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Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Witnesses at murder trial testify they heard gun cocking just before shooting
DAYTON — Moments before David Driscoll was shot, as his two friends hid behind the Marathon gas station, the two heard the cocking of a gun.
“I said, ‘I think he has a gun. We need to get out of here,’” said George DeLaVergne.
DeLaVergne and Kelly Altic, friends of Driscoll, testified Wednesday, June 10, in the murder trial of Kyle McClendon, 23, of Trotwood, who is also charged with felonious assault and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle. All of the charges include gun specifications, which would automatically add three years to any possible sentence.
His trial before Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Dennis J. Langer, which started Tuesday, is expected to last through the week, possibly into next week.
McClendon and Driscoll were strangers who met by chance Feb. 8 at the Marathon gas station, 4351 Riverside Drive, Harrison Twp. During opening statements Tuesday, assistant Montgomery County prosecutor John Amos said Driscoll was the victim of a cold-blooded execution, while defense attorney Barbara J. Doseck said video footage would show Driscoll was the aggressor.
Altic and DeLaVergne both testified that they were part of a group of Sinclair Community College students who were at a party at an apartment off Riverside Drive. Altic, DeLaVergne and Driscoll decided to walk to the Marathon station to buy cigarettes.
As they walked through the parking lot near the entrance doors, McClendon pulled into the lot quickly, then stopped close to them before revving the engine “almost like he was going to run us over,” Altic said.
The three were in the store when McClendon entered. He seemed angry, walking around and “mumbling under his breath,” Altic said.
Next, McClendon bumped into DeLaVergne, Altic said. She said McClendon said something, but she did not hear it.
DeLaVergne testified that McClendon said “Out of the way, homeboy.”
DeLaVergne and Altic, who had bought their cigarettes, decided to leave the store. Driscoll was still making his purchase.
“We had a really bad feeling about the whole situation,” Altic said.
From outside, Altic and DeLaVergne could see McClendon and Driscoll having words inside the store. Altic said she tried to call Driscoll on his cell phone, but got no response.
DeLaVergne decided that he and Altic should walk over to the side of the store. He said he was concerned about Altic’s safety.
While on the side of the building, Altic peeked around the corner and saw McClendon walking back toward his car.
“George was kind of pulling me back because he didn’t want me to be seen,” Altic said.
The two heard some rustling sounds from the area of McClendon’s car, then heard the cocking of a gun. The two then retreated behind the building and were pacing. After a few minutes, they heard gunshots.
“We just kind of looked at each other,” Altic said, breaking down in tears. “We ran. We started running. We weren’t sure if he was going to come after us or not.”
The two ran toward the apartment complex. After they saw police lights, they returned to the scene, Altic said.
On Tuesday, Amos said Driscoll and McClendon had a “brief verbal altercation” inside the store, then McClendon left and went back to his car, which was at a gas pump. Driscoll walked out to the gas pump and exchanged words again with McClendon, Amos said.
That’s when the two shook hands and hugged. But as Driscoll was walking away, McClendon summoned him back, then shot him five times, once in the thigh, three times in the abdomen and once in the head. He then fled the scene in the car, Amos said.
Driscoll died at the scene.
McClendon was arrested hours after the shooting, when a sheriff’s deputy passing a Riverside Drive apartment complex spotted a green Pontiac which matched the description of the car in the store’s video footage. The deputy touched the hood, and the car was still warm, Amos said.
The car was registered to a woman who lived in the apartment complex, but days before the shooting, a Dayton police officer filed a report after stopping McClendon in the same car, Amos said.
Deputies knocked on the car’s owner’s apartment door, and she let them in. Inside, they found McClendon sleeping with a handgun under his pillow, Amos said. The gun is a .22 caliber, as were the bullets removed from Driscoll’s body, Amos said.
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TweetWalnut Hills Family Care physician pleads guilty to drug conspiracy charge
DAYTON — A local physician accused of being part of a prescription drug ring pleaded guilty Wednesday, June 10, in U.S. District Court to a conspiracy count.
Dr. Richard Sievers, 53, of Oakwood, is the ninth person who has pleaded guilty to participating in the conspiracy. All are awaiting sentencing.
Judge Thomas M. Rose will set a sentencing date for Sievers. Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment
The conspirators illegally distributed more than 700,000 dosage units of controlled substances from a storefront medical clinic in Dayton between January and November 2007, according to authorities.
Sievers operated Walnut Hills Family Care, located at 1900 Wayne Ave. in Dayton. Sievers conspired with others to distribute prescription drugs including Amphetamine, OxyContin, Vicodin, Xanax, and Methadone, according to court documents.
Sievers wrote or approved prescriptions that were not issued for a legitimate medical purpose and were not in the usual course of his medical practice. The “patients” were not given proper medical examinations prior to the issuance of the prescriptions for the controlled substances. The “patients” would then provide money in return for the issuance of the prescriptions. The “patients” picked up the prescriptions at Walnut Hills Family Care, according to court documents.
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TweetChinese man indicted on charges related to the illegal export of infrared cameras
DAYTON — A Hong Kong resident has been indicted on federal charges that he tried to buy 12 infrared thermal imaging cameras from a Dayton-area company to illegally export them.
Hing Shing Lau, also known as Victor Lau, is a foreign national living in Hong Kong, but was arrested in Canada on June 3. The grand jury that indicted him Tuesday, June 9, is in Dayton.
“Our office is currently taking the necessary steps to extradite Lau to the U.S. to face charges,”said Gregory G. Lockhart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
The indictment alleges that Lau tried to buy the cameras, which were manufactured in Texas, by contacting a company in the Dayton area. On three occasions, he transferred a total of $39,514 from Hong Kong to the U.S. as partial payment for the cameras, the indictment said.
The U.S. Department of Commerce controls export of these cameras to Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China for national security and regional stability reasons. This is because of the cameras’ potential use in a wide variety of civilian and military applications, including unmanned vehicle payloads, weapon sights, security and surveillance products, Lockhart said.
The indictment charges Lau with two counts of violating export control laws, each of which is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $1 million, and four counts of money laundering. Each money laundering count is punishable by 20 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $500,000.
FBI agents began investigating Lau in August 2008 after Lau called a Dayton-area businessman with whom he had done business in the past. Lau asked if he could sell him between 10 and 12 of the infrared/thermal imaging devices. The businessman told Lau he did not have the necessary export licenses, Lockhart said.
According to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court, Lau continued to contact the businessman by phone and email in an attempt to buy the cameras, finally arranging to meet the businessman in Toronto to take delivery of the cameras.
Armed with an arrest warrant issued by U.S. authorities, Canadian Immigration Authorities and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested Lau on June 3 at the Toronto International Airport . Lau was carrying $30,000, which authorities believe was for a final payment on the cameras.
Lockhart commended the investigation by FBI agents with the assistance of the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Commerce, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canadian immigration authorities, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dwight Keller who is prosecuting the case.
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