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Home > Blogs > Dayton Courts: Legal and crime news > Archives > 2010 > August
August 2010
Two new suspects indicted in slaying of Sinclair student
DAYTON - Two months after one man went to prison for the January 2009 shooting death of Demetrius Frazier, two other men have been indicted on murder charges in his death.
Both Demar D. Maxwell, 22, and Kelly D. Williams, 35, were indicted Tuesday, Aug. 31, on two counts of murder, two counts of aggravated robbery and two counts of felonious assault. A warrant was issued for Williams’ arrest.
Maxwell is in prison, serving 37 years to life for two August 2009 home invasions, including one which resulted in another homicide, as well as a tampering with evidence conviction in connection with Frazier’s death.
By coincidence, Maxwell’s partner in those two home invasions, Waymond Smith, was sentenced to 37 years to life on Tuesday by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Frances E. McGee.
Frazier, 24, was shot multiple times near Otterbein Avenue and Layton Drive. He knocked on doors asking for help, but collapsed and died on the front lawn of a home near the shooting, police said.
Deon L. Pinson, 33, pleaded guilty in June to involuntary manslaughter and aggravated robbery in Frazier’s slaying. As part of the plea agreement, McGee sentenced him to nine years in prison July 6.
Pinson and Frazier were friends, police said, and the robbery might have been set up by Pinson. Frazier was an engineering student at Sinclair who was planning to transfer to the University of Dayton, his father, Murphy Frazier, told the Dayton Daily News in January 2009.
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TweetHome invasions suspect gets prison sentence
DAYTON - Waymond B. Smith, convicted of charges involving two home invasions - including one that resulted in a homicide, was sentenced to 37 years to life in prison Tuesday, Aug. 31.
Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Frances E. McGee gave Smith, 30, the same sentence as his partner in those robberies, Demar D. Maxwell.
The robberies occurred at 1538 Almore St. on Aug. 15, 2009 and at 1529 Weaver St. the following day. David Green, 52, who lived at the Weaver Street address, was shot in the head and killed.
Green’s sister Pamela, who gave a witness-impact statement to the court, described Green as a kind man who bought school supplies for children in the neighborhood, would snow-blow the walkways of elderly neighbors, and made sure all of his sisters completed college.
“He provided us with a sense of security and comfort,” Pamela Green said. As for Smith, she said “May he never be free.”
On Aug. 16, the first anniversary of David Green’s slaying, Smith pleaded no contest to two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated burglary, four counts of aggravated robbery and one count of tampering with evidence.
On Tuesday, Smith gave a rambling statement to McGee, first asking for a moment of silence “for those affected directly and indirectly,” then stating that Green saved his life by stepping in front of him when someone else was shooting at them.
“I know and God knows that he did save my life,” Smith said.
“I don’t understand what you just said,” responded McGee, who noted that the testimony in Maxwell’s trial did not match the scenario Smith described. “I know that you have wasted your life.”
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TweetMissing witness postpones murder trial; police continue search
TROTWOOD - Police are looking for Thomas A. Horn, a witness to the March 19 slaying of Antoine West, whose absence pushed a murder trial back several weeks.
Dennis Jackson, 35, was to go on trial Monday, Aug. 30, in the courtroom of Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Michael L. Tucker. Without Horn, prosecutors were forced to ask for a continuance to Sept. 20.
On Monday, county prosecutors filed a motion for material witness taken into custody. In criminal cases, a material witness is one who can give testimony directly bearing on the defendant’s guilt or innocence. Tucker ruled in favor of the motion, and an arrest warrant was issued Monday morning.
Jackson was indicted April 15 on two counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault, two counts of aggravated robbery and two counts of aggravated burglary. All charges involve the shooting death of West, 25, whose body was found at 716 Kelford Place.
In March, police said there were no signs of forced entry and that a single suspect came in through the front door, several shots were fired and West was killed.
An affidavit by Trotwood Detective Michael Pigman, filed Monday along with the motion, states that “until recent months, Thomas Horn has been cooperative” and that he “even appeared and testified as a State’s witness in the hearing on the defendant’s motion to suppress.”
Pigman said he met with Horn on Aug. 15 and served him a subpoena for the trial and a notice for an Aug. 20 pre-trial conference. Horn said he would be there for both, Pigman said.
On the morning of Aug. 20, Pigman called Horn and left a message to remind him about the pre-trial conference and ask if he needed a ride to court. Horn never called back, Pigman said.
Later that day, a Trotwood detective went to Horn’s home, but the person answering the door said Horn was not there and refused to allow the detective to come inside, Pigman said.
Since that day, Pigman has tried to reach Horn by telephone at least 40 times, went to his house at least six times and driven around Horn’s neighborhood for more than 30 hours, the affidavit said.
Horn, 20, stands 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs about 185 pounds. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call Pigman at 854-3988, ext. 7402.
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TweetChild porn order leads to prison sentence for Dayton man
DAYTON - A federal judge sentenced a Dayton man, who ordered two DVDs of pre-teen children being forced to engage in sexually explicit conduct, to 18 years in prison Friday, Aug. 27.
Milton Thomas Borders, 35, who pleaded guilty in September 2009 to one count of child pornography possession, appeared before U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice for the two-hour sentencing hearing.
Postal inspectors conducting a sting operation received an order from Borders in August 2007 for a video titled “9 Years Old Raped” and another titled “Little Lolita Sex,” according to Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
A postal inspector posing as a letter carrier delivered the videos to Borders’ home. After Borders accepted the delivery of the DVDs, postal inspectors and Dayton police officers searched Borders’ residence and recovered the DVDs.
After the execution of the search warrant, Borders moved to Pineville, West Virginia where he was arrested by postal inspectors and West Virginia State Police in December 2008. He has been in custody since his arrest.
During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented evidence that, while awaiting sentencing, Borders had corresponded at least three times with a pre-teen girl and made “sexually inappropriate suggestions,” according to Stewart. The girl is a friend of Borders’ daughter.
Under Rice’s sentence, Border will be under court supervision for the rest of his life. He will be required to register as a sex offender anywhere that he lives, works or goes to school.
Borders was convicted in Miami County Common Pleas Court in 1998 on one count of attempted illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented materials, according to Stewart.
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TweetWestern Manor shootings: Defendant sentenced to prison
DAYTON — Christopher Beatty-Jones, who failed to convince a jury that he shot two security guards last March in self-defense, was sentenced Friday, Aug. 27, to 28 years to life in prison.
Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Michael L. Tucker sentenced Beatty-Jones about a half hour after the jury convicted him of murder, attempted murder and four counts of felonious assault.
For sentencing purposes, the felonious assault charges merged with the murder and attempted murder counts. Tucker sentenced Beatty-Jones to 10 years for the attempted murder of William St. Peter and 18 to life for the slaying of James C. Locker. Those two sentences, both of which include three years for firearms specifications, are to be served consecutively.
Earlier, St. Peter asked Tucker to sentence him to the maximum possible, for “what the man’s done, taking the life of Jim and scrambling mine.” Assistant county prosecutor Tracey Ballard Tangeman asked for the same “given the ridiculousness of the testimony of the defendant.”
Defense attorney Doug Hess noted the absence of any adult felony record and Beatty-Jones’ youth.
Beatty-Jones, 21, told Tucker “I didn’t mean it. I accept responsibility for what I did.”
Tucker gave the case to the jury at 11:43 a.m. The jurors deliberated for less than two hours before returning the verdicts, which were announced about 2:15 p.m.
Beatty-Jones admitted shooting Locker and St. Peter, two Moonlight Security guards, on March 30 but claimed he fired in self-defense.
St. Peter, shot in the chest, arm and thumb, testified Tuesday. Locker, shot in the side, died at Miami Valley Hospital on April 3, his 51st birthday.
During her closing argument Friday morning, assistant county prosecutor Michelle Grodner described the guards working at the Western Manor apartments on James H. McGee Boulevard as “two men doing their jobs. These men never had a chance”
Grodner noted that St. Peter was shot twice in the chest, including one shot that was dead center and would have hit his heart or his main blood vessels.
“William St. Peter is alive today because he wore a bullet-proof vest,” Grodner said. “Those were direct hits.”
St. Peter testified Tuesday that he and Locker were investigating a parked truck with lights on. Inside was Jodi Grigsby, a friend of Beatty-Jones, who was waiting for him. He said he moved away from the truck and waited in a different part of the property for Beatty-Jones to return to the truck.
Defense attorney Doug Hess said that the shootings were tragic, but that the guards escalated the situation by not following standard procedures, including making themselves visible and using verbal commands. He said St. Peter hid and came up behind Beatty-Jones as he was returning to the truck.
Hess acknowledged that Beatty-Jones was not cooperative, even telling guards he did not remember his birthday, and combative, but did so in reaction to the guards.
“He was tired of being hassled by these guys,” Hess said.
Beatty-Jones pushed away from the truck when Locker began patting him down, and the guards struggled with him, tried to handcuff him, then pepper sprayed him, heightening the situation significantly, Hess said. When one of them yelled “gun,” Beatty-Jones pulled his weapon and began firing, Hess said.
“He thought he was going to get shot,” Hess said. “He felt that it was going to be his life if he didn’t do something. That’s self-defense.”
Assistant county prosecutor Tracey Ballard Tangeman disagreed, telling the jury that, under the law, the defendant bears the burden of proving a self-defense claim by the preponderance of the evidence, a lesser standard than reasonable doubt.
Tangeman said Beatty-Jones must prove that he wasn’t at fault in starting or escalating the incident, that he had an honest, reasonable belief that he was in imminent danger of death, and that he had no other means to escape besides deadly force. None of the evidence would support any of those elements, Tangeman said.
“The defendant emptied his clip into the bodies of these two men for a pat down he didn’t think he deserved,” she said.
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TweetWestern Manor shootings: Defendant convicted of all charges
DAYTON — Christopher Beatty-Jones, who said he shot two security guards last March in self defense, was convicted Friday, Aug. 27, of murder, attempted murder and four counts of felonious assault.
Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Michael L. Tucker gave the case to the jury at 11:43 a.m. The jurors deliberated for less than two hours before returning the verdicts, which were announced about 2:15 p.m.
Tucker went back to talk to the jury but said he would sentence Beatty-Jones later Friday.
Beatty-Jones admitted shooting James C. Locker and William St. Peter, two Moonlight Security guards, on March 30 but claimed he fired in self-defense.
St. Peter, shot in the chest, arm and thumb, testified Tuesday. Locker, shot in the side, died at Miami Valley Hospital on April 3, his 51st birthday.
During her closing argument Friday morning, assistant county prosecutor Michelle Grodner described the guards working at the Western Manor apartments on James H. McGee Boulevard as “two men doing their jobs. These men never had a chance”
Grodner noted that St. Peter was shot twice in the chest, including one shot that was dead center and would have hit his heart or his main blood vessels.
“William St. Peter is alive today because he wore a bullet-proof vest,” Grodner said. “Those were direct hits.”
St. Peter testified Tuesday that he and Locker were investigating a parked truck with lights on. Inside was Jodi Grigsby, a friend of Beatty-Jones, who was waiting for him. He said he moved away from the truck and waited in a different part of the property for Beatty-Jones to return to the truck.
Defense attorney Doug Hess said that the shootings were tragic but that the guards escalated the situation by not following standard procedures, including making themselves visible and using verbal commands. He said St. Peter hid and came up behind Beatty-Jones as he was returning to the truck.
Hess acknowledged that Beatty-Jones was not cooperative, even telling guards he did not remember his birthday, and combative, but did so in reaction to the guards.
“He was tired of being hassled by these guys,” Hess said.
Beatty-Jones pushed away from the truck when Locker began patting him down, and the guards struggled with him, tried to handcuff him, then pepper sprayed him, heightening the situation significantly, Hess said. When one of them yelled “gun,” Beatty-Jones pulled his weapon and began firing, Hess said.
“He thought he was going to get shot,” Hess said. “He felt that it was going to be his life if he didn’t do something. That’s self-defense.”
Assistant county prosecutor Tracey Ballard Tangeman disagreed, telling the jury that, under the law, the defendant bears the burden of proving a self-defense claim by the preponderance of the evidence, a lesser standard than reasonable doubt.
Tangeman said Beatty-Jones must prove that he wasn’t at fault in starting or escalating the incident, that he had an honest, reasonable belief that he was in imminent danger of death, and that he had no other means to escape besides deadly force. None of the evidence would support any of those elements, Tangeman said.
“The defendant emptied his clip into the bodies of these two men for a pat down he didn’t think he deserved,” she said.
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TweetWestern Manor shootings: the jury gets the case
DAYTON — The case against Christopher Beatty-Jones, on trial in the shooting of two security guards, went to the jury Friday morning, Aug. 27.
Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Michael L. Tucker read the instructions to the jurors, then gave them the case at 11:43.
Beatty-Jones is charged with murder, attempted murder, and four counts of felonious assault. Beatty-Jones admitted shooting James C. Locker and William St. Peter, two Moonlight Security guards, on March 30 but claimed he fired in self-defense.
St. Peter, shot in the chest, arm and thumb, testified Tuesday. Locker, shot in the side, died at Miami Valley Hospital on April 3, his 51st birthday.
During her closing argument Friday morning, assistant county prosecutor Michelle Grodner described the guards working at the Western Manor apartments on James H. McGee Boulevard as “two men doing their jobs. These men never had a chance”
Grodner noted that St. Peter was shot twice in the chest, including one shot that was dead center and would have hit his heart or his main blood vessels.
“William St. Peter is alive today because he wore a bullet-proof vest,” Grodner said. “Those were direct hits.”
St. Peter testified Tuesday that he and Locker were investigating a parked truck with lights on. Inside was Jodi Grigsby, a friend of Beatty-Jones, who was waiting for him. He said he moved away from the truck and waited in a different part of the property for Beatty-Jones to return to the truck.
Defense attorney Doug Hess said that the shootings were tragic, but that the guards escalated the situation by not following standard procedures, including making themselves visible and using verbal commands. He said St. Peter hid and came up behind Beatty-Jones as he was returning to the truck.
Hess acknowledged that Beatty-Jones was not cooperative, even telling guards he did not remember his birthday, and combative, but did so in reaction to the guards.
“He was tired of being hassled by these guys,” Hess said.
Beatty-Jones pushed away from the truck when Locker began patting him down, and the guards struggled with him, tried to handcuff him, then pepper sprayed him, heightening the situation significantly, Hess said. When one of them yelled “gun,” Beatty-Jones pulled his weapon and began firing, Hess said.
“He thought he was going to get shot,” Hess said. “He felt that it was going to be his life if he didn’t do something. That’s self-defense.”
Assistant county prosecutor Tracey Ballard Tangeman disagreed, telling the jury that, under the law, the defendant bears the burden of proving a self-defense claim by the preponderance of the evidence, a lesser standard than reasonable doubt.
Tangeman said Beatty-Jones must prove that he wasn’t at fault in starting or escalating the incident, that he had an honest, reasonable belief that he was in imminent danger of death, and that he had no other means to escape besides deadly force. None of the evidence would support any of those elements, Tangeman said.
“The defendant emptied his clip into the bodies of these two men for a pat down he didn’t think he deserved,” she said.
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TweetWestern Manor shootings: the defendant testifies he shot guards out of fear
DAYTON — Christopher Beatty-Jones, on trial for shooting two security guards in March, killing one, testified Thursday, Aug. 26, that he fired because he feared they would shoot him first.
Beatty-Jones said that he was struggling with the two Moonlight Security guards, hired to patrol Western Manor apartments on James H. McGee St., when his shirt came up and the guards saw his gun in his waistband. When he heard someone shout “gun,” and saw one guard reaching for his holstered weapon, he reacted, he said.
“I pulled the gun and started shooting,” Beatty-Jones said.
Beatty-Jones, 21, admitted gunning down guards William St. Peter, who survived and testified Tuesday, and James C. Locker, who died April 3, his 51st birthday, at Miami Valley Hospital.
Beatty-Jones charged with murder, attempted murder, and four counts of felonious assault. Closing arguments will be Friday morning, then the case will go to the jury. Defense attorney Doug Hess said Monday that the defense will ask Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Michael L. Tucker to allow the jury to consider lesser offenses and a self-defense claim.
St. Peter testified Tuesday that he and Locker were investigating a parked truck with lights on. Inside was Jodi Grigsby, a friend of Beatty-Jones, who was waiting for him.
Beatty-Jones said he was walking toward the truck when St. Peter came up behind him, pushed him and told him to keep his hands up and keep walking to the truck. St. Peter did not identify himself as a security guard, Beatty-Jones said.
St. Peter testified Tuesday that he met Beatty-Jones in the lot and asked him to walk toward the truck, then walked behind him, but did not touch him.
Beatty-Jones admitted to assistant Montgomery County prosecutor Tracey Ballard Tangeman that he lied to the guards when he said he did not remember his birthday, that he did not have a concealed-carry permit, and that he knew the two men were guards by the time a scuffle broke out at the truck.
Beatty-Jones said he began struggling with the guards “because I felt I didn’t do anything wrong.” He denied striking either guard, which contradicts St. Peter’s testimony. Both men testified that St. Peter sprayed Beatty-Jones with pepper spray twice.
Beatty-Jones told his attorney that the spray left his vision blurry, but admitted to Tangeman that he could see well enough to shoot both men more than once. St. Peter was hit twice in the chest, but a vest stopped the bullets. He was also shot in the right arm and part of his thumb was shot off.
Though Beatty-Jones said he started shooting when he saw St. Peter put his hand on his gun, St. Peter’s gun never left his holster, according to prosecutors. Locker did pull his gun, but it was struck by a bullet rendering it inoperable, according to prosecutors.
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TweetPoker tournament host pleads guilty to federal charges
DAYTON — A West Carrollton club owner accused of running poker tournaments pleaded guilty Wednesday, Aug. 25, to one count of conducting an illegal gambling business and one count of making false statements on an income tax return.
Federal prosecutors dropped three other counts of making false statements on federal income tax returns against Stanley W. Combs III, 42, of Union. Combs appeared before U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett, who did not set a date for sentencing.
From 2004 through 2007, Combs substantially under-reported income from his earnings as owner/operator of the Fraternal Order of Orioles Next 293, 842 Watertower Lane, and a related entity at 10955 Lower Valley Pike in Medway, according to Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
The illegal gambling business was organized as a tax-exempt social/charitable entity. Combs and at least five others conducted, financed or owned the business, according to the statement of facts filed with the plea.
The business operated from January 2004 through March 2008 and often generated daily gross revenues in excess of $2,000, according to court documents.
Combs reported his 2007 gross income to the IRS as $34,095, but investigators found earnings of more than $242,000. Between 2004 and 2006, Combs under-reported his personal income, costing the IRS between $80,000 and $200,000, according to court records.
Combs faces a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment for operating an illegal gambling business, a fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release. The maximum penalty for making false statement on income tax returns is three years imprisonment, a fine of $100,000 and one year of supervised release.
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TweetGunshot victim testifies about Western Manor shootings
DAYTON - William St. Peter was struggling with the stranger when he heard several muffled shots, smelled gunpowder and felt pain in his chest and right arm.
He’d been shot. But the Moonlight Security guard testified that he didn’t know Christopher Beatty-Jones had a gun until he heard the shots - and by then, the gunshot would to his arm prevented him from getting to his weapon, holstered at his right side, St. Peter testified Tuesday, Aug. 24.
“Never had a chance,” St. Peter said.
St. Peter testified in the trial of Christopher Beatty-Jones, who is accused of gunning down William St. Peter and James C. Locker. The two guards were working March 30 at Western Manor Apartments on James H. McGee.
Locker, whom St. Peter described as “my lieutenant,” who died at Miami Valley Hospital on April 3, Locker’s 51st birthday.
Beatty-Jones, 21, is charged with murder, attempted murder, and four counts of felonious assault. His trial started Monday and is expected to continue through the week.
Assistant Montgomery County Prosecutor Michelle Grodner and defense attorney Doug Hess both told the jury on Monday that Christopher Beatty-Jones shot the guards. But where Grodner described an unprovoked attack by Beatty-Jones, Hess blamed the “improper management of the situation by the guards.”
The two guards noticed a pickup truck with lights on and decided to investigate. They found a woman, later identified as Jodi Grigsby, in the passenger seat with her eyes closed. Locker knocked on the truck and shined his flashlight inside, St. Peter said.
As Locker, at the passenger side window, continued to ask Grigsby questions, St. Peter moved toward an apartment building to wait for “Chris,” the friend Grigsby was waiting for. When the man arrived, the guards told him to come to the truck and St. Peter walked behind him.
Beatty-Jones identified himself as Chris Jones and said he didn’t remember his birthday, so the guards knew “something’s up,” St. Peter said. Locker patted him down and asked him to empty his pockets. Beatty-Jones took out keys, a cellular phone, and a condom, but then attempted to push away from the truck, even as Locker continued the pat down, St. Peter said.
As they struggled with Beatty-Jones, St. Peter pepper sprayed him twice. Then he heard the gunshots, which he said seemed muffled because he was so close to the gun, St. Peter said.
His Kevlar vest stopped two bullets to the chest, but Beatty-Jones also shot St. Peter in the right arm, which still has a bullet in it, and shot off the top of his thumb, St. Peter said.
After he was shot, he saw Beatty-Jones running away. He then went to Locker, who was on the ground and told him he’d also been shot, St. Peter said.
The guards had already contacted Dayton police for backup before the shootings. As random people approached the wounded guards, St. Peter became fearful. Using his left hand, he picked up Locker’s gun and warned them to stay back.
On Monday, Grodner told the jury that Locker’s gun had been struck by a bullet and rendered inoperable.
St. Peter said he identified Beatty-Jones as the shooter during a photo spread later that morning.
Beatty-Jones was arrested at 3933 Prescott Ave. seven hours after the shooting and has remained in the Montgomery County Jail.
St. Peter said he has not been able to return to work. He said he has flashbacks, troubling dreams and is seeking psychological help.
Hess said Monday that Grigsby and Beatty-Jones placed an order at a pizza place, then went to the apartment to drop off a phone card for Beatty-Jones’ friend.
When Beatty-Jones returned to the truck, the guards grabbed him from behind, threw him up against the truck, then started going through his pockets, Hess said. They did not identify themselves as security, Hess said.
Beatty-Jones, who knew he was in a high crime area, started shooting after he was pepper-sprayed in the face and blinded, Hess said. The defense will ask the jury to consider lesser offenses and a self-defense claim, Hess said.
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TweetMan accused of gunning down two guards goes to trial
DAYTON — The trial of a Dayton man accused of gunning down two apartment security guards last spring, killing one, started Monday, Aug. 23.
Assistant Montgomery County Prosecutor Michelle Grodner and defense attorney Doug Hess both told the jury that Christopher Beatty-Jones shot the guards. But where Grodner described an unprovoked attack by Beatty-Jones, Hess blamed the “improper management of the situation by the guards.”
Beatty-Jones, 21, is charged with murder, attempted murder, and four counts of felonious assault in the March 30 shootings at Western Manor Apartments on James H. McGee Boulevard. Each charge includes a firearm specification, which would add three years to any prison sentence.
He is accused of shooting two Moonlight Security guards: William St. Peter, who survived and is expected to testify, and James C. Locker, who died at Miami Valley Hospital on April 3, his 51st birthday. Beatty-Jones was arrested at 3933 Prescott Ave. seven hours after the shooting and has remained in the Montgomery County Jail.
Grodner described “two senseless acts of violence,” that started when the two guards noticed a pickup truck in the parking lot with the cab light on. They went to the truck and found Jodi Grigsby inside asleep. They asked her what she was doing, and she said she was waiting for her friend Chris to return, Grodner said.
Because the truck was not in her name, the guards became concerned that it might have been stolen and asked Dayton Police to come and back them up. But before they could, they encountered Beatty-Jones, who did not provide any information.
“He stated he didn’t remember his own birthday,” Grodner said.
When Locker went to pat him down, as he had a legal right to do, Beatty-Jones began struggling with the guards, Grodner said. Twice they tried to pepper spray him. But when St. Peter grabbed him, Beatty-Jones pulled out a gun and fired at least seven shots, Grodner said.
St. Peter’s vest stopped two bullets that struck his chest, but he was also struck in the arm and thumb. He never pulled his gun out. Locker did pull his gun, but it was struck by a bullet rendering it inoperable. Locker was struck in the body and the side, Grodner said.
Hess said the truck belong to Grigsby, though it was in her son’s name. He said there was no evidence of any crime up to the shootings.
Hess said that Grigsby and Beatty-Jones placed an order at a pizza place, then went to the apartment to drop off a phone card for Beatty-Jones’ friend.
When Beatty-Jones returned to the truck, the guards grabbed him from behind, threw him up against the truck, then started going through his pockets, Hess said. They did not identify themselves as security, Hess said.
Beatty-Jones, who knew he was in a high crime area, started shooting after he was pepper-sprayed in the face and blinded, Hess said. The defense will ask the jury to consider lesser offenses and a self-defense claim, Hess said.
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TweetMan accused of shooting friend is indicted
DAYTON — A Dayton man accused of killing his neighbor and friend last week was indicted Friday, Aug. 20 on an aggravated murder charge.
The grand jury also charged Kevin Eugene Evans, Jr. with three counts of aggravated robbery and one count of discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises. All of those charges are first-degree felonies, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, while the aggravated murder charge is unclassified and could result in a life sentence.
Evans, 20, was arrested Aug. 13 for the alleged robbery and slaying of Justin Valentinte, 21.
Valentine was shot several times during an Aug. 12 armed robbery near Lexington and Glendale avenues around 11:30 p.m. The Montgomery County coroner ruled the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the back.
“We were real good friends. It was stupid,” Evans said Aug. 13 while being escorted in handcuffs into the Montgomery County Jail. “I apologize (to his family). I hope they forgive me.”
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TweetMan convicted in home invasion slaying
DAYTON — A man who was to go on trial this week for the slaying of a man during a home invasion will instead be sentenced on Aug. 31.
Waymond B. Smith pleaded no contest to aggravated murder and other felony charges Monday, Aug. 16, exactly one year after the death of David Green.
Green, 52, was shot in the head at his residence, 1529 Weaver St.
Smith, 30, appeared before Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Frances E. McGee. In addition to two counts of aggravated murder, Smith also pleaded no contest to two counts of aggravated burglary, three counts of aggravated robbery and one count of tampering with evidence, all related to Green’s death. One count of disrupting public services was dismissed.
Smith also pleaded no contest to one count of aggravated robbery in connection with a similar home invasion at 1538 Almore St. on Aug. 15, a day before Green was killed. In that case, two counts of possessing a weapon after a felony conviction were dismissed.
Smith’s alleged partner in both home invasions, Demar D. Maxwell, 21, is serving 37 years to life in prison after convictions in those cases.
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TweetCar wash arsonist sentenced
DAYTON — A Washington Twp. man who set a fire at the Four Seasons Auto Bath in May was sentenced to six months in the Montgomery County Jail on Wednesday, Aug. 18.
Matthew Martin, 20, pleaded guilty on July 21 to one count of breaking and entering, in connection with a break-in at the Yankee Street Market, in which a safe and two cash registers were stolen and one count of arson, for the May 18 fire set at the car wash.
Martin will on intensive probation for five years under the sentence handed down by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Michael L. Tucker, who also ordered Martin to pay restitution to two business owners and to get help for his psychological disorders.
Martin told Tucker that he was on social security disability because of his issues. Tucker declined to send him to prison, but gave him the local incarceration as a probation condition so that he would understand there were consequences for his actions.
Martin and a juvenile were arrested May 18. The arson at the car wash was captured on surveillance cameras, and sheriff’s deputies recognized Martin and the boy.
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TweetMan who led police to missing woman’s remains is sentenced to prison
DAYTON — Roy Vigus, who led police to the body of a woman missing since 1996 last year, was sentenced to seven years in prison Wednesday, Aug. 18.
Vigus pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and gross abuse of a corpse on July 23.
Vigus walked into the Montgomery County Jail on Dec. 19 and confessed to killing Connie McCarthy, 54, and told police where to find her body. Police discovered the remains under the concrete steps of a vacant house at 1124 Wyoming Ave.
Vigus, who remained free after his confession, was booked into the jail after his guilty pleas.
McCarthy’s cause of death is listed as “homicidal violence” of an unknown type, said Ken Betz, coroner’s director. “There was no evidence of a gunshot or a stabbing.”
McCarthy and Vigus knew each other before her death, police said.
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TweetMan convicted in Euclid Avenue shooting
DAYTON — Jay T. Fairman broke down in tears Wednesday, Aug. 18, after a Montgomery County jury convicted him of both charges related to the shooting of a man in April.
The jury convicted Fairman, 36, of felonious assault, plus a gun specification, and a charge of possessing a firearm after a felony conviction.
During the trial, the victim, Tremayne Brett Arnold, testified that Fairman shot him. The two had been involved in prior altercations, said assistant Montgomery County prosecutor Kimberly Melnick.
Fairman’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 3.
Arnold, 37, who was shot in the chest, suffered a collapsed lung, stayed in the hospital for two weeks and has lasting medical issues, Melnick told the jury Wednesday morning. The trial started Monday.
Police arrested Fairman about 3:30 a.m. April 11 at his West Mumma Avenue home, about five hours after Arnold was shot on Euclid Avenue.
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TweetMurder indictment handed down in Gulley case
DAYTON — A man jailed since March in a 2009 robbery and slaying was indicted Tuesday, Aug. 17, on three counts of murder.
The grand jury also charged David Moore, who turned 18 on June 23, with two counts of felonious assault, one count of aggravated robbery and one count of aggravated burglary.
Moore was a juvenile when Benjamin Gulley, 32, was slain Aug. 20, 2009, at the Wilmington-Bellaire complex.
Police said they found Gulley in a unit at 929 Wilmington Ave., shot once in the back of the head. Witnesses said they heard a gunshot and saw three men flee in a green Cadillac.
Matthew Turner, 28, and Brian Dewitt, 23, pleaded guilty June 14 to involuntary manslaughter, aggravated burglary, aggravated assault and felonious assault. No sentencing date has been set.
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TweetTax refund scheme leads to convictions for three
DAYTON — A former Dayton man accused of a tax scheme that generated more than $400,000 in false refunds pleaded guilty Tuesday, Aug. 17, to one count of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.
Kevin E. Ellis, 51, appeared before U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose, who scheduled sentencing for Nov. 18. Ellis is the third indicted co-conspirator to plead guilty. Rayfield Hutchinson Jr. and Tamela L. Wyatt both pleaded guilty to the same charge in July.
Hutchinson, 51, of Dayton, is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 14. Wyatt, 40, of Dayton is to be sentenced Oct. 29.
Between April 2005 and June 2008, the three conspired to submit thousands of dollars in false and fraudulent personal income tax returns to the IRS. They obtained personal information, such as dates of birth, Social Security numbers and addresses from individuals who lived in the Dayton area, according to court records.
Using that information, Ellis and Hutchinson fraudulently prepared and submitted to the IRS false income tax returns in the names of dozens of other individuals. Each of these income tax returns falsely claimed that the purported taxpayer was entitled to a substantial income tax refund from the IRS.
As part of the scheme, Ellis and Hutchinson generated false Forms W-2’s, using genuine employee identification numbers (EIN’s) from real businesses. Wyatt assisted Ellis and Hutchinson in obtaining these EIN’s, knowing that they intended to use this information to assist them in their scheme, according to court records.
Ellis and Hutchinson instructed the IRS to send refund checks to addresses across the Dayton area over which they had control or access. Upon receiving the checks, Ellis, Wyatt, and others cashed them at various banks located in Montgomery County, according to court records.
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TweetPicklesimer indicted on drug charge, fatal hit-and-run still under investigation
DAYTON — Jimmie Picklesimer, the suspect in an fatal hit-and-run that killed a woman and her dog, was indicted Thursday, Aug. 12, on a possession of drugs count.
That charge comes from Picklesimer’s second arrest last week on Aug.5. The first arrest was Aug. 1, the day Rebecca Thompson, 42, and her dog were struck near the intersection of Payne and Division streets in Harrison Twp..
Picklesimer remains in the Montgomery County Jail under a $500,000 bond. Though the drug count is only a fifth-degree felony, the lowest classification, Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck, Jr. and Sheriff Phil Plummer asked for a high bond.
In the hit-and-run, Picklesimer initially told deputies his truck had been carjacked by an armed man. After questioning at his parents’ Riverside home and district headquarters, Picklesimer admitted to hitting the woman and dog, fleeing the scene and making up the carjacking story. He also told deputies he had consumed six beers prior to hitting Thompson.
Picklesimer was released from the jail Aug. 2, pending further investigation.
Three days later, Picklesimer was arrested by deputies around 3:50 a.m. at the intersection of Needmore Road and School Drive in Harrison Twp., just blocks from where Thompson and her dog were killed.
Deputies spotted a 1996 Ford Taurus driving in the vicinity of Northland Village, an area known for its drug sales to those from outside the area. When deputies saw the Taurus fail to come to a complete stop at a stop sign, they followed the Taurus and made a traffic stop.
The deputy who spoke with Picklesimer reported he had “glassy, watery eyes, slurred, mush-mouth speech and the odor of alcohol,” according to the sheriff’s report. The deputy also spotted a prescription bottle on the seat next to Picklesimer, for which he had a prescription.
Picklesimer said he had consumed three beers and taken two pills from his prescription. He told the deputy he had the prescription because of “anxiety from a recent accident that was bad in nature.”
He agreed to a Breathalyzer test after failing a field sobriety test, saying “he was probably over the limit,” the deputy wrote. Picklesimer later declined the test. He was arrested for impaired driving and taken to the jail.
At the jail, the deputy saw Picklesimer drop a pill on the floor. The pill tentatively was identified as a Schedule III narcotic, and a citation for drug possession was added to his booking. In addition to the felony count, he was also charged with one misdemeanor count of operating a vehicle under the influence.
Refusing to submit to the breath test led to the automatic suspension of Picklesimer’s driver’s license. It is the 10th such suspension of his license since 2002.
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TweetRapist identified through DNA pleads guilty, gets prison sentence
DAYTON — A man matched to a 1997 rape through a DNA hit was sentenced Wednesday, Aug. 11, to nine years in prison.
Demetrius P. Chambers, appeared before Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Katherine Huffman and pleaded guilty to three charges: rape, aggravated burglary and intimidation of a crime victim or attorney. Two other charges, aggravated robbery and kidnapping, were dismissed.
Chambers was scheduled to go on trial Aug. 30.
Police arrested Chambers on Nov. 27, 2008 after a grand jury indicted him in connection with the December 1997 assault and rape of a woman in her home.
The case was reopened after Chambers’ DNA sample was entered into a national database while he was incarcerated at the Belmont Correctional Institution. His profile matched that of evidence gathered in the rape, authorities said.
Detectives then located the female victim and she picked Chambers out of a group of photos as her attacker, police said.
Investigators said Chambers knocked on the woman’s door in the 2200 block of Emerson Avenue. The woman was expecting someone else, and opened the door, then Chambers forced his way into the house.
After raping her, Chambers then stole undisclosed items from the house before leaving, according to police.
He has an extensive criminal background, including convictions for escape in 1996 and receiving stolen property in 2005, according to court records. He also been arrested for carrying a concealed weapon, drug abuse and public indecency.
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TweetDouble fatal crash leads to indictment
DAYTON - A man accused of killing two women in a Moraine traffic crash was indicted Wednesday, Aug. 11 on two counts off aggravated vehicular homicide and one count of driving under the influence.
Benton J. Shively, 23, of Washington Twp., had been southbound on Springboro Pike on May 18. Near Sandridge drive, he swerved left into oncoming traffic, crashing head-on into another vehicle.
Betty Cottle, 74, the other driver, was killed instantly. Her passenger, Kitsy Jones, 63, died 13 days later.
Shively tested positive for marijuana after the crash, according to Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck, Jr.
An arrest warrant was issued for Shively, who will be arraigned on Aug. 26.
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TweetER doctor sentenced to prison
DAYTON — A local emergency room doctor, convicted of failing to disclose more than $1.1 million in income, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Friday, Aug. 6.
Dominic Joseph Maga, 64,worked at Grandview Medical Center and Southview Hospital, as well as Riverside Hospitals and Grant Medical Center in Columbus. Following a three-day trial, a jury convicted him Aug. 4, 2009 of five counts of failure to file federal income tax returns.
Evidence presented by the Government during the trial showed that Maga failed to file federal income tax returns disclosing income of $182,701.32 in 2002, $260,078.85 in 2003, $255,369.89 in 2004, $240,287.91 in 2005 and $220,996.40 in 2006.
The trial included testimony from IRS agents, representatives of financial institutions and accountants familiar with Maga’s financial situation. The government also presented documents including copies of paychecks Maga received and tax documents he received from his employers.
Maga was ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $160,955. He must serve a period of one year on supervised release following his prison term.
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TweetFederal magistrate Merz will retire, then work for free
DAYTON — They’ve posted his job, he’s selected a retirement date, but U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Michael R. Merz isn’t going anywhere yet.
“I’m not ready to hang it up yet,” said Merz, who will work for free while he collects his pension.
Call it single-dipping, but Merz said laughing “I call it volunteering.”
Merz, has been a magistrate since 1984. His retirement date will be March 29, which will be his 66th birthday. But Merz has been approved for “recall status,” by the district court and appeals court judges for the year until March 29, 2012.
Magistrates are appointed by the judges. They conduct most preliminary proceedings in criminal cases and handle most federal misdemeanor cases up to final disposition. Merz, a Republican who previous served as a Dayton Municipal Judge, was appointed by U.S. Senior Judge Walter H. Rice, a Democrat.
Under recall status, Merz can cut back his workload, though he said he still plans to work full-time, and the government will continue to fund his current staff. However, he will not be paid, meaning that his job can be posted, and the magistrate work in Dayton can be shared among three magistrates instead of the current two, Merz and Sharon L. Ovington.
Merz said he plans to focus more on habeas corpus issues, particularly capital cases. In recent years, he has served as the court’s coordinator for death penalty appeals for both Cincinnati and Dayton.
The posting for the magistrate’s position has a closing date of Sept. 24. The salary will be $160,080.
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TweetFormer CJ coach Marc Greenberg pleads guilty, could face prison time
DAYTON — Marc Greenberg, the former Chaminade Julienne girls basketball coach accused of sending obscene material to minors over the internet, pleaded guilty Wednesday, Aug. 4 to two felony counts and will likely serve two years in prison.
Greenberg, 33, appeared before U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose and pleaded guilty to: — one count of having computer equipment that contained visual depictions involving the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. — one count of knowingly using the interest to attempt to transfer obscene matter to a person under the age of 16.
Rose ordered a pre-sentencing investigation and set sentencing for Nov. 5. Under the plea agreement reached last month, but sealed until Wednesday, the lawyers for both sides stipulated that a 2-year prison sentence would be appropriate. Rose approved the plea agreement, including the sentence, but could reject it. If so, Greenberg would have the right to withdraw his pleas.
Rose also continued Greenberg’s bond.
The bill of information filed July 15 notes that Greenberg communicated with an undercover agent, whom he believed was a 13-year-old girl, directing the agent to view streaming video from his web camera, which depicted an adult male exposing his penis while masturbating.
A forensic analysis of Greenberg’s computers revealed 16 images of minors engaging in sexual conduct, including two images of prepubescent minors, according to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement.
Greenberg, of Centerville, was originally charged with 12 counts of using the Internet to transmit obscene material to persons younger than 16. His trial was to start Monday, July 12, but that day lawyers on both side filed a joint motion to continue so that the parties could continue plea negotiations.
Greenberg, who is a local attorney, led the team to a state title in 2005, but resigned after federal agents arrested him May 4, 2009, at his Kettering law office.
He has been on home detention since May 2009, and has been ordered to wear an ankle bracelet to electronically monitor his whereabouts. He is allowed to leave the house to go to work, meet with his attorney or seek court-ordered mental health evaluation and treatment.
Authorities claim Greenberg used computers at his office and his home to engage in sexual conversation and to transmit obscene images, including videos of himself masturbating. Investigators allege the Centerville resident conducted at least 63 lurid computer chat room conversations between January and April 2009 with several investigators posing as teenage and preteen girls.
According to a bio posted on his law firm’s website, Greenberg graduated from the University of Dayton in 1999 with a bachelor’s in business administration and is a 2003 graduate of the UD School of Law, with honors.
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TweetFormer CJ coach Marc Greenberg in court for plea hearing
DAYTON — Marc Greenberg, the former Chaminade Julienne girls basketball coach accused of sending obscene material to minors over the Internet, is in U.S. District Court for a plea hearing.
The hearing, before Judge Thomas M. Rose, started just after 11 a.m. Greenberg, 33, is to plead guilty to two felony counts listed in a bill of information filed July 15:
— one count of having computer equipment that contained visual depictions involving the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. — one count of knowingly using the interest to attempt to transfer obscene matter to a person under the age of 16.
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