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October 2009
Gang member convicted of all charges in slaying at cookout
DAYTON — Theron Lewis, accused of gunning down a man at a memorial cookout for a slain gang member, was convicted Friday, Oct. 30 of all counts, including two counts of murder.
Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Frances E. McGee did not set a sentencing date, but ordered a pre-sentencing investigation. She said that there is a scheduling conference Tuesday to discuss Lewis’ other felony case, in which he allegedly shot at mourners leaving a May 11 funeral.
The case went to the jury at 1:25 p.m. Thursday. The jury broke off deliberations about 6:44 p.m., then started up about 9 a.m. Friday. The verdict was reached about 1:15 p.m. Friday.
Lewis, 24, also known as “T. Streets,” has been identified by police as a member of the Dayton View Hustlers. He was charged with two counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault and being a felon in possession of a weapon. Some of those charges, including the murder and felonious assault counts, could merge for sentencing purposes.
All of the charges deal with the April 25 death of Isaac Gibson. Though police said earlier this year that Gibson was the member of a different gang, police and prosecutors now say that they don’t believe that Gibson was ever involved in gang activity.
The trial started Monday, resumed Wednesday, then finished testimony on Thursday morning. The defense rested without presenting any witnesses.
“He killed another human being,” assistant Montgomery County prosecutor Michael Brush told the jury Thursday. “You’ve heard no evidence to the contrary.”
But defense attorney Scott Calaway pointed to a different person, arguing that another man, Keith Watson, shot Gibson. Watson, who is awaiting charges related to the incident, but is not charged with shooting Gibson, will go on trial March 1.
Gibson, 25, was shot at a cookout that followed funeral services for Thomas “Tom-Tom” Watson, who was killed April 16. Brush said several men started fighting at the cookout, which was at 1807 Riverview Drive. At one point, Keith Watson, who is Thomas Watson’s cousin, pulled out a gun and fired a shot into the ground, Brush said.
Gibson’s father and brother got Gibson to leave the area after he fought with Watson and took him to his car, which was parked in the alley behind 1807 Riverview. But before he could leave, several people jumped him. During the fight, Lewis shot Gibson in the abdomen, Brush said.
Calaway said that the three witnesses who testified they saw the incident were all relatives of Gibson, including his father and his brother. He also said that Keith Watson was a family member as well.
“There’s only one person in the picture who’s not family: Theron Lewis,” Calaway said. “It’s a cover up for Keith. That’s why we’re here.”
Calaway said that the family members originally told police they didn’t know who did the shooting, though assistant county prosecutor David Franceschelli said those family members first thought of avenging Gibson’s death themselves before deciding to trust the criminal justice system.
Franceschelli ridiculed Calaway’s assertion that Gibson’s family was protecting the real shooter. He said that it was not clear if Keith Watson was related to Gibson’s family, but if so, it was a distant relationship.
“Keith Watson is the defendant’s friend, not the family’s friend,” Franceschelli said. “They have no more love for Watson than they do for Lewis.”
Franceschelli said that he took offense to Calaway stating that those family members fled the scene. He said those witnesses were seen there by police after the shooting, particularly Anthony Snowden Sr., Gibson’s father, who tearfully testified Wednesday that he held his son as he lay dying.
“He was there, holding his son in his arms,” Franceschelli said while pointing to Snowden, who was sitting in the spectators’ section.
He also said that the three witnesses gave statements to police that accurately described what types of weapons Lewis and Watson each held during the incident. The bullet taken from Gibson’s body matched the caliber of Lewis’ gun, not Watson’s, Franceschelli said.
Thomas Watson, 25, was known as a leader of the Dayton View Hustlers, a gang rooted in the Dayton View neighborhood between Salem Avenue and James H. McGee Boulevard. He was shot in the face while playing on a basketball court at College Hill Park. Chamare Mays is awaiting trial in that case.
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Jury in memorial slaying trial sent home for the night
DAYTON — The jury deliberating the fate of Theron Lewis, who is accused of gunning down a man at a memorial cookout for a fallen gang member, was sent home about 6:44 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, and will convene again on Friday to continue deliberations.
Lewis, 24, also known as “T. Streets,” has been identified by police as a member of the Dayton View Hustlers. He is charged with murder, felonious assault and being a felon in possession of a weapon. All of the charges deal with the April 25 death of Isaac Gibson.
The case went to the Montgomery County Common Pleas jury at 1:25 p.m.
Though police said earlier this year that Gibson was the member of a different gang, police and prosecutors now say that they don’t believe that Gibson was ever involved in gang activity.
The trial started Monday, resumed Wednesday, then finished Thursday morning. The defense rested without presenting any witnesses.
“He killed another human being,” assistant Montgomery County prosecutor Michael Brush told the jury Thursday. “You’ve heard no evidence to the contrary.”
But defense attorney Scott Calaway pointed to a different person, arguing that another man, Keith Watson, shot Gibson. Watson, who is awaiting charges related to the incident, but is not charged with shooting Gibson, will go on trial March 1.
Gibson, 25, was shot at a cookout that followed funeral services for Thomas “Tom-Tom” Watson, who was killed April 16. Brush said several men started fighting at the cookout, which was at 1807 Riverview Drive. At one point, Keith Watson, who is Thomas Watson’s cousin, pulled out a gun and fired a shot into the ground, Brush said.
Gibson’s father and brother got Gibson to leave the area after he fought with Watson and took him to his car, which was parked in the alley behind 1807 Riverview. But before he could leave, several people jumped him. During the fight, Lewis shot Gibson in the abdomen, Brush said.
Calaway said that the three witnesses who testified they saw the incident were all relatives of Gibson, including his father and his brother. He also said that Keith Watson was a family member as well.
“There’s only one person in the picture who’s not family: Theron Lewis,” Calaway said. “It’s a cover up for Keith. That’s why we’re here.”
Calaway said that the family members originally told police they didn’t know who did the shooting, though assistant county prosecutor David Franceschelli said those family members first thought of avenging Gibson’s death themselves before deciding to trust the criminal justice system.
Franceschelli ridiculed Calaway’s assertion that Gibson’s family was protecting the real shooter. He said that it was not clear if Keith Watson was related to Gibson’s family, but if so, it was a distant relationship.
“Keith Watson is the defendant’s friend, not the family’s friend,” Franceschelli said. “They have no more love for Watson than they do for Lewis.”
Franceschelli said that he took offense to Calaway stating that those family members fled the scene. He said those witnesses were seen there by police after the shooting, particularly Anthony Snowden Sr., Gibson’s father, who tearfully testified Wednesday that he held his son as he lay dying.
“He was there, holding his son in his arms,” Franceschelli said while pointing to Snowden, who was sitting in the spectators’ section.
He also said that the three witnesses gave statements to police that accurately described what types of weapons Lewis and Watson each held during the incident. The bullet taken from Gibson’s body matched the caliber of Lewis’ gun, not Watson’s, Franceschelli said.
Lewis is still awaiting trial on charges stemming from shots fired at mourners leaving a May 11 funeral for Raymond “Byrd” McDaniel at St. Paul Global Outreach Ministries, 2050 Germantown St. Lewis shot at an Otterbein Mafia member but missed and when his gun jammed, he fled from the church parking lot, police said.
Thomas Watson, 25, was known as a leader of the Dayton View Hustlers, a gang rooted in the Dayton View neighborhood between Salem Avenue and James H. McGee Boulevard. He was shot in the face while playing on a basketball court at College Hill Park. Chamare Mays is awaiting trial in that case.
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Driver who hit four, killing one, sentenced to 10 years in prison
DAYTON — The man convicted of charges in a hit-and-run incident at the Katie’s Place bar, which killed one person and injured three others, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday, Oct. 27
David Diaz Dominguez, 37, appeared before Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Frances E. McGee. He pleaded guilty Aug. 25 to aggravated vehicular homicide, three counts of vehicular assault and two counts of aggravated assault.
The aggravated vehicular homicide count is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to eight years in prison. The other charges are all fourth-degree felonies, punishable by up to 18 months in prison.
As a result of the April 24 incident, Rodrido Resendiz Bahena, 27, suffered multiple blunt force trauma to all areas of his body, including severe injuries to his head and neck, according to a Montgomery County Coroner’s autopsy.
Bahena and two other people, another male and female, were critically injured after being hit by a 2000 Ford Expedition driven by Dominguez, police said. The incident happened about 1 a.m. at the bar, which is at 2264 E. Fifth St. A fourth person was hit, but was treated for minor injuries.
Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck, Jr. said in May that Dominguez had been shooting pool inside the bar when he got into an argument with another person and was asked to leave. Once outside, Dominguez continued to argue with other patrons, then got into his car and drove through the parking lot. Two of the other people hit were bar employees, Heck said.
Dominguez fled to Texas after the incident. He was arrested in Pasadena on May 1, then extradited and booked into the Montgomery County Jail on May 13. As of Wednesday, Dominguez remained in the jail on $1 million bond.
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Trial opens in gang slaying at memorial cookout
DAYTON — The trial of Theron Lewis, accused of gunning down a man at a memorial cookout for a fallen gang member, started Monday, Oct. 26 with testimony about Lewis’ prior felony conviction and the fatal injuries to Isaac Watson.
“It’s a senseless killing,” assistant Montgomery County prosecutor Mike Brush told the jury. “It’s an absolute tragedy and unfortunately, it’s all too common.”
But defense attorney Scott Calaway told the jury that Lewis did not shoot Gibson, and that jurors would not convict Lewis because “there is simply no competent and credible evidence to support that conclusion.”
The trial will continue Wednesday and is expected to continue through the week.
Lewis, 24, is on trial before county common pleas Judge Frances E. McGee on counts of murder, felonious assault and being a felon in possession of a weapon. All of the charges deal with the April 25 death of Gibson.
Lewis is still awaiting trial on charges connected to shots fired at mourners leaving a May 11 funeral for Raymond “Byrd” McDaniel at St. Paul Global Outreach Ministries, 2050 Germantown St. Lewis shot at an Otterbein Mafia member but missed and when his gun jammed, he fled from the church parking lot, police said.
Gibson, 25, was shot at a cookout that followed funeral services for Thomas “Tom-Tom” Watson, who was killed April 16. Police said Gibson was a member of the Hunnid Block Boys and Lewis, also known as “T. Streets” was with the Dayton View Hustlers.
Brush said several men started fighting at the cookout, which was at 1807 Riverview Drive. At one point, Thomas Watson’s cousin Keith Watson pulled out a gun and fired a shot into the ground, Brush said.
Gibson’s father and brother got him to leave the area and took him to his car, which was parked in the alley behind 1807 Riverview. But before he could leave, several people jumped him. During the fight, Lewis shot Gibson in the abdomen, Brush said.
But Calaway predicted that jurors would not find the prosecution’s witnesses to be credible, and that the real shooter’s identity was being protected by those witnesses.
“All of these individuals have criminal records,” Calaway said. “All of these individuals have connections to each other.”
Thomas Watson, 25, was known as a leader of the Dayton View Hustlers, a gang rooted in the Dayton View neighborhood between Salem Avenue and James H. McGee Boulevard. He was shot in the face while playing on a basketball court at College Hill Park. Chamare Mays is awaiting trial in that case.
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Man pleads guilty in Huber Heights stabbing case
DAYTON — A man accused of stabbing another man June 25 near a Huber Heights bar pleaded guilty to one count of felonious assault Monday, Oct. 26, one day before his trial was to begin.
James C. Harper, 22, will be sentenced Nov. 9 by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Connie Price.
Harper was indicted on two counts of felonious assault, which likely would have merged for sentencing purposes had he been convicted of both. He pleaded to the count of felonious assault with a deadly weapon. The second count, for causing serious harm, was dismissed.
Felonious assault is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to eight years in prison. No agreement was made on sentencing, according to court officials.
Harper was accused of stabbing Ralph Westery, 44, of Huber Heights.
Westery had been inside the Cape Lounge, 5130 Brandt Pike. He went out to his sport utility vehicle and found Harper lying on the front seat.
Westery scared off Harper and went back inside the lounge, then was told Harper had recently been released from prison. Westery then decided to go after Harper, chasing him several blocks before he caught him, according to police.
Harper stabbed Westery in the stomach with a multipurpose tool knife and ran. Police later arrested Harper near the bar, police said.
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Woman pleads guilty to sex charge involving boy
DAYTON — A woman accused of celebrating her 55th birthday by having sex with a 12-year-old boy pleaded guilty to one count of gross sexual imposition of a person under age 13 on Friday, Oct. 23.
Gloria J. Murphy, of 5440 Rawlings Drive, appeared before Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Katherine Huffman, who set sentencing for Dec. 2.
The charge is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.
Murphy, who uses a walker and an oxygen tube, appeared frail.
“I’m getting shook,” she said in a gravelly voice when she was confused by some of Huffman’s questions.
Murphy will be designated a Tier 2 sex offender. Her other charge, rape of a child under age 13, was dropped under the plea agreement. There is no agreement on sentencing. Assistant county prosecutor Joshua Muennich told Huffman that the victim’s family had approved the plea agreement.
Rape of a child under 13, a first-degree felony, is punishable by up to 10 years to life in prison.
“This defendant took advantage of a neighborhood child by providing him alcohol and having sex with him,” Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck, Jr. said after Murphy was indicted in February. “
Dayton police arrested Murphy at 8 a.m. on Jan. 30 after the boy notified an adult he had sex with Murphy, according to police.
The encounter happened late Jan. 28 — Murphy’s birthday — and lasted into the early hours the next day, according to Dayton police. Murphy did not force the boy to have sex, but since he is younger than 13, it is considered rape, police said.
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Man sentenced to prison for his role in slaying at Nasru Fashions
DAYTON — Aaron Whitfield, one of four people charged in the 2004 robbery and slaying of a Dayton store owner, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and aggravated robbery on Friday, Oct. 23.
Whitfield was to go on trial Monday. Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Katherine Huffman sentenced him to 16 years in prison, as specified in the plea agreement. An aggravated murder charge was dropped.
This was to be Whitfield’s second trial in this case. He was convicted of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery after a Sept. 2007 jury trial then sentenced him to 23 years to life. The Ohio 2nd District Court of Appeals reversed that conviction, stating that police violated his Miranda rights.
Three other people have already been convicted in the death of Mamadou Njie, 45, owner of Nasru Fashions, 1937 N. Main St.
Njie was shot several times during the Sept. 30, 2004 robbery attempt.
The shooter, Alexandre Pendergrass, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and aggravated robbery, and received a 23-year-to-life sentence. Pendergrass testified against Whitfield, whose role in the robbery was to distract Njie while Pendergrass entered the store.
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Two indicted in thefts from elderly relatives
DAYTON — Two people have been indicted in separate cases involving theft from elderly relatives they had power of attorney of, according to Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck, Jr.
“The greed these defendants exhibited is appalling,” Heck said Friday, Oct. 23. The indictments were handed down by the grand jury on Oct. 15.
Cheryl Sorer, 48, of Cincinnati, was indicted on one count of theft of more than $100,000 from an elderly or disabled adult. She was also indicted on eight counts of forgery.
Sorer had power of attorney over a 93-year-old family member. During a four-year period, she took more than $115,000 from the victim’s bank accounts and Series E bonds, Heck said.
Steven Haggerty, 55, of Bellville, was indicted on one count of theft of more than $100,000 from an elderly or disabled adult and one count of attempt to commit grand theft of more than $25,000.
Haggerty had power of attorney over a 90-year-old family member. During a three-year period, he took more than $200,000 and attempted to close bank accounts containing about $79,000, Heck said.
Both cases are being prosecuted by prosecutor’s office’s Adult Protection Unit, headed by assistant county prosecutor Jennifer Heapy.
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Man who dragged police officer will spend eight years in prison
DAYTON — A man accused of dragging a Dayton police officer with his car will spend eight years in prison, under a plea agreement reached Friday, Oct. 23.
Gregory L. Walz, 53, pleaded guilty of all indicted charges, which included felonious assault on a police officer with serious physical harm, felonious assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and vandalism.
Walz will be sentenced on Dec. 2 by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Michael L. Tucker.
Walz’s trial was to start Monday. He faced a maximum of 26 years in prison had he been convicted of all charges at trial.
Walz was at the First Street Recycling Center on June 16 trying to cash in some brass fittings and copper when he was questioned by Detective Jamie Bullens. Walz hopped in his white Jeep Liberty and tried to take off. Bullens was dragged about 30 feet before Walz hit a wall.
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Second man indicted in Club Ivy arson
DAYTON — A second man has been indicted on charges connected to the Club Ivy fire, which killed chef Robert Fabia on Aug. 26, 2008.
The Montgomery County grand jury on Thursday, Oct. 22, indicted Anthony Lee Berry on three counts of aggravated arson, one count of arson and three counts of murder. All three murder counts are from a proximate result of the aggravated arson counts.
Berry, 40, also known as Anthony Blakely, was arrested Oct. 13.
The fire is believed to have been set by James D. Williams, 28, of Trotwood. Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman sentenced Williams to 15 years to life in prison Sept. 10.
The jury convicted Williams on July 30 of: — One count of aggravated arson, under the part of the statute that covers an occupied structure. — One count of aggravated arson, under the part of the statute that covers agreement for hire. — Two counts of felony murder, which were contingent on convictions for the two aggravated arson counts. — One count of arson. — One count of involuntary manslaughter, which was contingent on a conviction for the arson count. — Two counts of possessing criminal tools, for the ladder and gas can that were used in the crime.
The jury acquitted Williams of a third count of aggravated arson, this one under the part of the statute that covers harm to a person, and a murder count that was contingent on that aggravated arson count.
Under Ohio law, a person can be convicted of murder, even if the defendant did not purposely kill another, should the defendant be convicted of certain high-level felonies, such as aggravated arson.
Police have said that it appeared to be an arson-for-hire and that more arrests could follow. The owner of the club, 3509 N. Main St., is not a suspect, police said.
Fire crews found Fabia underneath burned debris and ash inside the club, where he was known to sleep overnight on a couch at the club.
During Williams trial Williams’ girlfriend testified that he told her he was going to do “a job” the night the club was set ablaze.
Williams returned with a couple of hundred dollars and asked her to watch the television news for him.
When Williams learned someone died in the fire, he was mortified, his former girlfriend testified.
Williams’ family contends he didn’t know Fabia was inside.
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China Arnold’s lawyers fight for a new trial
DAYTON — A defense attorney for China Arnold, the Dayton woman convicted last year of killing her baby in a microwave oven, filed a brief Wednesday, Oct. 21, with the Ohio 2nd District Court of Appeals, arguing that Arnold should get a new trial.
Jon Paul Rion’s argument alleges five types of errors, including:
• That Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman erred by not granting a new trial following a hearing last November.
• That during Arnold’s second trial, Wiseman should have allowed more evidence of another person’s involvement in the crime
• That Wiseman should not have allowed prosecutors to show a videotape of Linda Williams’ testimony from the first trial, which ended in a mistrial. Prosecutors said they could not find Williams.
• That prosecutors committed several acts of prosecutorial misconduct, including failing to disclose witness information and money spent on witnesses.
• The cumulative effect of these errors should also be grounds for a new trial.
Wiseman ruled Dec. 8 that Arnold should not get a third trial, and that all of Rion’s arguments lacked merit. She also dismissed the defense’s call for a special prosecutor to investigate wrongdoing because “there is nothing for a special prosecutor to prosecute.”
The appellate division of the county prosecutor’s office is expected to file a brief to answer Rion’s claims.
In September 2008, Arnold was spared the death penalty after her conviction on aggravated murder; the jury deadlocked during the punishment phase. Wiseman sentenced her to life without the possibility of parole.
Arnold’s baby, Paris Talley, was 28 days old when she died Aug. 30, 2005.
Arnold’s first trial ended in February when a mistrial was declared after a man came forward and said his son, then about 5 years old, saw another boy put the child in a microwave.
Defense attorneys Rion and Kevin Lennen put on several witnesses during a two-day hearing in November. One was Linda Williams, a former Montgomery County Jail inmate who testified during the first trial that Arnold admitted killing her baby. During the hearing, she recanted, but also said she was on “psych meds” and couldn’t recall what she was told.
“Williams’s recantation is so incredible that it cannot form the basis for a third trial,” Wiseman wrote, adding that her hearing testimony included “numerous internal contradictions, outlandish exaggerations and nonsensical explanations.”
Wiseman also wrote about boy identified only by the initials T.H., who testified that another child admitted to him that he placed the baby in the microwave. Wiseman wrote that the boy’s testimony lacked any credibility.
“After two highly publicized trials involving people in his neighborhood, church and family, and involving highly publicized events from three and a half years ago, this is the first time that T.H. has come forward” about the alleged confession, Wiseman wrote. “T.H.’s proffered testimony is indefinite, uncorroborated and cumulative, on top of constituting inadmissible hearsay.”
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Woman shot in parking lot files lawsuit against Wal-Mart
DAYTON — A woman shot during a robbery in a local Walmart parking lot has filed a lawsuit against the retail giant, claiming that the store was negligent in dealing with safety and crime issues.
The incident occurred Dec. 20 at the store at 1701 W. Dorothy Lane. Gina King was wheeling a shopping cart to her car when she was robbed and shot in the abdomen. She was released from Miami Valley Hospital six days later.
“She’s been suffering with the fear and still living that moment through,” said King’s attorney, Aaron Durden, on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
The lawsuit was filed Oct. 2. It claims that the store “knew or should have known of previous crimes that had occurred in its parking lot that threatened the safety of its customers and business invitees.”
King suffered permanent injuries from the shooting, according to the lawsuit, which asks for more than $75,000 in damages from Walmart, the individual store and Jason Brooks, identified as a store manager.
Michelle Bradford, a spokesman at Walmart’s corporate headquarters in Arkansas, said the company would not comment on pending litigation, but would respond in court.
“The safety and well-being of our customers is very important to us,” Bradford said.
Two men, La’Shawn Porcher and Richard T. Elijah, have been convicted and sentenced in the crime. Durden said King wanted to wait until the criminal cases were over before filing her lawsuit.
Porcher, 46, pleaded guilty July 24 to complicity to commit aggravated robbery. A second count, complicity to commit felonious assault, was dropped. Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman sentenced him to seven years in prison on Aug. 13.
Just as his trial was to start Aug. 4, Elijah pleaded guilty to two counts of felonious assault and one count of aggravated robbery. As part of the plea agreement, Wiseman sentenced Elijah, 47, to 10 years in prison.
Elijah had been released from prison just two days before the WalMart shooting for an April conviction for breaking and entering.
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Man indicted in fatal crash
DAYTON — A Dayton man involved in an April 26 crash that killed a West Alexandria woman was indicted Tuesday, Oct. 13, on two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and one count of driving while under the influence.
One of the aggravated vehicular homicide charges filed against Justin M. Henderson is a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The other is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to eight years in prison.
Henderson, now 21, was 20 at the time of the accident that killed 41-year-old Mary J. Farrow. Kettering police said Henderson ran a red light while driving a white Oldsmobile Cutlass north along Research Boulevard. His speed was higher than the 40 mph posted speed limit, police said.
Farrow, driving a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, was westbound on Shakertown Road.
Following the crash, a witness pulled Henderson from his car before it became engulfed in fire, police said. Another witness performed CPR on Farrow, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Homeowner association president sentenced for embezzling $87,000
DAYTON — The former president of the Gander Road Homeowner’s Association, who admitted to embezzling $87,000 from the group, was sentenced Friday, Oct. 9, to five years probation.
Rose Griffin, 69, of Dayton, appeared before U.S. District Senior Judge Walter H. Rice, who ordered her to pay full restitution to the association. Griffin will spend the first 18 months of her probation on home confinement, under Rice’s sentence.
Griffin pleaded guilty June 17 to one count of honest services mail fraud.
The thefts occurred between July 2005 and January 2007, according to a statement of facts filed in court. Griffin made false entries in the association’s financial records and fraudulently diverted funds from the association’s money market account, the statement said.
During her home detention, Griffin will be under 24-hour lockdown with electronic monitoring equipment, which she will pay for. She will only be allowed to leave home for pre-approved medical visits during that period, according to Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
Griffin must repay the restitution at the rate of $1,000 per month and receive counseling for gambling addiction. Rice also ordered that a lien be placed on Griffin’s home.
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Kimberly Cook sentenced to 36 years to life for abusing children, killing one
DAYTON — Kimberly Cook, convicted of killing her 3-year-old half-sister, was sentenced to 36 years to life in prison Thursday, Oct. 8.
Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman called Cook’s crimes “reprehensible and beyond imagination.”
Kimberly Cook was accused of abusing her two half-siblings: Hope, 3, who died July 20, 2008 at Children’s Medical Center, and her brother, 6. Kimberly Cook was the legal guardian for both children. They were living at the family’s mobile home at Voyager Mobile Home Park, off U.S. 35, in Trotwood.
Her trial was last week. On Oct. 1, the jury deliberated for about 90 minutes before finding Kimberly Cook guilty of all indicted counts: two counts of murder, two counts of child endangering and one count of felonious assault.
Kimberly Cook was not charged with purposeful murder. Both murder counts stem from a “proximate result” of committing felonious assault and child endangering. Those four charges dealt with Hope’s injuries. The other child endangering charge dealt with the 6-year-old’s injuries.
Kimberly Cook did not show any emotion during the sentencing, and declined to speak. Her attorney, Scott Calaway, told Wiseman that the four charges dealing with Hope should merge into one. He asked Wiseman to sentence his client to 15-to-life on those counts, plus five years on the charge involving the 6-year-old, which he said should run concurrent to the other counts.
Assistant County Prosecutor Tracey Ballard Tangeman replied that none of the charges should merge and that it would be “offensive” to run concurrent sentences for charges involving two children.
Jamie Oliver, a victim-witness advocate with the prosecutor’s office, read an impact statement written by Amy Cook Wolfe, who is a half-sister of both Kimberly and the victims. The statement said that Kimberly Cook showed no remorse during the trial, and smirked until she was convicted, when she wept.
“We will never stop missing Hope,” Oliver read. “Hope’s death is like a deep wound that will never, ever heal.”
Wiseman said that, under law, the two murder charges would have to merge, but she did not merge the other counts involving Hope. She then sentenced Kimberly Cook to the maximum sentence for each of those counts, then ran them consecutively.
Wiseman said she did this for several factors, including the victims’ ages, and because the defendant had committed “the worst form of the offenses possible.”
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Bill Goodman’s gun show targeted in New York undercover investigation
By Lou Grieco and Tom Beyerlein
DAYTON — An undercover investigation funded by the City of New York found weapons were sold illegally at seven gun shows in three states — including at Bill Goodman’s Gun and Knife Show at Hara Arena — Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Wednesday, Oct. 7.
This undercover video was released with the report:
“The gun show loophole is a deadly serious problem — and this undercover operation exposes just how pervasive and serious it is,” Bloomberg said. “This is an issue that has nothing to do with the Second Amendment; it’s about keeping guns from criminals, plain and simple.”
From May to August, 40 private investigators went to gun shows in Ohio, Tennessee and Nevada, including Goodman shows in Trotwood, Sharonville and Nashville. Both licensed and unlicensed gun dealers were willing to sell firearms to detectives posing either as people admitting they could not pass a background check or as obvious “straw buyers” for criminals.
Investigators approached two private sellers and two licensed dealers at the May 2-3 Hara show, all of whom failed the “integrity tests,” according to an investigation report issued by Bloomberg’s office.
Overall, only 11 of 33 private sellers and one of 17 licensed dealers approached at the seven shows passed those tests, the report said.
Gun show promoter Dave Goodman, son of founder Bill Goodman, did not return phone calls seeking comment Wednesday.
Hara spokeswoman Karen Wampler said Goodman has been renting Hara facilities for more than 30 years, and “in that time, we are not aware of any violations involving the licensed dealers at the Dayton show, where there are weapon checks at the entrance, 24-hour security and a strong and continuing (federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) presence.”
“If there is evidence of dealer wrongdoing, it should be immediately turned over to the ATF, at which time the promoter of the show, Dave Goodman, assures us that he will immediately and irrevocably remove the violator from the show.”
The report generated by the investigation, Gun Show Undercover, is available on the city’s website, at http://www.nyc.gov/gunshow. Bloomberg said the city would be sending it to every member of Congress, and urged Congress to pass legislation closing the “gun-show loophole,” which gun control proponents say allows people to buy guns without a background check at the shows.
The National Rifle Association has long said there is no such thing as a “gun-show loophole” and that new legislation would be pointless, as most people who sell guns at the shows are licensed dealers, who are already required to do background checks.
The investigators went to the shows to see whether sellers would engage in two types of illegal transactions. The first involves private sellers selling guns to people who they thought could not pass a federal background check. The investigators would offer to purchase a weapon, then tell the seller that they probably couldn’t pass a background check.
The second involves licensed dealers conducting illegal straw sales, which are sales made to accomplices posing as buyers in order to help the real buyer avoid a criminal background check. In those cases, a male investigator played the role of a person who wanted to buy a gun but couldn’t, and a female investigator played the role of the “straw” buyer who would purchase it for him.
According to the report, investigators visited the Goodman show at Hara on May 2-3. They approached two private sellers and two licensed dealers. All failed the “integrity tests,” according to the report. Overall, only 11 of 33 private sellers and one of 17 licensed dealers approached at the seven shows passed those tests, the report said.
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Former Gemini Eye Care employee indicted on theft charge
DAYTON — A former employee of Gemini Eye Care, accused of embezzling $284,000, has been indicted on a charge of aggravated theft of more than $100,000.
Tina D. Jaynes, 34, of Butler Twp., was indicted Monday, Oct. 5. She is scheduled for to appear in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court for arraignment on Oct. 20.
The charge is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in state prison.
Jaynes was an operations manager for the store, which is at 6557 Brandt Pike in Huber Heights, according to Greg Flannagan, spokesman for the county prosecutor’s office.
Jaynes did have a co-defendant, another former employee who took “considerably less money,” but that person was accepted into the diversion program, Flannagan said Wednesday.
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Littlejohn home to be sold at sheriff’s sale
DAYTON — An 11,500 square-foot house, once owned by former Dayton School Board President Gail Littlejohn, will be sold at a Montgomery County Sheriff’s sale on Nov. 20.
Littlejohn and her husband, retired Dayton Municipal Judge Bill C. Littlejohn, lived in the house after it was built in 2000, one year before she was elected to the school board. She resigned in Oct. 2007 to move to Houston, where she works at a national school reform center.
Her husband moved to Houston after he retired on June 30. Neither Littlejohn could be reached for comment on Friday, Oct. 2.
The house, at 1253 Hook Estate Drive, is a two-story single family home with six bedrooms and 7.5 baths, two wood-burning fireplaces and a four-car garage. In 2008, the property taxes totaled nearly $32,000.
JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, filed a foreclosure complaint on March 31, stating that Gail Littlejohn defaulted on a mortgage she took out in December 2006. The complaint states that Littlejohn owed $1.1 million in principal.
On June 15, an attorney for the Littlejohns notified common pleas Judge Michael T. Hall that a settlement had been reached. One day later, Hall ordered that, unless the plaintiff was paid in full within three days, the property would be foreclosed and sold.
Though the county auditor’s office once valued the property at $1.4 million, appraisers for the sheriff’s office have determined the current value is $657,000. It cannot be sold for less than two-thirds of that appraisal, according to the advertisement placed in the Dayton Daily News on Friday.
Gail Littlejohn retired after working as a corporate attorney for Reed Elsevier, the parent company of LexisNexis.
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Murder indictment filed for man accused of killing girlfriend’s brother
DAYTON — A Dayton man accused of gunning down his girlfriend’s brother was indicted Friday, Oct. 2, on murder and other felony counts.
The Montgomery County grand jury also charged DaJuan M. Bell with two counts of felonious assault and single counts of carrying a concealed weapon and being a felon in possession of a weapon.
Bell, 28, is accused of killing Kantron Gipson on July 11. Gipson was the brother of Chakisha Alstork, who is the mother of Bell’s child.
Gipson’s family said Gipson went to the 3000 block of Wexford Place, in Hilltop Homes, to confront Bell, who they said repeatedly hit Alstork. Bell and Kantron Gipson got into an argument about 1:30 p.m., and Kantron Gipson was shot while running from Bell, Dayton police said.
According to a background check, Bell has been arrested numerous times on domestic violence charges for beating two different women. In one instance in 2001, he was jailed 90 days for charges related to a domestic violence conviction.
Domestic violence charges filed against Bell in January of this year were dropped, along with those filed twice in 2002, according to jail records.
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Cook trial: Guilty on all charges
DAYTON — Kimberly Cook, accused of abusing her two half-siblings, killing one of them, was convicted of all indicted counts Thursday, Oct. 1.
The jury deliberated for about 90 minutes before finding Cook guilty of two counts of murder, two counts of child endangering and one count of felonious assault. Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman set sentencing for Oct. 8.
Hope Cook, 3, died July 20, 2008 at Children’s Medical Center. Kimberly Cook was the legal guardian for both Hope and her 6-year-old brother. They were living at the family’s mobile home at Voyager Mobile Home Park, off U.S. 35, in Trotwood.
Amy Cook Wolfe, who is a half-sister of Kimberly Cook as well as Hope and her brother, said the verdict was just, but that it was difficult to sit through the trial, particularly during the graphic testimony and photographs of Hope’s injuries.
“I don’t want to remember her like that,” Wolfe said, adding that she preferred to remember Hope as “sweet, adorable, innocent.”
The jury got the case about 3:10 p.m., after nearly two hours of closing arguments from attorneys. The trial started Monday, and testimony finished on Wednesday.
Kimberly Cook was not charged with purposeful murder. Both murder counts stem from a “proximate result” of committing felonious assault and child endangering. Those four charges dealt with Hope’s injuries. The other child endangering charge dealt with the brother’s injuries.
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Cook trial: The jury starts deliberations
DAYTON — The case of Kimberly Cook, accused of abusing her two half-siblings, killing one of them, went to the jury on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 1.
“What this case comes down to is accountability,” Assistant Montgomery County Prosecutor Tracey Ballard Tangeman told the jury during her closing argument. “Her actions sent two children to the emergency room and one to the morgue.”
The jury got the case about 3:10 p.m., after nearly two hours of closing arguments from attorneys. The trial, before Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman, started Monday.
Hope Cook, 3, died July 20, 2008 at Children’s Medical Center. Kimberly Cook was the legal guardian for both Hope and her 6-year-old brother. They were living at the family’s mobile home at Voyager Mobile Home Park, off U.S. 35, in Trotwood.
Kimberly, 23, is charged with two counts of murder, one count of felonious assault, and two counts of child endangering. One of those child endangering charges are for the brother’s injuries and the other four charges are for Hope’s. Kimberly Cook is not charged with purposeful murder, and both murder counts stem from a “proximate result” of committing felonious assault and child endangering against Hope.
Assistant County Prosecutor Mary Montgomery said that several witnesses testified to Kimberly Cook’s pattern of taking the children to the bathroom for punishment, including cold showers. She also said that Dexter told a hospital employee that he injured his feet by kicking a vanity while Kimberly Cook held him under water in the sink.
“That bathroom was a dangerous place for Hope and (her brother),” Montgomery said.
Hope had 15 injuries, including 11 above the neck. Her skull was shattered and her brain injuries were as severe as would be seen when someone was thrown from a car, Montgomery said. She called Kimberly Cook’s explanation to medical authorities that the girl fell in the shower “weak and inadequate” for such “catastrophic injuries.”
Montgomery also noted that police found dirty dishes stashed in cabinets, unwashed clothes shoved into the washer and dryer, and other signs that she tried to clean up the scene before investigators arrived, or before she went to a neighbor’s house for help.
“It was all about appearances, just like she wants you to believe that Hope suffered her injuries from a simple fall Montgomery said. “Take one layer off and the truth is lying right there under the surface.”
Defense attorney Scott Calaway ridiculed the prosecution’s reference to the alleged cleaning of the scene, which he said was character assassination to make up for a lack of evidence.
“All of this, it’s done to make her look like crap,” Calaway said. “Because we have to assassinate her. Because we have to make her look like a bad mother.”
Calaway said that only one witness, Kimberly’s uncle Tommy Cook, testified that he ever saw Kimberly strike the children. Calaway attacked Tommy Cook’s credibility, noting that he is serving a prison sentence for charges — including child endangering — related to running a methamphetamine lab in his garage.
Several witnesses testified that they had seen the children with bruises or black eyes, but there was no explanation for them. There was also no evidence as to how Hope suffered her head trauma, just conjecture, Calaway said.
“Where is the evidence? It’s not here because it doesn’t exist,” Calaway said.
As for expert testimony about alleged abuse, Calaway said that experts were not infallible.
Tangeman, following Calaway, said that “we’re not in a battle of the experts,” as the defense offered nothing to rebut the three doctors, including a forensic pathologist, who testified that Hope’s injuries were from abuse.
Tangeman also said that several witnesses testified that they had seen both children with black eyes at different times. There was a clear pattern of abuse, even though only Tommy Cook, a family member, testified that he saw any abuse happen, she said.
“It’s the nature of abuse,” Tangeman said. “It’s secret. It’s done in private.”
She said the brother told authorities that Kimberly Cook was responsible for his bruises after Hope was taken to the hospital.
“Hope’s injuries are what saved (the brother),” Tangeman said. “That’s how we found out about it. That’s how abuse works.”
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