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January 2009
More than 227,000 apply for FBI jobs
More than 227,000 people nationwide have applied for 2,100 open positions with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, spokesman Harry Trombitas said Friday, Jan. 30.
The FBI advertised a “hiring blitz,” which included 850 agent positions, beginning on Jan. 5 with an application deadline of Jan. 16.
The hiring blitz was an effort by the FBI to have a more diverse staff with professionals from a “wide variety of fields who have a desire to protect our nation,” Assistant Director John Raucci said.
It is unclear if the number of applicants is a record for the FBI.
The news comes after the U.S. Labor Department announced that unemployment climbed to 7.2 percent at the end of December and 2.6 million jobs were lost in 2008, more than any year since 1945.
TweetMan stabbed multiple times during fight with car thieves
DAYTON - A 23-year-old man is recovering from multiple stab wounds after he tried to fight off two men who broke into his car early Thursday morning, Jan. 29.
Michael McCreery said he heard a car door slam at about 2 a.m. and looked at the window of his home in the 600 block of Bowen Street, according to a police report.
He told officers he saw a man in his car and another man standing outside the car, the report stated.
McCreery said he yelled at the men as he ran out of his house and chased them down an alley. There, he caught up with one of the suspects, who he described as 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, and they began to fight, the report stated.
As McCreery was on top of the man, the other suspect came back and stabbed McCreery on the shoulder and chest multiple times, the report stated.
McCreery said one of the men then punched him in the head and knocked him unconscious. When he woke up seconds later, the men were kicking him, the report stated.
After the two men fled, McCreery made it back to his car and drove himself to the hospital where doctors notified police of the incident, the report stated.
Officers noticed McCreery had 10 to 15 puncture wounds on his left shoulder and chest, along with five “large” cuts down his left rib area, the report stated.
He also had a large cut on his forearm. McCreery was treated for his wounds and later released from the hospital. Officers went to the scene where he was stabbed, but said they found no evidence, according to the report.
Police are still looking for the two thieves. Both men are black and described as in their 20s. The other suspect is described to be about 6-feet tall, 185 pounds.
Anyone with information is urged to call 333-COPS.
TweetProsecutors approve charges against man in ‘brutal’ rape
DAYTON - A man police say “brutally raped” at least one woman, and possibly another, faces eight felony charges approved Tuesday, Jan. 27, by the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s office.
James E. Wilder, faces three counts of first-degree felony rape, three counts of first-degree felony kidnapping, one count of second-degree felonious assault and a fourth-degree felony count of gross sexual imposition.
Wilder was arrested in the 400 block of Briarwood Avenue just before midnight on Saturday, Jan 24., by Dayton police for raping and beating a 35-year-old woman a few hours earlier, according to police and jail records.
Police aren’t releasing many details of the case, though the 35-year-old victim was still hospitalized in stable condition earlier this week with serious facial injuries.
No other information is known about the other adult female victim and police were trying to determine earlier this week if she had been raped.
Lt. Patrick Welsh said he cannot comment on the ongoing investigation.
Wilder has violent past that includes a felony assault conviction in January 2008 when he was ordered to serve 10 months in prison.
He has also been arrested for assaulting a police officer and has numerous disorderly conduct arrests, according to jail records.
TweetPolice: Man, woman arrested for drugs in apartment for elderly
DAYTON — A man and woman have been arrested for possessing drugs and a crack pipe while trespassing in an elderly living facility, according to a police report.
Crystal Neely, 51, and James Smith, 54 (both pictured above), were arrested on Wednesday, Jan. 28, following the incident at The Lakewoods Apartments, 980 Wilmington Ave. Police responded to a report of trespassing at 4:42 p.m., and met with the facility manager, the report said.
The manager told police Neely had been removed from the property before, and she knew Neely was there because Adult Protective Services received an anonymous phone call saying a black female was inside a man’s apartment extorting him for money, the report said.
The manager led officers to the apartment and after knocking without an answer used a key to open the door. The man inside told officers Neely was in the next room. There, officers found Smith under the covers and Neely in the bathroom, the report said.
After officers led Neely and Smith into the hall, Smith asked if police could retrieve some of his belongings inside. While looking for Smith’s hat, an officer found a clear plastic baggy containing crack cocaine, the report said. Smith denied any knowledge of the drugs, the report said.
Officers also found a crack pipe inside a drawer containing Neely’s underwear, the report said.
Neely was arrested on charges of criminal trespassing and possession of drug paraphernalia, and Smith was arrested on a charge of drug possession.
TweetEven Girl Scouts having problems
This isn’t necessarily a crime, but it should be:
The Girl Scouts of the USA confirmed Wednesday that it has reduced the number of cookies per box to save money because of rising transportation and baking costs, according to CNN.
Michelle Tompkins, a national Girl Scout spokeswoman, said that “the cost of baking a cookie today is significantly higher than it was even a year ago, and our bakers cannot continue to absorb these rising costs.” She also said transportation costs have increased 30 to 40 percent from a year ago.
That has prompted the organization to put fewer cookies in your box of Thin Mints. Not only Thin Mints, but Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Shortbread Cookies, DoSiDos and Trefoils, she said.
The size of some cookies will also be reduced including the Lemon Chalet Cremes.
I don’t think I can afford to pay the same price for less anymore. I am all tapped out.
TweetPolice: Man arrested for trying to shoot uncle
DAYTON - Police have arrested a 23-year-old man whose uncle called police from a payphone and said his nephew tried to shoot him in the head.
Christopher J. Richards, 141 Bircher St., allegedly shot at his uncle, Freddie Spears, after Spears pushed one of Richards’ dogs on Tuesday night, Jan. 27, according to a police report.
Richards got angry at his uncle for shoving the canine and pulled a .45 caliber handgun from a drawer and fired it at Spears’ head, the report stated.
Spears was able to run from the house and called police at about 11:45 p.m. from a payphone on East Third Street. Officers were not able to locate the gun, but did find a shell casing from a .45 caliber gun near where Richards was standing at the time he fired the weapon, the report stated.
Officers suspect he ditched the gun at a friend’s house nearby, the report stated.
TweetPolice chief shifts staff in light of recent homicides
DAYTON - Police Chief Richard Biehl said Tuesday, Jan. 27, that he has moved five additional officers into the department’s narcotics bureau to confront the spike in homicides since the start of the new year.
There have been six homicides in the city in 27 days, the most to start a year since at least 2002, according to police records.
“It’s troubling we’ve had this spike in homicides early in the year,” Biehl said. “These additional officers will help bolster the bureau that has the ability to deter these types of crimes through additional enforcement.”
Biehl said he informed his command staff of the move on Tuesday and believes attacking the drugs and their criminal connection to guns will choke off violent crime.
“We want to put more teeth into our enforcement strategy,” Biehl said. “We have the anti-gun violence initiative we’ve implemented about eight weeks ago, but it isn’t like flipping a light switch. It’s going to take time to work.”
Not all the homicides this year have been drug-related, including the last two.
Leonard Hatton, 60, was shot in the head on Monday, Jan. 26, during an alleged robbery attempt, according to police.
Hatton was trying to start an illegal gambling operation when he was gunned down, police said.
His murder came three days after Leanet McGee, 33, was found dead on the floor of her home at 2618 North Main St. McGee died at about 4 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, after she was struck by someone or something, police said.
Homicide detectives arrested her boyfriend, Derek Wilson on a murder charge, but prosecutors released him from jail on Monday, citing lack of evidence to hold him.
Biehl said curbing drug use, gun possession and violent crime can be overwhelming, but said it is the responsibility of any police department, especially urban ones, to do all it can to prevent violent crime.
“We need to focus our strategies on key areas before they become entrenched in order to keep the public safe,” Biehl said. “That’s what we are trying to do by assigning these additional officers. It is all about early intervention and prevention.”
TweetCity: Minor misdemeanor offenders can no longer be arrested
DAYTON - The city is no longer arresting or issuing arrest warrants to those who fail to appear in court or pay fines related to minor misdemeanor offenses, officials announced Tuesday, Jan. 27.
In an effort to save the city money, municipal court judges instead will issue a “warrant block” for those offenders through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, meaning they will have to pay a fine before they can renew a license
Police Chief Richard Biehl, city prosecutors and judges met last week to discuss the order which went into effect on Monday.
City court officials said the police department spends nearly $400,000 a year to incarcerate at least 3,000 inmates. That money comes directly from the police budget, Biehl said.
When people are jailed because they can’t pay fines, the court must credit them $50 for each day. However, the jail costs $68 per inmate daily, meaning a loss of money, municipal court Judge John S. Pickrel said.
Biehl said any extra revenue is much needed as the city faces a $13 million budget deficit this year. Budgets have gotten so tight that two weeks ago City Manager Rashad Young announced he was reopening contract agreements with all unions in an effort to cut costs.
“I was aware of the decision, but did not know it had been implemented until (some time Monday),” Biehl said.
Biehl was made aware of its implementation after officers tried to book a man arrested on a minor misdemeanor warrant, but were refused by Montgomery County jail officials, Fraternal Order of Police Dayton President Randy Beane said.
“This is not a decision we agree with,” Beane said. “It takes a major tool away officers use to ensure public safety. It prevents us from doing our jobs effectively.”
Art Jipson, director of the criminal justice program at the University of Dayton, said the order reflects the budget problems afflicting law-enforcement agencies across the country.
“It’s too expensive and they’re not a clear danger to the community,” Jipson said.
Minor misdemeanors are the least serious of chargeable crimes that include offenses such as jaywalking, disorderly conduct, public intoxication or possessing a small amount of marijuana.
A minor misdemeanor is not punishable by any jail time, but has a maximum fine of $150. Officers do not often arrest people for minor misdemeanors, but would for the person’s own safety, if someone could not provide identification or if they refused to sign a citation.
“A minor misdemeanor charge is not the most serious thing in the world,” Pickrel said. “(This change) preserves the jail beds for the violent, serious criminal offenders.”
Pickrel said the new policy will ease jail overcrowding, could create revenue for the city through more fine collection and free up officers from booking the lowest level offenders into the jail.
TweetPolice link man to ‘brutal’ rape
DAYTON - Police have arrested a 44-year-old man for what they are calling the “brutal” rape of at least one woman on Saturday, Jan. 24.
James. E. Wilder, 44, was arrested in the 400 block of Briarwood Avenue just before midnight on charges of assault, rape and obstructing official business, according to police.
Police are not releasing many details, but the 35-year-old victim is still hospitalized from facial injuries she sustained during the incident, according to police. Another woman was assaulted during the incident.
The rape occurred at least two hours before Wilder’s arrest, according to a police report.
It is unclear if the other victim involved was raped. The other victim was also over the age of 18, Lt. Patrick Welsh said.
Wilder has violent past that includes a felony assault conviction in January 2008. Wilder was ordered to serve 10 months in prison.
TweetPolice nab robbery suspect; another pizza driver robbed
DAYTON - You might recall last week the story about the Cousin Vinny’s Pizza delivery driver robbed at gunpoint after a witness confronted the alleged gunman.
The witness was able to tell police the gunman’s name, but officers couldn’t locate their suspect immediately after the robbery.
Until today, Jan. 26, that is.
Police arrested 18-year-old Tyler Flohre in the 1200 block of Bellaire Ave. at 1:20 a.m. on a felony aggravated robbery charge, according to a police report.
The arrest comes after another Cousin Vinny’s delivery driver was robbed, this time at 935 Wilmington Ave., according to a police report.
The driver said he went to apartment H at about 4 a.m. to deliver the pie but no one answered the door, the report stated. As the driver returned to to his car, a man ran out from behind the dumpster holding a silver handgun.
The gunman took $400 in cash off the driver, the report stated. Officers later determined the delivery order was placed from a payphone at a nearby convenience store.
The K-9 unit was called out and the dog tracked the suspect to the east side of the apartment building, but lost the scent.
The delivery driver said the suspect might have gotten into a car and took off, the report stated.
Anyone with information is urged to call 333-COPS.
TweetWoman, after visiting patient, steals police camera at hospital
DAYTON — A woman with a history of arguing with police was arrested for stealing a Huber Heights detective’s digital camera from a Miami Valley Hospital counter while the detective’s back was turned.
Lisa Heard, 33 (pictured above), was arrested on a charge of theft and for several outstanding warrants, including jaywalking, public intoxication and possession of an open container, following the incident on Wednesday, Jan. 21, according to a police report.
Dayton police were dispatched to the hospital at 12:30 p.m. after a Huber Heights detective reported the camera missing. The detective told police he was at the hospital to interview a victim from an unrelated incident when he placed the camera on a counter and turned his back. When he turned around, it was gone, the report said.
While reviewing surveillance tape, hospital security recognized the woman taking the camera from her earlier visit to a patient. They knew the patient was at the nearby homeless shelter, and police soon found Heard and the camera, the report said.
Heard told police she and a friend tried to sell it at a Shell gas station but couldn’t, the report said. She was arrested and taken to Montgomery County Jail.
Heard had been arrested for arguing with police on at least two previous occasions, according to police records. In February 2007, officers on patrol found Heard standing in the middle of Apple Street. While police asked her to move, she was verbally abusive and later spit on an officer twice, according to a police report. She was arrested on charges of assault, aggravated menacing and disorderly conduct, the report said.
In October 2007, Heard was found intoxicated with a man on Third Street at 10:35 a.m. but denied the beer can in front of her belonged to her, according to a police report. After police issued her a citation, Heard screamed profanities and waived the ticket in the air. She was arrested for disorderly conduct, the report said.
TweetMan being questioned for abducting, beating woman
TROTWOOD - Police have arrested a man they believe abducted and pistol whipped the mother of his child before she was able to get away and call for help.
The 30-year-old man, whose name is not being released, is being questioned in connection to the incident that started at his house Monday night, Jan. 19, Trotwood Detective Steve Derringer said.
That’s when the 29-year-old mother brought the couple’s child over to see his/her father in the 4000 block of Porterfield Drive, Derringer said. The couple got into a fight close to midnight and that’s when the man ordered his child’s mother into a car at gunpoint, Derringer said.
“They took the child to a relative’s house and dropped him or her off,” Derringer said. “Then they drove around for hours.”
During that time, the man beat, pistol whipped and choked the woman, Derringer said. He also, at one point, purchased some drugs, Derringer said.
Early Tuesday morning, after hours of being held captive, the woman was able to break free from the man and run to a hotel on North Dixie Drive, Derringer said. A hotel employee then called police.
The woman was treated at a hospital and released. The child was not harmed, Derringer said.
The suspect was being questioned Wednesday evening, Jan. 21, and possible charges are pending, Derringer said. The suspect has a history of violence and is on probation for assaulting a peace officer, Derringer said.
TweetRegistered sex offender found in women’s bathroom at Job Center
DAYTON - Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies have a registered sex offender after they found the 25-year-old man in the women’s restroom of the County Job Center.
Harold N. Rimblert III faces a misdemeanor charge of voyeurism for walking into the women’s restroom at 1111 S. Edwin C. Moses Blvd. at about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, and looking at women underneath the bathroom stalls, Sheriff Phil Plummer said.
“No one was harmed and we were able to apprehend him pretty quickly since we have a deputy on duty there for security,” Plummer said. “We’re going to take a close look at Mr. Rimblert because he obviously has a problem.”
It is at least the sixth time in five years Rimblert, of 145 Waverly Ave., has been arrested on voyeurism charges, according to court records. He was ordered to spend 60 days in jail in May for being in a women’s restroom at Sinclair Community College, Plummer said.
It was that incident that prompted Judge Carl S. Henderson to order Rimblert to register as a sex offender.
Rimblert has never served more than 60 days in jail for any of the arrests and was often given credit for time served, according to court records. He has never harmed any of his victims, Plummer said.
Rimblert has been released on $99 bond, according to court records.
TweetSoda bottles and crack pipes part of two stops at same Dayton address
DAYTON — Two stops within five hours at a Utah Court residence led police to a disruptive alleged assault victim, a two-liter bottle thrown as a weapon and a tool chest full of drug paraphernalia.
The day began at 2:35 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 20, when police received a report of an assault at 32 Utah Court, according to a police report. When officers arrived, they found the alleged victim, Stephanie Watkins, slurring her speech and barely able to stand, the report said.
Because medical personnel couldn’t receive a competent decision on treatment from her, they transported her to Miami Valley Hospital. There, after a series of outbursts that included profanity and racial slurs, the woman told police she had been hit in the face by a man at 32 Utah Court, the report said.
Officers later made contact with the man, identified as Anthony Miller, who said he was house sitting for a friend, Rick. Miller told police Watkins came into the house “in an agitated state,” and he did not want her there when Rick got home, the report said. Miller said Watkins attacked him and he only pushed her away, according to the report.
A second stop at the residence came at 7:15 p.m., when a man named Mark Miller reported an assault (it’s unclear if Mark Miller is a relation of or the same person as Anthony Miller). Miller said he had been staying with his friend Ricky Deitz, but that Deitz had kicked him out, the report said.
Police entered the home and spoke to Deitz, who told them Mark Miller had been stealing from him. Deitz said when he tried to force Mark Miller out, Miller threw a full two-liter bottle and struck Deitz in the face, the report said.
When an officer entered the kitchen to speak to a female witness, Deitz quickly jumped in front of a tall tool chest. The officer asked Deitz to move, opened the chest and found three crack pipes, several syringes, a digital scale and several empty gel capsules (often used to package and sell drugs).
Deitz told police some of the paraphernalia was his, and some belonged to his friend Stephanie (whose last name is not given), the report said.
All four in the house were issued Nuisance Abatement paperwork, and Deitz was issued a Summons Arrest on charges of possessing drug abuse instruments, permitting drug abuse and drug paraphernalia, the report said.
TweetOSP trooper causes accident on I-75
DAYTON - A Ohio Highway Patrol sergeant on his way to an accident scene caused a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 75 near the Keowee Street exit Tuesday morning, Jan. 20.
Police said the sergeant, whose name is not known, was heading to the accident when he reached down for his microphone. He did not notice the traffic stopped in front of him and crashed into the back of a pickup truck.
The truck’s driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, while the sergeant returned to his post uninjured after the accident was cleaned up.
TweetPolice: Man arrested for exposing himself on street
DAYTON - Detective Keith Coberly was driving in the Oregon District at about 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19, when he noticed a man standing outside a bar.
Coberly wrote his report he could tell Lacharleston Pruitt was urinating, but then watched as Pruitt began to walk down East Fifth Street, exposed and urinating.
Pruitt then walked in front of Thai Nine Restaurant and stood underneath a light on the sidewalk and continued to urinate, the report stated.
“Pruitt urinated all the way from the corner of Fifth and Jackson streets to the alley south of Thai Nine, leaving a trail of urine behind him,” Coberly said.
When he confronted the man, Pruitt said “he made a bad decision,” the report stated. Pruitt was issued a summons to appear on a misdemeanor charge of public indecency.
TweetMan talks to gunman right before he robs delivery driver
DAYTON - Police investigating the robbery of a Cousin Vinny’s Pizza delivery driver got a break after talking to a man who said he talked the robber just before he committed the crime.
Officer Daniel Perry responded to 3211 South Smithville Road at about 3 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 20, and talked to the delivery driver who said he was robbed at gunpoint by a man with a bandanna over his face, according to a police report.
Police discovered the robber had called in an order and told the driver to bring the pizza to a local food mart. There, the driver was confronted by a man, about 6-feet tall and “skinny” holding a handgun, according to a police report.
The driver was robbed of about $180 and the pizza. But the suspect left the pizza boxes, which had a phone number of the person who allegedly called in the order, the report stated.
Police traced the number to that of a place on Smithville Road and talked to a man inside the house who said he earlier saw two men he knew wearing bandannas walking on the sidewalk, the report stated.
The witness said he asked the one of the men what he was doing, the masked man said, “I’m gonna knock off the pizza driver,” the report stated.
The witness was able to tell police where the gunman lived, but no one was home when officers knocked on the door of the robber’s alleged house, the report stated.
The gunman is still at large. Anyone with information is urged to call 333-COPS.
TweetNeed a hot bath? Thieves steal hot water tank
DAYTON - Police are looking for thieves who stole the hot water tank from the basement of a home in the 100 block of Marathon Avenue Thursday Jan. 15.
Officer Gregory Mills responded to the report of a breaking and entering at about 11 a.m. and found the basement of the home was full of water.
Thieves had kicked in the back door of the vacant house and cut the hot water tank away from copper piping, according to a police report. The home’s owner responded and said he had no idea who might have taken the hot water heater.
There are no suspects at this time. Anyone with information is urged to call 333-COPS.
TweetMom arrested after doctors find drugs in toddler
DAYTON - Police have arrested a 23-year-old woman after doctors found drugs in her two-year-old son’s system.
Carissa Lee Hankey, 23, and her son were taken to the hospital at about 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, after they were involved in an automobile accident in the 4300 block of Burkhardt Ave., according to police.
Once at the hospital, Hankey and her son tested positive for the presence of cocaine, according to police. Officers determined Hankey had been smoking crack cocaine and used two other drugs at a house shortly before the automobile accident while her son was in the room, according to police.
Authorities said they don’t believe the child was actually given drugs, but inhaled the smoke.
Hankey is in jail on a felony charge of child endangering. Montgomery County Children’s Services is also investigating the incident. The child is expected to be OK.
TweetGM employee arrested for stealing copper from assembly plant
MORAINE — An assembly line worker at the General Motors assembly plant in Moraine has been arrested for allegedly stealing more than 250 pounds of copper from the building, the second time in three months a GM employee has been arrested for a similar crime.
Moraine police are pursuing a misdemeanor theft charge against Patrick Sweeney, 37, who was arrested Tuesday, Jan. 13, while attempting to sell the copper at A&B Iron and Metal Co., 329 W. Washington St., according to a police report. The copper was worth about $1,000, the report said.
Sweeney committed the thefts while on duty, said Moraine Detective Paul Guess.
In October, police responded to the Rumpke Recycling Processing Center, 1300 E. Monument Ave., on the report of a man and a woman turning in 252 pounds of copper welding tips. The man, Jeremy Coleman, worked security for GM on the midnight shift and later confessed to the theft, according to a police report.
Coleman has been charged with one count of receiving stolen property.
A GM security supervisor told police the 252 pounds in copper tips are accessible to anyone in the plant, and that the new welding tips would cost the company up to $7,000, the report said.
Production ceased at the plant on Dec. 23, and police have said security is a growing concern. GM officials have told police they have security under control.
“It’s an enormous plant,” said Moraine Detective Jason Neubauer. “Does that make it hard on them? Absolutely.”
TweetRobbers tie up couple in Trotwood home
TROTWOOD — Police are searching for two black males who they say surprised a couple as they returned home from the grocery store, tied them up and robbed them on Wednesday, Jan. 14.
The incident occurred about 6 p.m. at 5745 Rowena Ave., said Trotwood Detective Steve Derringer. The suspects walked up from the street as the couple, in their late 50s, arrived home and the began to unload the groceries.
One suspect had a rifle, and the other might have carried a handgun, Derringer said.
The suspects tied up the couple with a dog leash and phone cord while they took items from the home. Derringer did not release the items taken and said it hasn’t been determined if the suspects were looking for particular items.
The couple were not injured, Derringer said.
Derringer encouraged anyone with information to call Trotwood police at 854-3988.
TweetMan rammed van full of ex-girlfriend’s kids before allgedly shooting at house
DAYTON — A man police arrested Wednesday, Jan. 14, for allegedly firing shots at an ex-girlfriend’s home also is accused of ramming a van full of her children and others, according to a police report.
Victor M. Body, 43, was arrested on four counts of felonious at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday after a woman reported hearing shots outside her home.
The incident began when two of the woman’s children were driving with her sister and three others in a 1994 Plymouth Voyager. The group did not stop to talk to Body, the woman’s former live-in boyfriend, and he followed the group in his 2004 Ford Taurus, the report said.
Body then rammed the van three times as it waited to turn from a parking lot onto Main Street. The group quickly returned to the woman’s house, where she told police she saw Body reach under the front driver’s seat before she closed the home’s door, the report said.
The woman then said she heard what she thought were gunshots. Police did not recover any evidence at the scene, in the 3300 block of North Main Street, and there was no damage to the house, the report said.
TweetMan fires shots at house of child’s mother
DAYTON - Police have arrested a man who fired numerous shots at four people inside a house over a domestic dispute.
Victor M. Body, 43Victor M. Body, 43, is in jail on four charges of felonious assault after he drove to the house of his child’s mother in the 100 block of Pointview Avenue and started shooting from the outside at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, Lt. Brian Johns said.
No one was hit during the incident, Johns said. Body fled the scene after firing the shots and was later found by police at his mother’s house in the 1000 block of Superior Ave, according to police.
It is unclear if the woman and Body’s child were inside when he fired the gun, Johns said. Body is expected to appear in court on the charges Thursday at 1:30 p.m., according to jail records.
TweetPolice seek woman accused of stealing donation jar
DAYTON — Police are seeking a female suspect who they say stole a large Subway restaurant cup set out to collect donations for funeral costs connected to a New Year’s Day crash that killed five people.
Donald McDonald, father of two of the men killed in the crash on North Findlay Street, called police Jan. 8 to report the theft, according to a police report. McDonald told police he set the large cups at different locations along East Third Street, and when he went to collect the cup at Sam’s Market, 3501 E. Third St., it was missing.
A market employee reviewed security camera footage and determined a female stole the cup at 3:36 p.m. on Jan. 7, the report said. Police confirmed the footage with the employee, the report said.
It is unknown how much money was in the cup at the time, the report said.
McDonald’s two sons and three other people, including an 11-month-old boy, were in a Pontiac Grand Prix just after midnight on New Year’s Day when the car, traveling an estimated 90 mph, hit railroad tracks, went airborne and eventually settled on a fence in front of a North Findlay Street business. All five were dead at the scene.
TweetBrothers arrested for alleged role in shooting
DAYTON — Two brothers were arrested Tuesday, Jan. 13, for their alleged involvement in the shooting of another man, but the two claim a fourth person using a racial slur was actually the shooter.
Steven Brown, 35, and James Brown, 27, are in the Montgomery County Jail after their arrest on charges of felonious assault following the incident at 3417 E. Fifth St. near 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Police arrived to find medical personnel tending to Jason Weikert, who said he had been shot, according to a police report. Officers noticed an injury to his left arm several inches from the elbow, the report said.
Weikert’s story, according to the report, was this: While he was recently in prison he stayed in contact with his family and was upset his brother was hanging out with Steven Brown. After Weikert’s release, Steven Brown called him and the two argued. Steven Brown said he would come over to Weikert’s house to fight. When Steven Brown saw that Weikert had bulked up in jail, he told his brother to shoot Weikert. Weikert ran into the house and was hit by a bullet coming through the door.
A witness led police toward the house of the brothers’ mother, and officers found the brothers nearby, the report said. Weikert first declined to identify the brothers, telling police he “would take care of them himself,” the report said. Later, Weikert told one of the officers, “(Steven Brown) told (James Brown) to shoot me, and (James Brown) shot me. I will get both of them (expletives),” the report said.
The brothers’ story to police was different. They told slightly differing versions of this account, according to the report: They arrived at Weikert’s home so Steven Brown could fight Weikert. Soon, a light-skinned black male arrived at the scene and asked if the brothers were having trouble with Weikert, who is white (Steven Brown told police the man said, “You all got a problem with these honkies?”). The fourth man, who they didn’t know, then fired the shots.
Two witnesses, including Weikert’s mother, also said it was the fourth, unidentified man who fired the shots.
After officers instructed Weikert to appear at the at the police department, one overheard Weikert talking on the phone and saying that “he was not going down to the Detective Section and (the brothers) should be released in the morning due to the fact he was not going to press charges. (Weikert) went on to state that he was going to take care of them himself once they were released from the jail,” the report said.
TweetReports of violent crime up in city first half ‘08
DAYTON - Reports of violent crime rose slightly in the first half of 2008 over the same period during 2007, according to FBI statistics released Monday, Jan. 12.
There were 787 reports of violent crime in Dayton through the first half of last year, up from 736 through the first six months of 2007.
There were 20 homicides in the first half of 2008, compared to 13 in 2007, according to the FBI which compiles the stats submitted by local law enforcement agencies.
Reports of forcible rapes rose from 57 to 59, while robberies increased from 329 to 349. Aggravated assaults were the biggest reason for the city’s overall jump in violent crime, rising from 337 to 359.
Reports of violent crime fell 3.5 percent nationwide through the first half of 2008, according to the FBI.
Monday’s report was preliminary stats for those cities with populations of 100,000 or more. Complete 2008 stats will not be released until sometime this summer.
TweetHe should’ve tied his gown before jumping
COLUMBUS - Before you go on, remember all of this started over a cigarette lighter:
Maxwell Stevenson, 31, is in jail on $50,000 bond after he jumped from the window of a Columbus hospital - naked.
Stevenson’s attorney claims he is bipolar and is off his medication. It makes sense considering Columbus police claim Stevenson entered an east-side market on Friday and demanded two free cigarette lighters from the store’s clerk.
Stevenson erupted when the clerk refused. He attacked the clerk and then tried to smash the cash register against the counter to open it, according to police.
When police arrived Stevenson threw a chair at the first officer in the door and then punched the officer in the chest.
Stevenson had to be Tased SEVEN times before officers were able to subdue him.
He was then taken to the hospital to be treated for his injuries, which, in hindsight probably didn’t seem necessary. That’s because while at the hospital, Stevenson jumped out of his room window, naked, onto a third-floor rooftop of the hospital.
So, police Tased Stevenson, 6 feet tall, 285 pounds, again. He also suffered a broken pelvis when he fell onto the roof from his window.
He appeared in court on Monday in a wheelchair on felony assault and robbery charges.
TweetU.S. Marshals nab man wanted in bar shooting
HARRISON TWP., Montgomery County - U.S. Marshals have arrested a man wanted for shooting three people inside a Trotwood bar on July 18.
Michael Carr, 26Michael Carr, 26, was arrested at about 6:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 12, while inside an apartment at 4157 King Tree Drive, Deputy Marshal Ron Carter said.
Marshals had been tracking Carr since taking over the case on Dec. 18, six months after he shot two women and a man inside Leo’s Bar in the 4100 block of Salem. All three victims survived the shooting, Carter said.
Carr intended to shoot one of his victims because of a disagreement, according to investigators.
Marshals tracked Carr to the apartment through interviews with his associates, Carter said. Deputies found two guns inside his apartment Monday, but are unsure if one of them was used in the July shooting, Carter said.
“This proves once again that you cannot hide from us,” Carter said. “We will find you.”
Carr faces one one count of felonious assault with a deadly weapon and three counts of felonious assault to cause physical harm. He also faces charges of having weapons while under disability, possessing a firearm on a premises that carries a liquor permit and probation violations, Carter said.
Carr is in the Montgomery County Jail.
TweetReport: Teen kidnapped, robbed on way home
DAYTON - Police are looking for four men who kidnapped and robbed a 17-year-old boy as he waited for the bus at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11.
The teenager said he was at a bus stop in the 4200 block of Free Pike after finishing his shift at a McDonald’s when two men walked up and, according to a police report, said “Where is the stuff?”
The teen said he did not know what they were talking about, and that’s when one of the masked men hit him in the back of the head with a gun, the report stated.
The teen said he was then forced into a car that pulled up with two more men inside, the report stated. The men then took the teen’s cell phone and iPod, before one of the suspects pulled out another gun and demanded more, the report stated.
When the teen said he didn’t know what they wanted, the gunman fired a shot into the backseat of the car.
Nearly three hours later the teen was let go somewhere on Home Avenue, the report stated. He ran to his grandmother’s house, where she called police, the report stated. The teen was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.
During the incident, the teen’s foster mother had called authorities to report the boy missing. At the hospital, the boy said he recognized the driver of the car, but no one else. He could not provide the make and model of the car used in the kidnapping, the report stated.
Anyone with information is urged to call 333-COPS.
TweetPolice: Man blames 12-year-old for having marijuana
DAYTON- Police have arrested a 29-year-old man who they said led officers on a brief chase and gave his 12-year-old passenger drugs to hold before stopping the car, Saturday, Jan. 10.
Lakeith Collins, 29Lakeith Collins was in his girlfriend’s Oldsmobile when officers noticed him driving at high speeds along North Garland Avenue at about 10 p.m., according to a police report.
Collins refused to pull over after officers determined he was doing 46 mph in a 25 mph zone of the residential neighborhood, according to the report.
After a brief chase by officers, Collins slowed down to a near stop before turning in to the Mount Crest Apartment complex, 654 Mount Crest Ct. He then got out the car and tried to flee on foot as officers drew their weapons, the report stated.
After getting Collins in handcuffs, officers questioned his 12-year-old passenger and found the boy had a bag of marijuana in his front pants pocket, the report stated.
The boy said Collins slowed down while being chased by the officers and Collins told him to hold the marijuana, the report stated.
Collins told officers the boy “wanted to hold it” because the boy “liked to smoke weed,” the report stated. Police also found additional bags of marijuana inside the car, the report stated.
Officers believed Collins was dishonest and arrested him on a felony charge of failure to comply with officers’ order and misdemeanor charges of endangering a child, contributing to the unruliness of a minor and obstructing official business.
A background check found Collins also had a warrant for his arrest for a probation violation stemming from possession of cocaine and drug trafficking charges. The boy was unharmed and was not charged with a crime.
TweetAlready in jail, man again threatens 84-year-old mother
DAYTON — A Dayton man already in jail for threatening to kill his 84-year-old mother and three other people could face an additional charge for calling his mother repeatedly from Montgomery County Jail and making more threats.
The man, 49-year-old Brian Stonerock, was first arrested Tuesday, Jan. 6, when he first threatened his mother after he returned from his first anger management class, according to a police report.
His mother called police again Wednesday saying that Stonerock was phoning her from the prison. The calls started Tuesday night, she said, and Stonerock was apologizing and saying he lied, according to the report.
When the calls resumed Wednesday, Stonerock was “enraged” and again threatened to kill her, her health care nurse and a neighbor if she didn’t stop pursuing a charge of aggravated menacing. During one call, Stonerock told his mother, “The next time I see you, you’ll be in a coffin,” she told police.
Police contacted the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office, which said it was in the process of filing a Temporary Restraining Order against Stonerock. Jail officials told police his phone privileges would be taken away, the report said.
Police are pursuing a charge of intimidation of a witness to pair with the earlier charge of aggravated menacing, the report said.
TweetMan allegedly threatened to kill after anger management class
DAYTON — Police arrested a man who, fresh from his first anger management class, threatened to kill his 84-year-old mother and three other people on Tuesday, Jan. 6.
Officers responded to the 1900 block of Coventry Avenue at about 6:30 p.m. after receiving a call that a woman’s son was yelling at her, according to a police report. When officers arrived they discovered a visibly shaken 84-year-old woman whose son told police he was upset that she was telling someone else “my business.”
After officers separated mother and son, they learned that the son had just been to the VA hospital for his first anger management class that day. The woman told police the son, 49, threatened to kill her, her health care nurse, the nurse’s son and a neighbor, the report said.
The son told his mother “that he was going to kill her, then blindfold (the nurse), take a baseball bat to his head, and then later on, everyone would find (the nurse’s) baby in a dumpster far away,” the report said.
The mother said she was frightened of her son and wanted to press charges because “something needs to happen.”
The son was arrested on a charge of aggravated menacing.
TweetFrom wildlife biology to Dayton police sergeant
In the early 1970s, Dennis Chaney was close friends with a fellow Fairmont East High School student whose father was a sergeant with the Dayton Police Department. Later, while in college at South Dakota State, Chaney received a call from the friend’s father, who said the department was hiring.
“That was the furthest thing from what I thought I would be doing,” Chaney said. “I was taking wildlife biology.”
While on a break, Chaney took the department test and returned to school. Soon after, he received a card in the mail asking him to return to Dayton because he was high in the list of candidates. The department wanted him to interview.
“I had to make a decision,” Chaney said, “and I never looked back.”
Thirty-five years later, a crowded room saluted the 55-year-old Chaney on Wednesday, Jan. 7, for his retirement after 35 years with the DPD. A sergeant, Chaney was head of the robbery squad, financial crimes unit and the bomb squad.
Chaney will move on to a job with a company that contracts with the military.
“They seek people with law enforcement experience, primarily in investigation,” Chaney said over a background of heavy conversation, coffee and pastries. “You’re assigned to a branch of the service, Army or Marines, and you go where they go, do what they do, wear what they wear, and you help advise them on investigations they’re responsible for doing.”
TweetStolen car used in woman’s murder was left unlocked with keys inside
HARRISON TWP., Montgomery County - The 1999 Honda authorities believe Charlie Myers drove from Columbus to Jenny Nelson’s home on Friday, Jan. 2, was left unlocked with the keys inside when it was stolen from an Ohio State University parking lot on Dec. 17.
Montgomery County Sheriff’s investigators believe Myers stole the car belonging to Nelson’s husband, Eddie Nelson Jr., at around midnight on Dec. 17, then drove to the Nelson home on Jan. 2, where he shot and killed Jenny Nelson and kidnapped the couple’s 4-year-old son.
The boy was later found at a highway rest area near the Madison and Clark county line.
The Nelsons called Ohio State University police at 12:19 a.m. on Dec. 17 after leaving a concert at the Newport Music Hall on North High Street and said their car had been stolen, according to an OSU police report. The couple told police the car was left unlocked with the keys inside, according to the report.
Inside the car was Eddie Nelson’s Social Security card, cell phone, wallet and a toy bike that was a Christmas present for their 4-year-old son, according to the report.
Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies found the car when they went to the Nelson home at 80 Redder Ave. on Jan .2 after the 4-year-old boy told them his mother had been shot.
Inside the house they found Jenny Nelson shot to death in the hallway, investigators said. Myers drove an Oldsmobile Alero belonging to Jenny’s mother back to Columbus where it was later recovered on Broad Street, investigators said.
Inside Myers’ apartment on Sunday, police found keys to the Honda, along with a cell phone, laptop, Playstation 2 and a day planner belonging to the Nelsons.
Myers later confessed to his involvement with Jenny Nelson’s murder, Sheriff Phil Plummer said.
Myers is in Franklin County Jail awaiting transport back to Montgomery County. The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s office is expected to decide on charges he faces sometime today, Jan. 6.
Stay with DaytonDailyNews.com for more information on this story.
Staff writer Laura Bischoff contributed to this report.
TweetCharges approved against man in Harrison Twp. murder
HARRISON TWP., Montgomery County - The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s office on Tuesday, Jan. 6, approved eight counts of felony aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated robbery and four counts of kidnapping against a Columbus man in the death of a Harrison Twp. woman.
Investigators believe Charlie Myers drove from Columbus to Jenny Nelson’s home nearly two weeks after Myers stole her car. They think Myers shot and killed Nelson and took her 4-year-old boy, but later left the boy at a rest stop along Interstate 70.
Myers also faces a felony count of gross sexual imposition, grand theft auto, receiving stolen property and having weapons under disability.
Prosecutors will meet at a later date to determine if they will seek the death penalty, according to a news release from Prosecutor Mat Heck’s office.
Myers, armed with a shotgun, kicked open the Nelsons’ front door at about 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 2, tied up Jenny Nelson and then went looking for the boy, Sheriff Phil Plummer said.
Nelson, 29, broke free from her restraints, grabbed a knife and then stabbed Myers in the back while he was trying to have sexual contact with the boy, investigators said. That’s when Myers grabbed a shotgun and fatally shot Nelson twice in the abdomen, according to the investigators and the Montgomery County Coroner’s office.
Myers then kidnapped the boy, but dropped him off at an Interstate 70 rest area near the Madison and Clark county line at about 8:30 p.m. Friday, Plummer said.
Plummer said he did not believe the 29-year-old mother was sexually assaulted.
It is unclear how Myers knew Jenny and Eddie Nelson had a 4-year-old son. It was Myers who allegedly stole the Nelsons’ Honda from an Ohio State University parking lot on Dec. 17.
Inside the car was Eddie Nelson’s wallet, along with Jenny Nelson’s purse, according to a police report. Eddie Nelson was at work when his wife was killed, Plummer said.
In a search warrant affidavit filed Monday in Franklin County Municipal Court, authorities went to Myers’ apartment at 70 McMillen Ave. on Sunday, looking for a blue laptop and cell phone he allegedly stole from the Nelsons’ home, written directions to the Nelson home, as well as a vibrator, a sexual enhancement device, personal lubricant and any clothing bearing blood or other bodily fluids.
Inside Myers’ apartment, authorities found the laptop, Jenny Nelson’s cell phone and bloody underwear in the apartment, according to the affidavit. Plummer said the underwear belonged to Myers. They also found shotgun shells, printed directions to the Nelson home, a day planner with a picture of a child and keys to the stolen Honda.
FBI agents tracked Myers through Nelson’s cell phone number and determined her cell phone was used twice in Columbus after her death, according to a search warrant affidavit. One of those calls, made late Sunday morning, was made to Myers’ cell phone.
Authorities took Myers into custody at 8:30 p.m. Sunday. He confessed to Nelson’s slaying and the kidnapping of her 4-year-old son at about 4 a.m. Monday, Plummer said.
Myers is being held in Franklin County jail on a charge of aggravated murder. He is awaiting extradition to Montgomery County.
The 4-year-old boy was taken for a medical exam shortly after he was found at the rest stop. He is expected to recover from his physical injuries, Eddie Nelson said on NBC’s Today Show Monday.
TweetMan dies after shot in chest in apartment
DAYTON - A man shot in the chest in his apartment died Monday morning, Jan. 5.
Derrick E. Gates, 44, was found shot at about 11 p.m. in apartment 23 of a complex near the corner of Niagra and Wheatley avenues, according to police. He was taken to Miami Valley Hospital where he died from his injuries.
Homicide detectives were called to scene. There are no suspects at this time, but witnesses saw a man described to be in his 20s and wearing a tan coat running from the area just after shots rang out, according to police.
Gates is the first homicide victim in the city this year.
Stay with DaytonDailyNews.com for more information.
TweetDriver in fatal New Year’s accident recently had license reinstated
DAYTON - The driver of a car that crashed early New Year’s Day Thursday, killing all occupants inside, recently had his license reinstated after numerous suspensions, according to Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicle records.
Shawn E. Roush, 32, of 253 S. Harbine Ave., was found guilty of driving under suspension for at least the third time in March, according to Dayton Municipal Court records.
He was convicted of driving without a license in June after Dayton police were called to the 1600 block of North Keowee Street on April 29 on suspicious activity, according to police records.
Roush had knocked on the door of Room 44 at the Dayton Motor Motel and said he was looking for “Hillbilly.” He was later stopped in a 1996 red Pontiac Grand Prix and police discovered he was driving on a suspended license.
He told officers he had a crack problem, according to police records.
The Grand Prix was the same car Roush was driving when it crashed into metal fencing outside the NexGen Supply Building, 450 North Findlay St., just after midnight Thursday, Jan. 1. Police estimate the car was traveling about 90 mph when it crossed railroad tracks and became airborne.
Roush died instantly, along with his brother Dustin McDonald, 22; Trisha Roush, 33; Nichole Hill, 29; and Hill’s 11-month-old son Hayden Hill. No one was ejected from the vehicle.
Police suspect alcohol was involved, and Shawn’s family said he had been drinking at a New Year’s party just before midnight.
Shawn Roush had his license reinstated on June 28, according to state BMV records. Police records also show he was pulled over on March 1 and was driving without a license.
At the time, Shawn Roush told police he was taking a friend to buy heroin, according to police records. His license was suspended in 1997 and again in 1998 by the BMV until 2003.
Stay with DaytonDailyNews.com for more information on this developing story.
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