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Home > Blogs > Dayton Courts: Legal and crime news > Archives > 2010 > January
January 2010
Woman accused of attacking MySpace acquaintance pleads guilty to sex charge
DAYTON — A woman accused of sexually assaulting another woman she met through the MySpace social networking website will be sentenced Feb. 4 for gross sexual imposition.
Markita L. Harper pleaded guilty to the charge on Jan. 21 before Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge A.J. Wagner. Four other charges, including kidnapping, attempted gross sexual imposition and two counts of unlawful restraint, were dismissed.
Harper, 20, of Dayton, went to the victim’s apartment to watch movies with her when the alleged assault occurred on Dec. 11, police said. A friend of the victim showed up at the apartment and pulled Harper away from the victim, police said.
Harper has been in the Montgomery County Jail since her Dec. 18 arrest.
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Man accused of killing veteran is indicted on murder charges
DAYTON — A grand jury has indicted Jesse James Metcalf, accused of shooting a Vietnam War veteran to death, on 10 felony counts, including three counts of murder.
The grand jury, which indicted Metcalf, 20, on Monday, Jan. 25, also charged him with two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of felonious assault, two counts of aggravated burglary and one count of possessing a firearm after a felony conviction.
Daniel Johnson Jr., 58, was found Jan. 12 on the floor of his bedroom at 23 N. Monmouth St. He had been shot in the head and was the victim of an apparent robbery, police said.
Police arrested Metcalf two days later.
Police reports show Metcalf has a long criminal record with an addiction to heroin and crack. He has been arrested at least 23 times by police.
He has an open felony case involving a charge of assault on a police officer. The charge is related to an incident Oct. 5, when police stopped him near his home in the 2600 block of East Second Street.
Officers said Metcalf was under the influence of drugs when he tried to escape arrest and had to be hit with a Taser at least five times before he could be subdued. Metcalf, whose driver’s license is suspended, tried to flee when an officer found what was determined to be heroin in his pants, the report stated.
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Four local judges take leadership positions on judges association
COLUMBUS — Four local judges have been elected to leadership positions in the Ohio Common Pleas Judges Association
Butler County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael J. Sage will serve as association president this year. He was among a slate of nine officers elected for leadership positions at the group’s annual winter conference.
Montgomery County Judge Michael T. Hall was elected first vice president, Champaign County Judge Roger B. Wilson was elected treasurer and Warren County Judge James L. Flannery will service as past president.
The common pleas judges association’s membership includes all general division judges of the state’s common pleas courts, and its mission is “to improve the law, the legal system and the effective administration of justice.”
Judge Sage, who has served on the Butler County bench since 1991, was named chair of the Supreme Court’s new Advisory Committee on Specialized Dockets in October. For the past 10 years, he has administered a Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Docket that addresses felony-level offenders with a primary diagnosis of both a severe mental health disorder and drug dependency.
From 1982 to 1987, Judge Sage served as an assistant prosecutor in Butler County. He received his law degree from the University of Dayton.
“In this time of difficult budgets and expanding case loads, I look forward to being a voice for all trial judges in Ohio,” said Judge Sage. “Ohio has had a long tradition of dedicated and respected judges who work hard to preserve the integrity of the third branch of government.”
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Mortgage fraud scheme leads to prison sentences for three, probation for another
DAYTON — The last four participants in an extensive mortgage fraud scheme, which affected 205 residential properties across Montgomery County and defrauded 33 mortgage lending institutions of more than $7 million, were sentenced Friday, Jan. 22, with three receiving prison terms.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael R. Barrett sentenced:
— Kenneth O. McGee, 50, to 32 months in prison and fined him $12,500. — Robert Mitchell, 43, of Vandalia, to 32 months in prison and fined him $12,500. — Kamal J. Gregory, 36, Centerville, to 10 months in prison and fined him $12,500. — Edward McGee, 76, the father of Kenneth O. McGee, to three years probation and fined fined him $140,000.
Mitchell pleaded guilty on March 11, to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Gregory pleaded guilty April 14 to the same charges.
The McGees pleaded guilty May 11, with Kenneth McGee pleading to the same charges as the other two. Edward McGee pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The cases stem from a 13-count indictment involving six defendants which was originally handed down on June 25, 2008. The defendants were part of a conspiracy that operated and controlled various Dayton-based real estate mortgage and title insurance related businesses and corporations.
The defendants manipulated real estate documents to fraudulently obtain excess mortgage loan proceeds, said Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
Two others involved in the scheme were previously sentenced. Julian M. Hickman, 32, formerly of Centerville and now living in East Cleveland, pleaded guilty Dec. 15, 2008 to conspiracy and tax crimes. Hickman was sentenced Dec. 10 to 33 months in prison.
Jessica A. Zbacnik, 42, of Monroe, pleaded guilty July 29 to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. She was sentenced Dec. 3 to 30 months imprisonment.
Agencies participating in the Greater Dayton Mortgage Fraud Task Force in addition to the FBI and IRS include the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Financial Institutions, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General, and the Perry Township Police Department.
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Shooting gets man five years in prison
DAYTON — A man who shot a Trotwood resident last year was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
Billy Joe Barrett, 23, pleaded guilty Dec. 29 to two counts of felonious assault and one count of possessing a weapon after a felony conviction.
Barrett was accused of shooting Ronnie Turner at Turner’s home on the 100 block of Morgan Avenue. Turner’s wounds were not life-threatening, police said.
Police said Turner was arguing with a young man who was dating his daughter when Barrett pulled the weapon. When Turner held out his right hand toward the gun, Barrett fired. The bullet passed through his hand then into his shoulder.
Barrett and three others fled the scene in a car, police said.
Barrett has an extensive criminal record, including a juvenile conviction when he was 14 for aggravated robbery, according to court records.
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Fatal crash by drunk driver leads to five year prison term
DAYTON — A Beavercreek woman who wrecked her car while driving drunk, killing one friend and seriously injuring another, was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
Felicia D. Burg, had pleaded guilty Dec. 15 to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, two counts of aggravated vehicular assault and two counts of operating a vehicle under the influence. The five-year sentence given by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Frances E. McGee was part of the sentencing agreement.
Burg was driving a Chevrolet Impala at high speed about 3 a.m. Nov. 29, 2008, when she lost control on North Main Street, hit an RTA utility pole and caused her two passengers to be ejected, police said.
Cicely Shontee, 25, of Dayton, died at Miami Valley Hospital. Mykala Mercer, who survived, did not attending the hearing, but Mercer’s victim-impact statement was read by victim-witness advocate Neva Rohrer.
“I have lost a good job, a home and my walking,” Rohrer read. “I wake up every morning in pain. I don’t know what to do sometimes, so I cry.”
In the statement, Mercer wrote that she missed Shontee, but that she was longer angry at Burg.
“I forgive you,” Rohrer read. “I am very sorry this had to happen this way.”
McGee also ordered Burg to pay $5,100 in restitution to cover the cost of Shontee’s funeral, suspended her driver’s license for life, and fined her $10,000.
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Florida man who killed woman in traffic accident sentenced to 90 days in jail
HUBER HEIGHTS — Bryan Sacco, the former Wayne High School student convicted of killing a woman in a two-car accident, was sentenced to 90 days in the Montgomery County Jail on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
Sacco, 19, now living in Orlando, Fla., pleaded no contest Dec. 22, to vehicular homicide, a first-degree misdemeanor. County District Court Judge James Piergies who sentenced Sacco to 180 days, the maximum for a first-degree misdemeanor, but suspended 90. Deputies immediately took Sacco into custody.
Sacco was convicted of causing the death of Michele A. Meade, 42, in a two-car accident in April. Meade’s sister, Monica Littlejohn, gave a victim-impact statement to the court, calling her sister “generous in every way.”
Meade was an elementary school custodian who was beloved by the children who attended her school and the staff who worked with her, Littlejohn said.
“My pain is amplified by anger,” Littlejohn said, adding that Sacco “used the streets as his playground.”
In a soft voice, Sacco told Piergies that he took responsibility for Meade’s death.
“I’m really, truly and deeply sorry,” Sacco said. “I wish I could take it back.”
Defense attorney Jon Paul Rion told Piergies that an accident reconstruction expert that the defense had hired estimated that Sacco had been traveling 3 mph over the speed limit and had a bald tire. He also said that Meade might have survived had she been wearing a seat belt.
Piergies also fined Sacco $500, plus court costs.
“We will hope that you learn from this circumstance,” Piergies said.
Huber Heights police said Sacco was behind the wheel of a Roush special factory edition Mustang GT on April 14 when he ran a red light and collided with Meade’s compact Chevy Truck.
The crash happened about 3:15 p.m. at the intersection of southbound Brandt Pike (Ohio 201) and eastbound Executive Boulevard. Sacco, 18 at the time, was driving 45 to 60 mph in a posted speed limit zone of 35 mph, police said.
Investigators initially tried to secure a felony vehicular homicide charge against Sacco, but prosecutors approved a misdemeanor charge.
Sacco was arrested after the crash on a vehicular homicide charge, but was released while detectives investigated the crash. He moved to Orlando some time after the incident.
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Sexual assault case leads to lawsuit against charter school
DAYTON — The family of a former student has filed a lawsuit against the Summit Academy, claiming another student “raped and sexually abused” the boy at the school.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday, Jan. 14 in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. A similar lawsuit was filed by the family in January 2009, but withdrawn in November. The new lawsuit names the alleged perpetrator and his parents as defendants.
The Dayton Daily News generally does not identify sexual assault victims or juvenile defendants.
Neither Kathleen Mioni, state superintendent for Summit Academy schools, nor P.J. Conboy II, attorney for the plaintiffs, returned phone calls on Friday, Jan. 15.
The victim, who now lives in Toledo with his mother, was 10 at the time a rape was reported at the charter school, 1407 E. Third St., in January 2008, according to a police report. The other boy was arrested, according to police records.
The perpetrator was referred to Montgomery County Juvenile Court, but placed in a diversion program for children who are age 10 and younger, said court Administrator Jim Cole.
The perpetrator successfully completed the program in March 2009, Cole said.
The lawsuit complaint states that the victim was “raped and sexually abused” on Jan. 15, 2008 and that the perpetrator “had been involved in allegations of sexual abuse before.”
The complaint also says that the victim had been “raped and sexually assaulted by the same student on numerous other occasions” but “Summit Academy did nothing to prevent such actions.”
The victim has suffered emotional distress and psychological damage, and the family was forced to relocate from the Dayton area, the lawsuit states.
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Man who killed his parents gets life prison term
DAYTON — Gary Kyle Marshall, accused of beating his parents to death last summer, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Thursday, Jan. 14, after he pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated murder and other felonies.
Earlier Thursday, Marshall was indicted on the aggravated murder counts, plus two counts of felonious assault, two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of grand theft of a motor vehicle. He pleaded guilty to all counts.
Marshall, 37, of Union, appeared before Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Michael T. Hall, who sentenced him to two consecutive life-without-parole sentences for the murder counts, plus 33 years and six months for the other counts, which would be consecutive to the life sentences.
Marshall, a heroin user, was the only child of David and Susie Marshall and was living with them at the time of their deaths.
Though Marshall declined to say anything, his attorneys, Jeff Rezabek and Mike Monta, both told Hall that Marshall was remorseful for what happened.
Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office victim-witness advocate Skye McKenna read a victim impact statement from the family.
“Gary has caused so much hurt to so many people,” McKenna read. “All of us have gone through pain, disbelief, shock and anger.”
The statement noted that David Marshall earned seven medals during two tours of duty in Vietnam.
“The families feel Gary has no remorse, no sorry for anything he has done,” McKenna read. “We believe Gary has no conscience at all.”
Marshall could have been eligible for the death penalty, assistant county prosecutors Tracey Ballard Tangeman and Dan Brandt said after the sentencing.
“We think justice was served,” Tangeman said. “It has been a devastating loss to the family.”
Marshall had been in the Montgomery County Jail since his Aug. 1 arrest, when Botkins police stopped him while he was driving his father’s truck. The arrest was hours before his parents’ bodies were found.
Botkins police said that, during the arrest, they found syringes and smoking pipes containing heroin residue, as well as items belonging to Marshall’s parents.
Marshall, who had shoulder-length hair at the time of his arrest, had a crew cut during his Thursday court appearance.
The bodies of David Marshall, 65, and Susie Marshall, 61, were found Aug. 1 at their home at 53 Greencliff Drive in Union. Officers went there on a welfare check after relatives had not heard from the Marshalls for several days.
Their deaths, which have been ruled homicides, were caused by blunt force trauma to their heads, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
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Man charged with dumping kids in trash found sane and competent to stand trial
DAYTON — Tommie Johnson, Jr., accused of putting two small children in a trash can last year, has been found competent to stand trial and was not insane at the time of the alleged crime, a Montgomery County Common Pleas judge ruled Wednesday, Jan. 13.
Johnson, 39, is charged with two counts of attempted murder, three counts of domestic violence and one count of tampering with evidence. He appeared before Judge Michael L. Tucker, who ruled after both prosecutors and assistant county public defender Carl Goraleski stipulated to the results of an examination done at the Forensic Psychiatry Center for Western Ohio.
Tucker also set a Feb. 3 date for a motion to suppress hearing pertaining to statements Johnson allegedly made to investigators.
Johnson pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity on Dec. 9. A person is legally insane if, at the time of an offense, he has a mental defect that is severe enough that he is unable to the nature or wrongfulness of his or her actions. Mere mental disease or defect is not enough to meet the legal definition.
Competency relates to the defendant’s ability to understand the legal proceedings around him and to assist his attorney in preparing a defense.
Johnson’s daughter, 23-month-old Ashonti Johnson, and her 8-month-old brother, Tommie Johnson III, were plucked out of a city-issued trash bin behind a building at 902 E. Second St. on July 27 by two electricians.
The children had been in the bin for about 13 hours, Dayton police said. They were treated at Children’s Medical Center.
Johnson took the kids after a domestic dispute with their mother. Johnson said he put the kids in the bin, but intended to retrieve them, according to police.
Montgomery County Juvenile Court Judge Nick Kuntz placed the children in the custody of Children Services.
All of the charges are felonies. Attempted murder is a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
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Slaying of disabled man leads to manslaughter conviction
DAYTON — A Dayton man who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the 2008 beating death of a developmentally disabled man will be sentenced Feb. 16.
Derek W. Byrd, 44, of 2052 Ravenwood Ave., appeared before Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Frances E. McGee on Friday. He was to go on trial on Jan. 20.
Police found DonnRay Jackie Dixon’s badly beaten body July 17, 2008 on Ravenwood, a few blocks from his house on West Fairview Avenue, after people driving by saw him lying near the intersection.
When police arrived, Byrd was comforting Dixon, police said. Dixon, 25, died the next day at Miami Valley Hospital, his uncle Daniel Dixon said in July 2008.
Death was caused by blunt force trauma to the head, Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab Director Ken Betz said. Police said Byrd beat Dixon with his fists.
Byrd surrendered to police on July 29, 2008, but has been free on bond since October 2008. A grand jury indicted him on the manslaughter count in April 2009.
Dixon, who the uncle said was developmentally disabled , lived with his mother and siblings in the 700 block of West Fairview.
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Sexual assault of two Xenia girls leads to guilty plea for Michigan man
DAYTON — A church music director from Michigan, accused of sexually assaulting two Xenia girls in Toledo, pleaded guilty Friday, Jan. 8, of coercion and enticement of a minor.
David Jeremy Zobel, 32, of Ann Arbor, appeared before U.S. District Senior Judge Walter H. Rice, who set sentencing for April 8 and ordered the U.S. Probation Department to do a pre-sentencing investigation.
Rice also denied bond for Zobel, who has been jailed since his June 12 arrest in Michigan.
The charge carries a mandatory minimum of ten years in prison, but can result in a life sentence. Prosecutors are recommending a 10-to-15 year sentencing range, according to Brent Tabacchi, assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
Rice told Zobel that he was not guaranteeing a sentence in that range, but added that if Rice found he could not sentence within that range, Zobel would have the right to withdraw his plea.
Zobel will be on supervised parole for at least five years after his release from prison, but could be supervised for the rest of his life, under the agreement.
Other charges, including another coercion count and three counts of interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, were dismissed under the plea agreement.
The girls were 12 and 13 at the time of the alleged assaults last year.
He took the two girls from Xenia to a parking garage in Toledo, where he had the two girls perform oral sex on him, according to a statement of facts filed with the case. He also took pictures of the girls in just their bras or topless, then gave each girl $20 before he left the garage, according to the statement.
Investigators also found 61 pictures of child pornography on Zobel’s computer, according to the statement, which Rice read aloud in court.
Zobel admitted to agents he had engaged in online sexual dialogue with one of the girls, whom he said he believed to be 16, since November 2008. He also admitted driving to Xenia, picking up that girl and a friend who wanted to run away, and driving them to Toledo, according to an FBI affidavit in the case.
As they texted each other on June 2, Zobel asked “and you guys will do anything I want?” according to the statement of facts.
The criminal complaint alleges that Zobel drove the girls only to Toledo because he feared transporting two underage girls across state lines. But the girls told Toledo police that once there, Zobel drove to a parking garage, locked the doors of his car and refused to open them until the girls performed sexual acts.
The girls were reported missing on June 2 and interviewed by Toledo police on June 3.
Xenia police said the girls’ parents reported they’d been talking to a man on the Internet. Police found his screen name on the computer and filed a subpoena with MySpace.com for his account.
According to the FBI affidavit, the information came back to the ComCast cable provider, and after an emergency request, ComCast gave Xenia police Zobel’s name, address and telephone number in Ann Arbor.
By June 5, Xenia police had talked to Zobel, who admitted only to giving the girls a ride and dropping them off in Toledo.
But that same day, Xenia police said they examined one of the girls’ cell phones and found 41 text messages to and from Zobel. One was a request from the girl to Zobel, asking for a place to stay after her friend ran away from home. Several text messages from each side reference possible sexual contact, police said.
Zobel told agents they had seen the only camera in the house, only to have his wife direct agents to another camera, which held the photos of the girls, according to the FBI affidavit.
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Man pleads guilty in Kettering shooting
DAYTON — A man accused of shooting another person in the arm at a Kettering apartment pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, felonious assault and carrying a concealed weapon.
Marcus M. Jordan, 31, of 4500 Wilmington Pike, Apt. 212, will be sentenced on Jan. 21 by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge A.J. Wagner. Under the plea agreement, the sentence will be between three and six years in prison.
Additional charges of felonious assault, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, plus all gun specifications, were dismissed under the agreement.
Jordan was accused of shooting Caleb Reynolds on May 17 at Reynolds’ apartment, 4600 Wilmington Pike, Apt. 300, according to Greg Flannagan, spokesman for the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.
Reynolds was home with two women in the apartment when Jordan knocked on the door. One of the women answered the door and Jordan pushed his way in, police said in May.
Jordan pistol whipped Reynolds before the shooting, which may have been accidental, police said in May.
Reynolds was taken to Kettering Medical Center for a gunshot wound to his arm. Jordan admitted he had a handgun when he entered the apartment, police said.
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Robber who shot at off-duty officer sentenced to prison
DAYTON — A New Lebanon man accused of shooting at an off-duty Englewood police officer during a robbery attempt was sentenced Wednesday, Jan. 6, to eight years in prison.
Sean T. Rich, 31, pleaded guilty Oct. 28 to one count of aggravated robbery, one count of felonious assault and one count of tampering with evidence. Four additional counts of aggravated robbery were dismissed.
Police said Officer Richard “Chip” Ridgway shot Rich after he entered Ridgway Prescriptions, 3101 E. Third St., about 1:30 p.m. and demanded Oxycontin.
Ridgway was off duty, working at the pharmacy owned by his family. Ridgway walked in after taking out the trash, when Rich fired and Ridgway fired back. Ridgway then chased Rich, according to Dayton police.
Rich showed up at an area hospital shortly after the incident with a gunshot wound to the neck. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, notified by the hospital that a gunshot victim had arrived, determined the victim could be involved in the robbery attempt, police said.
Detectives later found evidence at Rich’s residence related to the attempted robbery, police said.
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Man pleads guilty to murder in stabbing case
DAYTON — A man accused of stabbing an acquaintance to death on June 3 pleaded guilty Monday, Jan. 4, to one count of murder and one count of felonious assault.
Derrick R. Brooks, 50, was to go on trial next week. Second counts of murder and felonious assault were dropped. Had he been convicted of both sets of charges, they likely would have merged for sentencing purposes.
Brooks will appear before Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Katherine Huffman on Jan. 20 for sentencing. Under his plea agreement, Brooks will serve 15 years to life in prison.
Brooks was arrested for the stabbing death of Darrell Murphy, 48, of Cincinnati. Murphy died at a home in the 300 block of Ashwood Avenue. Brooks was arrested several hours later when he returned to the scene.
Dayton police said a woman living at the residence regularly provided meals for homeless people. Brooks and Murphy were there when a fight broke out sometime after 1 a.m.
The two men argued, and Brooks retrieved a butcher knife from the kitchen and stabbed Murphy in the chest, police said.
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