept, 15, there have been 32 homicides in the city. It’s worth noting homicides are classified by “death by the hands of another,” according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, so the FBI might not count a few of the 32 homicides this year as murder.
The city, in 2008, reported significant declines over 2007 in property crimes, larceny/theft and thefts of motor vehicles, according to the FBI data.
Since 2006, reports of motor vehicles thefts have declined by more than 1,000, along with larceny/theft (larceny is physically taking and carrying away of property).
Slight declines in forcible rape, burglaries and arson were also reported by the city.
Chief Richard Biehl said he is “interested” in the data, adding that a lot of its findings he already knows since it was his department who reported it to the FBI.
“The value of that data is really to see how a jurisdiction is trending over time,” Biehl said. “It is also a very crude perspective to see how do we compare to other jurisdictions in the regional and other jurisdictions of comparable size.”
Biehl said programs have been put into place to reduce violent crimes, such as the Community Initiative to Reduce Gun Violence and a joint uniformed patrol of officers from Dayton, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Trotwood police.
Dayton’s reports of violent crimes were lower compared to cities with similar populations like Chattanooga, Tenn. (171,600), and Rockford, Ill. (157,000). Those cities reported 1,875 and 2,209 incidents of violent crimes.
The FBI lists Dayton’s population just below 155,000 people.
Both Chattanooga and Rockford had significantly more aggravated assaults in 2008 than Dayton, but both had 17 less homicides.
Looking at nationwide trends, violent crime declined for the second straight year, down nearly 2 percent in 2008 over 2007, according to the FBI. Murders or non-negligent manslaughter were down nearly four percent, while aggravated assaults decreased 2.5 percent nationwide.
You can check out the data for yourself by clicking here.
TweetHomicide suspect arrested during traffic stop
DAYTON - The teen who Dayton police said fatally shot Kasey Fairman was arrested late Monday, Sept. 14, after he was pulled over by officers.
Rodney Herron, 18, was arrested in the 800 block of Crestmore Avenue about 9 p.m. after he gave officers a fake name, according to police. He was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on two felony charges of murder, two felonious assault charges and drug possession, according to jail records.
He is expected to appear in court Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.
Fairman, 19, was visiting his sister in the Eagle Ridge Apartment complex on Norris Drive in May when he was shot multiple times, Lt. Brian Johns said at the time.
Fairman fought for his life at Miami Valley Hospital for more than 24 hours before he died from two shots to the head. Fairman was also shot once in the groin.
Witnesses said the shooting occurred after a woman at the complex called a group of men because she was upset that someone wanted to hold her baby.
Minutes later, four to five cars arrived and about 15 men jumped out and went around the building. Herron was shooting dice in the Northland Village Apartment, witnesses said.
Johns said the gunman then hopped the fence separating the Northland complex from Eagle Ridge, approached Fairman and fired once, striking the victim in the head.
Once Fairman fell to the ground, Johns said, the gunman walked up and fired more rounds into Fairman.
The shooter then hopped back over the fence and got into a waiting maroon Buick Riviera sedan with tinted windows that sped off.
Johns said Fairman was not involved in the initial confrontation and was an innocent bystander. But three separate witnesses said Fairman was one of the men who emerged from the arriving cars.
“I knew there was going to be shooting because (the men shooting dice) were making death threats,” said Carl Hargrove, a resident at Eagle Ridge.
Fairman was the city’s 15th homicide victim this year. To date there have been 32 homicides in the city. You can check their status by clicking here.
TweetWoman’s body found shot in area used as yard waste refuge
DAYTON — The body of a 27-year-old Troy woman was found in city-owned yard waste area off North Gettysburg Avenue Tuesday morning, Sept. 15.
The woman, who is not being identified, was shot and had been lying in the area for at least two days, said Sgt. Moises Perez of Dayton Police Department.
The woman has a drug history with police, Perez said. It is unclear if the woman had been reported missing in Troy or Dayton as of 10:45 a.m.
Perez said detectives have recovered some evidence at the scene and are treating the woman’s homicide as an argument that turned deadly.
City maintenance workers who were planning to mow in the area discovered the woman’s decomposed body about 7:50 a.m. A supervisor with the maintenance department described the area as open, surrounded by foliage growth, that is used to dump leaves picked up from city yards.
TweetPolice hunting gunman who shot at house filled with kids
DAYTON - Police are looking for two men witnesses said fired a high-powered assault rifle at a home while seven children were inside Friday, Sept. 11.
Officers responded to the 100 block of East Mumma Avenue about 10 p.m. where a woman said she was resting in bed with two of her children inside the house when gun shots rang out, according to a police report.
The 26-year-old woman said debris started flying through the walls as another group of children played in a nearby front room, the report stated.
The woman said her brothers had just left her home before the shots were fired and the woman said she had no clue why someone would shoot at her house, the report stated.
Witnesses saw a red pickup truck speed away from the scene after the shots rang out. Officers recovered several 7.62 millimeter casings at the scene, the report stated. Those bullets are usually fired from a high-power assault rifle, like an AK-47, according to police.
Upon further questioning the woman said she noticed two men walk around her house and they looked suspicious, the report stated. The one man was black, with big eyes, braided hair, stood about 6-feet-tall and weighed about 180 pounds, the report stated.
The second man was also black, with a thin build and was wearing a white T-shirt and white baseball cap. Both men jumped into a black SUV with “aftermarket” rims, the report stated.
No one was struck by the bullets, though police said several rounds penetrated the house, the report stated.
TweetOakwood doctor gets prison for prescription drug ring
DAYTON - The Oakwood doctor authorities said was at the center of a prescription ring was sentenced to seven years in prison today, Sept. 11, by a U.S. District Court judge.
Richard Sievers, 53, distributed more than 700,000 dosage units of controlled substances worth an estimated $5 million out of his storefront medical clinic between January and November of 2007, authorities said.
Sievers pleaded guilty on June 10 in federal court to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute narcotics. In all, 10 people have been convicted for their role in the drug trafficking ring, including at least two of Sievers’ employees.
Sievers, of 301 Orchard Drive, Oakwood, owned and operated Walnut Hills Family Care, 1900 Wayne Ave. From his offices he conspired with others to traffic OxyContin, Vicodin, Xanax and Methadone, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s office.
The mixture of anti-anxiety pills and addictive painkillers is commonly referred to as a “360 cocktail,” according to an FBI affidavit filed in U.S. District Court.
An informant used by the FBI said he would pay Sievers $200 for each bogus prescription, according to the FBI. The prescription was filled at a local pharmacy and delivered to alleged drug dealer Lance E. Horn, 40, of Franklin, authorities said.
You can read our investigation into Sievers’ drug-trafficking ring by clicking here.
Shortly after opening his practice, Sievers hired Sherry Marshall to be his office manager and her husband, Kenneth Marshall, to do odd jobs around the office.
Neighbors and friends said Sievers knew the Marshalls and trusted them.
By February 2007, Sievers and the Marshalls used his office to supply prescription drugs to area drug dealers, authorities said.
At first, Sievers personally saw the patients, wrote bogus prescriptions, took $200 and walked out of the room, according to the FBI.
Word of Sievers’ willingness to write the bogus prescriptions spread to a handful of alleged drug dealers, including Horn. Almost immediately more people started showing up at his office wanting more pills, said John Burke, commander of the Warren County task force.
Horn suddenly emerged as the top prescription drug dealer in Warren County, according to the FBI.
As the patient list grew, FBI informants said Sievers distanced himself by enlisting Sherry Marshall to handle the overall operation of issuing the bogus prescriptions. She was paid $100 of the $200 for her services, according to the FBI.
Kenneth Marshall became the muscle, Burke said.
“Someone had to handle all the people that started showing up at his office,” Burke said. “Some of them would act out if they didn’t get their pills fast enough.”
The operation grew so rapidly that by March 2007, pharmacies in Montgomery County were calling Sievers’ office, questioning the prescriptions for the addictive painkillers not normally prescribed by a family doctor.
The pharmacies also alerted local law-enforcement agencies, which sparked the investigation into Sievers’ practice.
TweetHIV-positive prostitute picked up by undercover cop
DAYTON - An HIV-positive male prostitute is facing felony soliciting and prostitution charges after he was picked up by an undercover cop working as part of a prostitution sting.
Tavon Q. McCoy, 25, was spotted walking along the 1900 block of North Main Street about 2:20 a.m. Friday, Sept. 11, when an undercover officer noticed he was trying to solicit customers, according to a police report.
McCoy walked up to the officer’s truck and asked if he was “dating,” the report stated. McCoy then asked if the officer was a cop.
The officer said he would pay $50 for McCoy’s services and McCoy asked the officer if he had “any STDs,” or sexually transmitted diseases, the report stated.
The officer gave a take-down signal and other officers arrived to get McCoy out of the truck, the report stated. While checking his records, officers were notified that McCoy is HIV positive.
It is the third time McCoy has been arrested after tests showed he was HIV positive, the report stated. He was taken to Montgomery County Jail and a court date has been set for Friday at 1:30 p.m.
TweetPolice using text messages, e-mails to warn of neighborhood crimes
DAYTON - Want to know if cars are being broken into in your Dayton neighborhood? What about those shots you just heard?
The Dayton Police Department on Wednesday, Sept. 9, launched a text messaging and e-mail service that notifies residents of crimes and/or crime trends in their neighborhood.
Here was the first e-mail sent out Wednesday afternoon:
Advisory Message has been issued by the Dayton OH Police Department.
Wednesday September 9, 2009 14:50 PM EDT
Theft from Vehicle Pattern Advisory- 3 block radius from intersection of Fifth and Brown St. between 12PM and 5AM
Crime Pattern Advisory - 3 block radius from intersection of Fifth Street and Brown St.
Theft from motor vehicle has been decreased in CBD 52% by using community solutions to make safer neighborhoods. We continue this initiative by informing you of a recently discovered theft from motor vehicle crime pattern.
This advisory is for citizens and businesses within a 3 block radius of the intersection of Fifth St. and Brown St. between the hours of midnight and 5 A.M. We encourage everyone in this area to practice good crime prevention techniques and ensure all valuables are secured in a non-visible location inside your vehicle. We have no suspect description at this time. Please report any suspicious activity immediately and include as many details as possible.
The no-cost service is provided through the Web site nixle.com. Those interested can click here and sign up.
The service is being used right now by the downtown police district, but Lt. Larry Faulkner said soon all police districts in the city and the Dayton Fire Department will be sending notifications.
Faulkner said users will not receive spam e-mails or unnecessary text messages. And notifications will be made with discretion, he said.
“We did some focus groups and found that it was real important to get conclusions of events,” Faulkner said. “They also said they didn’t want to be woken up so we will use discretion unless it is an absolute emergency.”
Nixle.com’s service is of no cost to the police department and Dayton is not the first to use it. Huber Heights police have been sending alerts out for some time.
While billed as a service to the community, the messages allow police departments to rely more on the community in helping stop or solve crimes.
“It increases our ability and puts eyes and ears all over,” Faulkner said. Chief Richard Biehl “keeps talking about community policing and this is just one more way we can do that.”
TweetBarber shop robbers turn themselves in hours after hold up
HARRISON TWP., Montgomery County - Two men who robbed a barber shop and the patrons inside about noon today, Sept. 10, have turned themselves in to local law enforcement.
Jermichael Malcolm, 36, and James Easterling, 25, are being booked into the Montgomery County Jail about 3:50 p.m. on felony aggravated robbery charges, Sheriff Phil Plummer said.
Authorities said the two men, armed with guns, entered the Xclusive Cuts barber shop in the 4300 block of North Main Street and took cash and televisions off the wall.
They then fled in a Chrysler 300.
“All the parties involved knew each other,” Plummer said. “The barber shop owner actually recognized one of the robbers.”
Malcolm and Easterling surrendered after they got word authorities were looking for them in connection with the robbery, Plummer said.
No one was hurt during the incident and authorities are trying to recover the property taken from the barber shop.
TweetSocial worker’s slaying leaves more questions than answers
HARRISON TWP., Montgomery County — Investigators with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s office said today, Sept. 10, they still have more questions than answers in the slaying of a well-liked social worker.
Sheriff’s Maj. Scott Landis said numerous assumptions could be made why Stephen L. Branham was shot to death Sunday, but the only thing his detectives have been able to rule out is the motive wasn’t robbery.
“Money was still in his pocket, his cell phone wasn’t taken and he had his wallet,” Landis said.
Branham, 46, was a social worker who facilitated classes on anger management for violent offenders. Sheriff Phil Plummer said it is unclear if Branham’s attacker knew him, but there is no sign his killing was gang-related.
A witness did hear two men arguing before the shooting at the Barrington Apartments, in the 4300 block of Springcreek Drive, Landis said. A person of interest has been identified, but there are no suspects, Plummer said.
Branham is the area’s 38th homicide this year. You can track the status of the investigation and get status updates on the other 37 by clicking here.
TweetAbducted woman has been found
DAYTON - A woman reportedly abducted from the 800 block of Watervliet Avenue on the city’s east side about 10 a.m. has been found at a local hospital, according to police.
Officers were dispatched to Miami Valley Hospital after a report that the woman, age unknown, might have been dropped there, a police dispatcher said. She was found unharmed, according to police.
Police are still looking for her abductor. It is unclear what prompted to the kidnapping.
TweetMan hiding under porch robbed bar patron, police say
DAYTON - Fast-acting officers and cooperative witnesses helped in the arrest of a man who hid underneath porch and tried to change clothes after robbing a man at gunpoint outside an Oregon District bar.
Antonio Rhines, 27, is in Montgomery County Jail on a felony aggravated robbery charge after he was found by police about 2 a.m. in the 200 block of East Sixth Street, Lt. Larry Faulkner said.
Rhines hid in the lattice work underneath a porch of a building after he took money at gunpoint from a patron outside Blind Bob’s bar, 430 E. Fifth St., Faulkner said. Rhines was able to take items off one patron at gunpoint and then fled, Faulkner said.
Witnesses and a quick response by police helped officers track Rhines down and he was arrested without incident, Faulkner said. He had gold jewelry and money on him that police believe was taken during another robbery.
Rhines is one of more than 800 people identified by local law enforcement as a gang or “group” member involved in gun-related crimes, Faulkner said.
The list is part of the Community Initiative to Reduce Gun Violence, an initiative led by Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl which seeks to reduce gun violence in the area.
Rhines is expected in county common pleas court at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9, according to jail records.
TweetAssault rifle, marijuana plants lead to Tasering at jail
DAYTON - Officers responding Tuesday, Sept. 8, to a shots fired call arrested two men after they found 72 marijuana plants and an assault rifle in the home.
Craig O. Gex, 23, and Shawn L. Thompkins, 19, were arrested about 8 p.m. at 357 Delaware Ave. for illegal manufacturing of drugs and possession of criminal tools, according to a police report.
And Gex’s problems didn’t end there, the report stated.
On the way to Montgomery County Jail, Gex, who officers said became “combative” and “out of control,” had to be Tasered while being booked in, the report stated.
The entire incident started when neighbors reported hearing gunfire near the men’s home, the report stated. Officers arrived to hear Gex and Thompkins arguing and noticed several spent shell casings, the report stated.
Thompkins opened the door when officers knocked and invited them inside, the report stated. Officers noticed an AK-47 sitting in plain view and upstairs noticed 60 marijuana plants in a bedroom, the report stated.
They also found Gex, who had an outstanding warrant for his arrest for firing into a habitation, upstairs, the report stated.
A dozen more marijuana plants were found growing in the basement of the house and officers found the AK-47 was hot to the touch, leading officers to believe it had recently been fired, the report stated.
Thompkins later said Gex was outside firing the assault rifle, but did not hit anyone, the report stated.
Gex was also arrested on felony charges of having weapons while under disability and unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance for chemicals used in the grow operation, the report stated.
It is unclear why Gex became combative while being booked into jail. Both men are expected to appear in county common pleas court at 1:30 p.m. today, Wednesday, Sept. 9.
TweetDVH gang member faces federal weapons, drug charges
DAYTON - Authorities with the FBI, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Dayton Police this morning, Sept. 4, arrested a member of the city’s most violent gang on drugs and weapons charges.
Dwayne Smith, 29, a known member of the Dayton View Hustlers, or DVH, was arrested Friday morning, Sept. 4, at his home on the west side of Dayton, FBI spokesman Eric Thomas said.
Authorities with Safe Streets Task Force also arrested another man, Anthony M. Craver Jr., 19, on federal gun and drug possession charges, Thomas said. Craver is not a member of DVH.
Both have been placed in federal custody.
But federal and local authorities are looking for DVH members Sean Reid, 35, Torey A. Carter, 34, and Storm D. Smith, 20 all who are wanted for drug possession and weapons charges, Thomas said.
A press release from Dayton city officials Friday morning said they would announce the “recent” arrests “of more than a dozen individuals for crimes including murder, drug offenses, weapon offenses, and parole and probation violations.”
But the press conference was an effort by law enforcement to show the 16 suspects they’ve arrested in two weeks on those wide range of charges is making a difference in Community Initiative to Reduce Gun Violence (CIRGV).
The most notable of those 16 arrests came on Aug. 25, when U.S. Marshals with the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST) arrested D’Alcapone Alpacino Morris, 21, on numerous felony charges, including murder and aggravated robbery.
Morris was found hiding in the attic of a home on Nicholas Road in Dayton underneath some insulation, according to police.
Morris was a member of DVH, a gang responsible for at least three violent shootings this year, according to police. Police said Morris and Michael Guy, 19, fatally shot Richard Pogue in June.
They have both been indicted by a Montgomery County Grand Jury for Pogue’s homicide.
A high-ranking member of the gang, Thomas Tom-Tom Watson, was gunned down on April 16 while playing basketball at College Hill Park in Dayton.
Watson’s slaying prompted at least two gang-related retaliation shootings, including the killing of Isaac Gibson at a memorial service/cookout for Watson. Police said Gibson was shot by Theron “T.Streets” Lewis, a known member of the Dayton View Hustlers.
Police said that weeks after Gibson’s homicide, Lewis in early May shot at a member of the Otterbein Mafia attending funeral services of a homicide victim. Lewis missed and fled from a church parking lot after his gun jammed.
Lewis was arrested in May and remains in Montgomery County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond after he was indicted in June on numerous felony charges, including two counts of murder.
TweetWoman who got motel room for murderer sent to prison
DAYTON - The woman who U.S. Marshals said paid for a motel room for convicted murderer Rodney T. Young while he was evading law enforcement has been sentenced to 10 months in prison.
Kendra Rollins, 34, of Middletown, pleaded guilty on Aug. 25 to one felony count of harboring a fugitive, according to Kentucky court records.
U.S. Marshals said it was Rollins who helped Young evade authorities after he shot six people last December at the Higgins Station bar. One person died during the shooting.
Young, 29, was sentenced to 89 years to life on Thursday, Sept. 3, for the fatal shooting. He was convicted Aug. 20 of 17 felony counts: one count of murder, 12 counts of felonious assault, one count of illegal possession of a firearm in a liquor permit premises, and one count of carrying a concealed weapon.
Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman lectured Young during his sentencing about his “history of violence” and “impulsive behavior.”
Authorities said Young shot at a group of people Dec. 12 while inside the bar, 420 E. Main St., Trotwood. David Watson, 21, of Dayton, was shot in the back as he tried to flee. He collapsed in the parking lot and was later pronounced dead at Miami Valley Hospital.
Young sparked a federal manhunt when he fled the area shortly after the shooting. U.S. Marshals spokesman William Taylor said at the time he would criminally charge anyone who so much as gave Young a drink of water while he was on the run.
On Dec. 19, marshals and local authorities kicked down the door of a Fort Mitchell, Ky., motel room and found Young.
TweetOne sent to hospital in RTA bus crash
DAYTON - Officers are investigating a multi-vehicle accident involving an RTA bus this afternoon, Sept. 3.
Police were dispatched to the intersection of Edwin C. Moses Boulevard and Albany Street near Interstate 75 about 12:45 p.m.
At least one person was removed from the accident scene and taken to Miami Valley Hospital, according to police. The details of that person’s injuries are unknown at this time.
It is also unclear what caused the crash.
TweetThief found covered in grease at barbecue joint, police say
DAYTON - A 40-year-old man is facing a felony burglary charge after officers patrolling near a barbecue joint found him outside the restaurant and reeking of grease Wednesday, Sept. 2.
Officers Jennifer Stack and Jeffrey Spires were in the parking lot of Huffie’s Barbecue restaurant about 3 a.m. when the building’s alarm system went off, according to the police report.
Stack and Spires had just checked the perimeter of the restaurant, but rushed to the front door and found Andre Daniels crouched down near a door, the report stated.
The officers noticed Daniels had a strong odor of grease coming from his clothes. Daniels told the officers he was eating food out of the dumpster and must have kicked a nearby freezer, which activated the alarm.
But the officers climbed onto the roof and saw “fresh footprints” and a backpack on the roof, the report stated.
Stack and Spires determined Daniels broke into the restaurant through the roof and tried to get cash from the register, the report stated. Daniels was taken to the Montgomery County Jail on a felony breaking and entering charge.
TweetMan faces felony assault charges over $7 debt
DAYTON - A $7 debt has a 23-year-old man in serious trouble with police after he threatened a woman with a knife and broke into another man’s apartment early Wednesday, Sept. 2.
The two victims said they bought a television from their neighbor, Troy D. Wynn for $75 late Tuesday, but could only pay him $68, according to a police report. The victims said they agreed to pay the $7 by the end of the week.
The victims said they took the television back to their apartment in the 1600 block of Tuttle Avenue and thought everything was OK, the report stated.
A short time later Wynn emerged with a knife as they walked to their car, the report stated. Wynn cussed at the female victim and said “we want my money,” the report stated.
The woman’s uncle got in between Wynn and the female, who was able to get in her car, the report stated. The victims then watched as Wynn left and kicked in their apartment door, the report stated.
Wynn went inside and smashed the television he just sold the couple, the report stated.
Wynn’s girlfriend told responding officers he was upset about the $7 debt, the report stated. She refused to tell officers anything else because she said it would upset Wynn.
Wynn is in Montgomery County jail on felony assault and burglary charges. He is expected to appear in county common pleas court at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
TweetCoroner conducting more tests in woman’s death
DAYTON - Detectives observed the autopsy of a middle-aged woman found dead in her apartment Monday afternoon, but her cause of death will not be known for another six weeks.
The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office considers Naomi Adkins’ death suspicious but must await toxicology test results before an official cause of death can be determined.
Investigators were dispatched to an apartment building at 2605 Riverside Drive about 2:50 p.m. on Monday on a report of a dead body.
Adkins was found in an upstairs rear unit, in her bedroom, according to Dayton police detective Gary White. Police have not said who found Adkins or who called in the report to police.
She was reported by first responders to have some head injuries.
“It appears there is no foul play, but we won’t know for sure until we get (the results) from the (coroner),” Lt. Patrick Welsh said.
TweetMurder suspect arrested after authorities force entry into home
TROTWOOD - Authorities arrested a 20-year-old man wanted in connection with a June homicide after forcing their way into a Trotwood home on Tuesday morning, Sept. 1.
William L. Blair was arrested at about 7 a.m. by the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, a group led by the U.S. Marshals Service that includes officers and deputies from area law enforcement agencies.
Blair refused to exit the home in the 5500 block of Autumn Leaf Drive when the group arrived, so officials forced entry and found Blair hiding in a back bedroom, said William Taylor, supervisory deputy for the Marshals Service for the Southern District of Ohio.
Blair and his brother, Anthony D. Choice, 18, are accused of killing Wallace Hailey Jr., 32, inside the home at 1211 Alcott Drive at 1:21 a.m. on June 24. The initial investigation by police showed that Hailey was shot several times in the abdomen by two men who entered the house demanding money.
Police believe the house was specifically targeted.
The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office approved multiple charges against and Blair on Aug. 19. Each faces a total of 10 charges, including three counts of murder, two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated burglary, two counts of felonious assault and one count of having weapons under disability, according to Montgomery County Common Pleas Court records.
Authorities are still searching for Choice, Taylor said.
TweetSilver, meds taken during deadly home invasion
DAYTON - Police are still looking for two of three suspects who entered a home in the 600 block of Huffman Avenue late Monday night, Aug. 31, and robbed three people inside.
The third suspect, identified by the Montgomery Coroner’s Office as Danny Baker, 30, was shot by someone in the home and died later at Miami Valley Hospital, according to police. His death has been ruled a homicide, the 31st this year in the city.
Lt. Brian Johns said Baker entered the home about 6:45 p.m. brandishing a handgun and was shot once by someone else inside the home who also had a gun.
Two other men with Baker were able to take a silver bar and some prescription medication before fleeing in a yellow Cadillac, according to a police.
“We’re not sure why this home was targeted; it’s under investigation,” Johns said.
It is unclear if the person who shot and killed Baker will face criminal charges, but it is unlikely since the state’s passage of the Castle Doctrine last year.
The law allows a homeowner to defend his or her home from invaders by any means necessary, including lethal force. The law also allows homeowners to have a gun inside the home without a conceal and carry permit.
Stay with DaytonDailyNews.com for more information on this story.
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