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Home > Blogs > Dayton area crime > Archives > 2009 > July
July 2009
‘Mayor’s walk’ nets $12,000 in cocaine/heroin bust
DAYTON - Drug-unit detectives recovered more than $12,000 in cash and nearly 700 grams of crack and heroin Thursday, July 30, after residents complained to Mayor Rhine McLin there was a drug house in their neighborhood.
Someone in the 800 block of S. Euclid Avenue told McLin’s group of the suspect drug house in May as the mayor walked through the neighborhood, according to a police report.
Detectives followed up on the complaint Thursday about 7:30 p.m. in what was planned to be a “knock and advise” at 848 S. Euclid Ave. It is common for police to make residents aware their house has been identified as a place for possible drug activity and they are “advised” to stop.
As officers arrived they noticed a man later identified as Anthony L. Stargell get out of a Chrysler 300 and walk toward the house carrying a plastic bag, the report stated.
They observed another man, who is not being identified because he was not arrested, walk up to the house’s front porch and Rodney E. Oliver, 38, sitting in a chair on the porch.
As officers approached, they heard what sounded like one of the men dropping a gun on concrete, the report stated. Another officer observed Stargell place a baggie of heroin capsules in a bush near the porch, the report stated.
While Stargell was placed in handcuffs, officers recovered a purple Crown Royal bag on the ground near the porch. Inside the bag were 94 gel capsules of crack cocaine, the report stated.
Next to the bag was a semi-automatic, 40-caliber handgun with nine rounds, including one in the chamber, the report stated. Officers believed it was Oliver, 38, who dropped the baggie and gun as they approached the porch, the report stated.
Inside the house, officers found another handgun and more than $10,000 in cash on the kitchen floor, the report stated. Officers also found “pressed cocaine” in large plastic bottles in the kitchen.
In all, officers found nearly 700 grams of heroin and cocaine on the men and in the house, the report stated.
Jacks to press the cocaine were also found in the house.
Stargell, 43, had nearly $2,000 in cash in his pocket, the report stated. He was booked in the Montgomery County Jail on possession of drugs.
Oliver was booked into jail on felony charges of tampering with evidence, carrying a concealed weapon, drug possession and having weapons under disability.
TweetDeath of three-war veteran, 85, still mysterious
DAYTON — Police have received numerous calls with tips regarding the death of 85-year-old North E. Woodall, but the circumstances of and motive for the homicide are still unknown, police said.
Woodall, who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam before retiring as an E-9 sergeant major in the U.S. Army Special Forces, was found dead at about 11:30 p.m. on Monday, July 27, inside his home at 1028 Walton Ave. Neighbors had seen Woodall at about 9 p.m., and a neighbor who went to check on him found him dead from blunt-force trauma to the head inside his front door, police said.
Police on the scene said the initial investigation showed that the death could have resulted from a burglary or attempted burglary, as the front door to the home showed signs of forced entry.
Dayton police Sgt. Gary White said the Homicide Squad received many calls about Woodall following the story’s publication from people who were sympathetic because of his decorated background, although few of the leads have turned into confirmed information. Police have not identified a suspect or suspects or determined whether there was more than one person involved, he said.
White described Woodall as “frugal,” so there weren’t many expensive items in the house for the suspect or suspects to take. It’s still unclear if any property was taken or if Woodall was struck on the head or fell during a struggle, White said.
It’s not likely that the act was random, but police still have not determined the motive for the crime, White said. Police continue to receive calls from citizens, he said.
“The response has been very positive from people wanting to help,” White said.
TweetMan involved in apartment bumper cars arrested again
DAYTON — A man who already faces multiple charges stemming from a March incident during which he rammed an unmarked police vehicle as well as several cars in an apartment complex parking lot attempting to avoid a drug bust was arrested Wednesday, July 29, for allegedly again possessing heroin.
Gregory L. Priest, 23, was arrested on a charge of possession of heroin at 8 p.m. following a coordinated stakeout by several local agencies at the Indian Lookout Apartments, 241 Shawnee Run in West Carrollton, according to a police report.
Dominique J. Dixon, 22, was also arrested at the same time and location on a charge of possession of heroin, the report said.
The incident began Wednesday afternoon when Dayton police narcotics detectives received a phone call from the Greene County Agencies for Combined Enforcement Drug Task Force. Bruce May, the task force’s coordinator, told detectives the task force had arrested a woman in Trotwood on Wednesday on drug charges who had two other apartments in West Carrollton and Dayton rented in her name, the report said.
The woman identified a man who would be at one of the apartments as “Grego,” who Dayton police knew to be Priest, the report said.
Dayton police detectives teamed with Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office deputies and officials from the Greene County task force to stake out the West Carrollton apartment. When they didn’t see Priest enter or exit, they decided to enter the apartment, as they had search permission from the arrested woman.
Inside, police found Priest, Dixon, another man and two women. The apartment contained an odor of marijuana, the report said.
While searching the apartment, police found a baggie containing 0.25 grams of suspected heroin that sat on top of Priest’s identification in a dresser drawer. Detectives also found 0.12 grams of suspected heroin in the trunk area of a BMW that Dixon had driven to the apartment, the report said.
Detectives confirmed the presence of heroin with a field test and arrested Priest and Dixon, the report said. The other three people in the apartment were released.
Priest is facing charges of trafficking in heroin, possession of heroin, having weapons under disability, improper handling of a firearm, failure to comply with an order or signal of police and vandalism in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court following the March incident in Miamisburg.
During that incident, on March 24, Priest and three other men were in a BMW SUV that rammed an unmarked police picked up and several other parked cars attempted to escape Dayton police detectives in the parking lot of Lyons Gate Apartments, 8401 Lyons Gate Way. The detectives had set up an undercover drug bust, and Priest, who was driving the car with a handgun in his lap, attempted to flee after learning the “buyers” were actually undercover police detectives, police said.
Priest was also convicted of possession of cocaine in 2004, for which he was sentenced to one year of confinement, and assault in 2005.
To see photos of the March incident in Miamisburg, click here.
TweetAutopsy does not reveal cause of death for 6-month-old
DAYTON — An autopsy completed by Montgomery County Coroner’s Office about noon on Thursday, July 30, “did not reveal a definitive cause of death” of a 6-month-old boy, said Ken Betz, director of the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab.
Braiden Gipson of Vandalia was found dead on his great-uncle’s apartment steps on Wednesday.
The coroner’s office will continue to communicate with Dayton police homicide detectives and await further tests before determining a cause of death or ruling whether the death was a homicide, Betz said.
Several people, including the baby’s mother and great-uncle, were transported downtown for questioning Wednesday afternoon, said Dayton police Sgt. Gary White.
White said Thursday the two were released following questioning, even though the mother provided “inconsistencies” compared to the stories of other witnesses interviewed. Other family members had been at the apartment earlier in the morning, but the mother and her uncle were the only other people in the apartment when the 911 call was made, White said.
Gipson was pronounced dead at 1:09 p.m. at 208 N. Irwin St. after police and medical personnel responded to a 911 call from the apartment that a baby was not breathing.
During the 57-second call, a man is heard on the phone talking almost intelligibly through heavy wailing as a woman is heard screaming in the background. As the police dispatcher asks what is happening, the man is heard saying “Baby’s dead!” and “Baby’s not breathing …”
Sgt. Tom Flanders, of the Dayton police Special Victims Unit, said Wednesday afternoon that the death “will be treated as a homicide and investigated as such.”
Neighbors said the baby’s mother and her uncle were hysterical when police and medics arrived and that the baby’s skin was already blue.
White said the mother arrived at the apartment Tuesday to stay with her uncle. The mother has several addresses connected to her, White said, although the coroner’s office lists the baby’s address as one in Vandalia.
Detectives are expected to re-contact the mother, her uncle and other witnesses to work with the coroner’s office, White said.
A man identifying himself as the baby’s great-uncle, although not the one present during the incident, said Thursday by phone that the family was too grief-stricken to discuss the baby or his death.
Gipson’s death is the 25th this year in Montgomery County of a child aged 12 or younger, Betz said. During the same period last year, there were 29 such deaths, he said.
TweetMurder suspect Dalcapone Alpaccino Morris sought by fugitive task force
DAYTON — The U.S. Marshals Service-led task force that searches for and apprehends wanted persons throughout the Miami Valley has turned its attention to a 21-year-old man wanted for murder.
The Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST) has begun its search for Dalcapone Alpaccino Morris, who was indicted in July for the June murder of Richard A. Pogue. Morris was indicted along with Michael D. Guy, 19, on charges of murder, felonious assault, kidnapping, aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary.
Guy remains in the Montgomery County Jail following his June 21 arrest by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office on an unrelated burglary charge. During interviews with Guy following his arrest, Dayton police detectives advanced their investigation into Pogue’s murder enough to charge Guy and Morris for their believed involvement in the homicide.
Pogue, 22, was shot and killed on the night of June 2 at 1369 Kingsley Ave., in what police said was a robbery attempt.
William Taylor, supervisory deputy for the Marshals Service for the Southern District of Ohio, encouraged anyone with information about Morris’ whereabouts to contact the Marshals Service at (937) 225-2917. Morris is believed to still be in the Dayton area, Taylor said.
Morris, who was also indicted in 2008 on a charge of possession of cocaine, has gained national attention for his name, including a mention on the national crime Web site The Smoking Gun.
TweetHeroin-hooked twins arrested in drug bust
DAYTON — Twin brothers, 24, were arrested along with a man accused of selling them heroin during a drug bust by undercover Dayton police detectives on Tuesday, July 28.
Jonathan D. Vinson and Chad J. Vinson were arrested at 11:35 p.m. in the 200 block of Siebenthaler Avenue on charges of possession of drugs, prohibited substance solicitation and permitting drug abuse. Police also arrested Lamar A. Smith, 22, on charges of trafficking in drugs and tampering with evidence.
Detectives called a number they believed belonged to a man selling heroin and set up an arrangement to buy the drugs, according to a police report. The man answering the phone directed them to the area of the 200 block of Siebenthaler Avenue.
A silver van believed to belong to the seller passed the car in which the detectives were sitting and stopped nearby. A blue Chevrolet sedan stopped near the van, and a passenger hurried out of the Chevrolet’s door, ran to the van and ran back to the car, the report said.
The van then drove near the car containing the detectives and a man later identified as Smith exited and walked to the detectives. He gave the detectives three gel caps containing suspected heroin in exchange for $30 and returned to the van, the report said.
Officers stopped both the van and the Chevrolet. The men inside the Chevrolet were identified as the Vinson brothers, the report said.
Jonathan Vinson told detectives he drove his brother to buy the heroin and that he was going to receive one of the gel caps in exchange for driving. Jonathan Vinson said both brothers are “hooked on heroin,” the report said.
Detectives asked Chad Vinson if he bought heroin from Smith, and he said, “I don’t know. I was just scared,” the report said.
Smith told detectives he was only transporting the heroin and collecting the money for another man and that he wasn’t the real dealer, the report said.
Detectives tested the both substances obtained from the Vinsons and what they purchased from Smith and confirmed they were heroin, the report said.
TweetMan who dumped kids in trash had taken them from home before
UPDATE (Tuesday, July 28, 11:15 a.m.): The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office has approved four felony kidnapping charges, three counts of domestic violence, two counts of endangering children, one count of tampering with evidence and one count of inducing panic against the man who placed two young children in a trash bin.
If convicted of all charges, Tommie L. Johnson Jr. faces up to 52 years in prison, according to the prosecutor’s office.
DAYTON - The man who police said confessed to taking two children from his girlfriend’s home and dumping them in a city-issued trash bin had taken them from the home before.
Officers responded to the children’s home in the 3900 block of Palmerson Avenue in December after their mother, Alisha Whitehead, called police to report a domestic violence incident.
Whitehead, 27, told officers then her boyfriend, Tommie L. Johnson Jr., 39, took and walked the children to his wife’s house, according to a police report.
Whitehead said Johnson hit her in front of their then 17-month-old daughter Ashonti Johnson. A domestic violence packet was completed and Johnson was arrested on charges of public intoxication on Dec. 11.
Ashonti, 23 months old, and her 8-month-old brother, Tommie Johnson III, were taken from their home again on Sunday, July 26, by Tommie Johnson Jr. after another domestic violence incident in the 400 block of North Cherrywood Avenue, according to police.
Johnson dumped the children in a trash bin where they sat in filth and mud for as long as 13 hours before being found by two electricians Monday morning, Chief Richard Biehl said.
You can read about that entire incident by clicking here.
Johnson and Whitehead have had numerous experiences with police. Johnson has been arrested at least eight times since 2003 on charges related to domestic violence, public intoxication and assault.
Whitehead was arrested in June for soliciting an undercover Dayton police officer in the 1400 block of Cherrywood Avenue, according to a police report.
Whitehead offered to perform a sex act on the officer for $20, the report stated. Whitehead told the officer she did not prostitute often, but needed money to feed her children.
She also said she had a drug problem and smoked crack, the report stated. She pleaded guilty to a prostitution charge in Dayton Municipal Court on July 7.
Ashonti and Tommie have been removed from Whitehead’s home and placed in foster care by Montgomery County Children’s Services.
TweetMan killed during home invasion fought in three wars, awarded Silver Stars
DAYTON - The 85-year-old man killed Monday, July 27, during an apparent home invasion fought in three wars and was awarded two Silver Stars, investigators said.
North E. Woodall is a World War II, Korean and Vietnam war veteran. Woodall retired as an E-9 sergeant major Green Beret and received numerous medals for his services, investigators with the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office said.
Dayton police said Woodall was found late Monday night by a neighbor in the 1000 block of Walton Avenue. He died from blunt force trauma to the head, coroner’s office director Ken Betz said.
Sgt. Gary White said Tuesday no arrests have been made, but detectives are getting numerous calls about Woodall’s death. White said it is unclear if Woodall was hit in the head by an intruder or fell during the struggle.
Officers arrived to find the front door of Woodall’s home had been forced open, Dayton Lt. Brian Johns said.
Neighbors told police they last saw Woodall about 9 p.m., Lt. Brian Johns. One of them called police at 11:34 p.m. to report his death.
Neighbors said they did not see or hear anything suspicious before finding Woodall, Johns said.
The neighbor who arrived to check on the victim found him on the floor, just inside his front door, Johns said.
Woodall is the city’s 26th homicide this year. You can track this homicide and all others for the last 18 months by clicking here.
TweetBank robbery suspect surrenders to police
DAYTON — A 24-year-old woman surrendered to police and admitted her role in a weekend bank robbery during which she displayed a handgun and took cash from the cash drawers of two tellers, police said.
Vanessa M. Hoswell contacted authorities and turned herself in on Monday, July 27, said Dayton police Lt. Patrick Welsh. Police are interviewing Hoswell to determine if any other suspects were involved, he said.
Hoswell entered the Fifth Third Bank branch, at 1200 Brown St., at 10:09 a.m. on Saturday and robbed the bank. Later on Saturday, a person called police to say there was a black bag apparently discarded in bushes near the bank with money inside and what appeared to be red dye from an exploding dye pack, Welsh said.
It’s unclear if all of the cash taken from the bank was in the bag, Welsh said.
Hoswell was booked into the Montgomery County Jail at 2:58 p.m. Monday on a charge of aggravated robbery, according to jail records.
TweetFirefighters agree to wage freeze and surrender holiday pay
I know this isn’t crime news, but it deals with officials who cover criminal activity in the city, so please, save those comments:
DAYTON - The International Association of Firefighters Dayton Local 136 has agreed to a contract proposal with the city to freeze wages for 2010 and surrender some holiday pay.
The agreement, confirmed Friday morning, July 24, by Local 136 spokesman Brad French, comes as the city is trying to stave off a $6 million deficit and work out a similar agreement with police officers.
The agreement calls for the city to not layoff firefighters through May of next year and demote nine district chiefs for the length of the agreement.
Firefighters agreed to not take holiday pay for Labor Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Good Friday and Memorial Day in 2010.
TweetMan beaten unconscious and in critical condition over $40 debt
DAYTON - Police have arrested a man they described as a habitual criminal for beating a man bloody and to the point of unconsciousness over a $40 debt.
Benny W. Bledsoe was arrested for the 35th time in the last eight years —Â this time on a first-degree aggravated felonious assault charge after he allegedly sent a 47-year-old man to Miami Valley Hospital in critical condition.
Officers arrived in the 400 block of Briarwood Avenue about 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 23, to find a man lying bloody and unconscious in the parking lot of the Briarwood Apartments complex, according to a police report.
The man was bleeding from his head and face, but regained consciousness when officers started speaking to him, the report stated.
The victim said a man named “Benny” had assaulted him because he gave “Benny” only $10 of the $40 he owed, the report stated.
Officers found Bledsoe, 46, standing nearby with blood on his clothes and hands, the report stated. His knuckles were scraped up.
Bledsoe told officers the victim fell and hit his face and head on the pavement. He said he tried to help the victim up and that’s how he got the blood on his hands and clothes, the report stated.
Officers called Miami Valley Hospital, where nurses told them the victim was in critical condition. The victim had a broken jaw, several loose teeth, bone fractures and a large cut on his forehead, the report stated.
Nurses said the victim could not have sustained the injuries by falling down.
When told he was going to be charged with aggravated assault, Bledsoe said “Can’t be felonious assault if I didn’t use a weapon,” the report stated.
Bledsoe then said “I don’t even care if (the victim) dies.”
The victim’s injuries are not considered life threatening, according to police.
Bledsoe has been arrested three times this year; for alleged traffic violations and carrying a concealed weapon, according to Montgomery County Jail records.
TweetMan arrested for child rapes released from custody
UPDATED at 2:50 p.m.
DAYTON — Police have released a 30-year-old Dayton man who was arrested on suspicion of raping three children from custody and will continue investigating while he recovers in a local hospital from a severe beating, which seemingly occurred as retribution for the suspected rapes.
The man remains in a local hospital with injuries to the head and face, said Dayton police Lt. Patrick Welsh. His injuries are severe enough that a plastic surgeon was requested to make a diagnosis, Welsh said.
Detectives from the department’s Special Victims Unit interviewed the three victims of the alleged rapes, who are all aged 10 or younger, on Thursday, July 23, Welsh said. The children are not all related, and Welsh declined to specify their ages.
The man’s arrest stemmed from a report of an assault in the 300 block of Xenia Avenue on Tuesday afternoon. Officers arrived to find him with significant injuries, and he told police he was walking in an alley when he was jumped by one or more suspects and assaulted, Welsh said.
Shelley Keaton, who lives in that Xenia Avenue block, was outside with a friend Tuesday when she saw the man stumbling from the alley accompanied by two other men. Keaton helped him sit down in front of her house while she called the authorities, and the two men with the beaten man left, she said.
Keaton said there was a blood trail leading to the alley behind the 300 block of Xenia Avenue.
“His face was just bashed in,” Keaton said. “It wasn’t just from a fist.”
Keaton said she had seen him walking the suspected victims to and from the store on several occasions. The children, who lived several streets away, appeared to be comfortable with the beaten man and were “happy-go-lucky” when they were with him, she said.
Several weeks ago, the father of at least one of the children told Keaton that the man, who had been staying at his house, inexplicably left one night.
The children confided in an adult about the alleged rapes, and the mother of at least one of the children called police, Welsh said. The report of the alleged rapes came near the time the man was assaulted, he said.
No one is in custody for the assault, which police are continuing to investigate. Welsh said detectives are searching for a single suspect but said it’s unclear whether the suspect is related to any of the suspected rape victims.
TweetUp to 80 DPD officers being investigated for overtime abuse
DAYTON - Overtime claims made by as many as 80 Dayton police officers over the last two years are being investigated by the Dayton Police Department for alleged overtime abuse.
The examination of overtime claims comes after a months-long internal audit that flagged at least one “questionable” claim from each of the roughly 80 officers, Chief Richard Biehl said Wednesday, July 22.
Union president Randy Beane said the city is disputing contract language that allows officers to receive overtime to attend court proceedings. He said officers have been receiving overtime pay for attending court proceeding the “same way for the last 10 to 15 years.”
Beane said he is “dumbfounded” by the department’s decision to launch what he called a “witch hunt.”
Biehl said Beane’s comments are unwarranted and said the characterization that officers are being “investigated” is incorrect.
“We’ve asked commanding supervisors to take a harder look at some officers’ overtime claims that stuck out to us,” Biehl said. “We are not investigating anyone at this time. We are simply looking to see if the (overtime) claims match up to the contract language.”
TweetBurning clothes nearly torch more, woman arrested
DAYTON — A pile of clothes set afire by an angry girlfriend ignited a tree in a west Dayton neighborhood on Monday, July 20, and the girlfriend was arrested on a charge of arson.
Ebony Perkins, 24, was arrested at about 10:30 p.m. on Monday after police and firefighters responded to the report of a fire in the 800 block of Danner Avenue, according to a police report.
Perkins’s boyfriend, Cory Moody, called police to say Perkins had set his clothes on fire. Police have responded to multiple disturbance calls involving the couple, but neither has followed through with charges against the other, the report said.
When officials arrived, the fire was about 10 feet high and seven feet wide on the tree, the report said. Firefighters extinguished the fire before it spread to other parts of the neighborhood.
The fire “was in the process of destroying a large tree that is located in a densely populated area” and could have caused much more damage if firefighters had not responded quickly, the report said.
According to the report, Perkins said to police, “I’ll admit it, I tried to set his clothes on fire, but I didn’t know that they were still burning.”
Moody told officers he did not wish to pursue charges against Perkins, the report said, but police arrested Perkins.
TweetWoman impersonating police allegedly robs neighbor
DAYTON — Police arrested a 42-year-old woman who a neighbor said pushed into her apartment claiming to be a Dayton police officer and stole her purse on Wednesday, July 22.
Geneva M. Postell was arrested at 1:54 a.m. inside her apartment at 819 Wilmington Ave. following the report of a break-in, according to a police report. The complainant called police shortly after 1 a.m. to say that a woman had broken into her apartment, the report said.
When officers arrived, the woman said someone had knocked on her door, but when the complainant attempted to check the visitor through the door’s peephole, the peephole was blocked. She asked who was there, and a voice answered, “Dayton police, open the door,” the report said.
As the complainant began to open the door, the woman outside pushed in and said, “Dayton police! Get on the ground.” The woman was holding an object wrapped in a white T-shirt she used to hit the complainant on the head, the report said. She also used a dark-colored shirt to cover part of her face, it said.
After the complainant got to the ground, the woman put her foot on the complainant’s back and began rummaging through her nearby purse, the report said. The woman then left the apartment, and the complainant noticed the purse was missing, the report said.
The complainant told police she knew the woman was her neighbor, Postell. Officers made contact with Postell and immediately noticed a black knit purse with a pink breast cancer awareness ribbon matching the complainant’s description inside. They also saw a white T-shirt sitting next to a shampoo bottle on a table, the report said.
Postell told officers the purse was left there by the complainant after the two shared some drinks in the apartment, the report said.
Officers then arrested Postell and booked her into the Montgomery County Jail on a charge of aggravated robbery.
TweetFuneral services set for 11-year-old girl
HUBER HEIGHTS - Funeral services have been set for the 11-year-old girl Huber Heights police said died from an apparent drug overdose.
Brooke N. Coldwell will be buried at Dayton Memorial Park Cemetery Wednesday, July 22, after an 11 a.m. Christian mass at the St. Christopher Church, 435 E. Nation Road in Vandalia.
The family will receive friends at the church at 10 a.m. Brooke’s family requests in lieu of flowers people make a donation to the St. Christopher Tuition Assistance Fund in her name.
Detectives continue to investigate the child’s death after she spent five days at Dayton Children’s Medical Center. Brooke’s maternal grandmother and mother Catherine Coldwell said the child ingested some of Catherine’s Oxycodone-based painkillers kept in a zipper bag.
Investigators have labeled her death suspicious. You can read what both sides of Brooke’s family had to say about her death by clicking here.
TweetFour arrested in Tennessee robbery suspected in local home invasion
DAYTON - Robbery detectives suspect three men and a male juvenile arrested after a chase near Nashville, Tenn., is the same group that recently broke into a Dayton home and brutally attacked its 60-year-old owner.
Authorities in Tennessee chased the men Thursday after they were identified as suspects in the robbery of a check-cashing store near Nashville. The robbers fled, but crashed their car during the chase, Dayton Lt. Patrick Welsh said.
Authorities in Tennessee arrested the three men and the juvenile, though one of the suspects had to be taken to a hospital to treat serious injuries, Welsh said.
Police in Tennessee searched and found items in the car that were taken during a home invasion in Dayton on Wednesday, July 15, Welsh said. Three men burst into the home in the 1600 block of Joselin Road, beat the 60-year-old man, tied him up and took items from the home, police said.
The robbers also took the man’s Toyota Camry and a Harley Davidson motorcycle, Welsh said. The Camry was recovered “not too far” from the man’s home.
A grandmother of one of the suspects lives near Nashville, but at least one of the robbers is from Dayton, Welsh said.
“We believe in the home invasion, that the victim was targeted and it was not a random act,” Welsh said.
Detectives aren’t 100 percent sure the four people are responsible for the violent home invasion. Dayton detectives are communicating with authorities in Tennessee and hope to gather more evidence, Welsh said.
TweetPolice release description of robbery suspect who pointed gun at cop
DAYTON - Detectives are still looking for one of two gunman who tried to rob the Kroger grocery store in the 1000 block of South Smithville Road Thursday night, July 16.
Off-duty Officer Gregory Mills arrested Moses M. Stevens, 45, inside the store, but the second suspect who pointed a gun at an off-duty Dayton police officer fled the store and has not been found, according to police.
Police describe the man as a black male, about 5-foot-8, with a “thin build.” He was last seen wearing a light-gray or white T-shirt and light-colored blue jeans.
Lt. John Bardun said the unknown suspect was in the customer service area when he was confronted by Mills about 10:15 p.m. The suspected pointed his gun at Mills, working as a security guard at the store, and Mills fired his weapon.
The shot missed and police later recovered the bullet inside the store, Bardun said.
There were numerous customers inside the store when the incident happened, though no one was hurt, Bardun said.
Numerous witnesses were able to describe the suspect still at large.
Stevens was convicted of robbery in 2001 after he tried to shoot a man inside a house before taking about $180 from his wallet in late 2000, according to a police report. Stevens’ gun jammed when he tried to fire at someone in the house, the report stated.
Anyone with information on the suspect at large is urged to call 333-COPS.
The police department’s internal affairs office is conducting an investigation since the office fire his weapon, Lt. John Huber said. Mills is still active duty and will not be put on leave during the investigation, Huber said.
Mills has been on the police force since 1990.
TweetHomicide charge approved against suspect in Northland Village shooting
HARRISON TWP., Montgomery County - The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office has approved reckless homicide and involuntary manslaughter charges against a 21-year-old man sheriff’s investigators said shot and killed Robin Etherington during a drug deal.
Antonio Wilson also faces third-degree felony charges of drug possession, tampering with evidence and having weapons while under disability, according to county jail records.
Sheriff’s Maj. Scott Landis said Thursday, July 16, prosecutors approved all charges within the last week. Jail records show Wilson was arrested by sheriff’s deputies on June 26.
Sheriff’s investigators said Wilson shot Etherington, 54, of Troy, inside the Northland Village Apartment Complex on June 19 during a drug deal gone bad. Etherington was sitting in his car in the 2000 block of Republic Drive, but apparently tried to drive off without paying for the drugs and Wilson shot at him, Landis said.
Etherington crashed his car into a vacant building after being shot and was pronounced dead at the scene.
TweetPolice searching for KFC robber
DAYTON — Police are continuing to search for a man who an employee said robbed a Salem Avenue KFC at gunpoint on Wednesday, July 15.
The suspect was wearing a scarf over his face when he entered the store at 2905 Salem Ave. at about noon, according to a police report. The suspect stepped to the counter, ordered a customer to the floor and told the employee to give him the money in the cash register, the report said. He was pointing a handgun covered with a red scarf while making the demands, the report said.
The employee complied, and the suspect fled before getting into a nearby car and driving off, the report said. The suspect received about $100 in cash from the register, the report said.
The suspect is described as a 6-foot-3 black male with a medium build.
TweetMan punches cop, flees through Courthouse Square
DAYTON — Police arrested a 20-year-old man on Wednesday, July 15, after he punched an officer in the chest while being questioned about a hidden handgun and led police on a chase through Courthouse Square.
Dethomas L. Thomas was arrested at 4:03 p.m. and booked into the Montgomery County Jail on charges of obstructing official business, carrying a concealed weapon and assault on a police officer following the incident that began at the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority hub on South Main Street, according to a police report.
Officers monitoring activity at the Wright Stop Plaza, 4 South Main St., were approached by a man who said he saw another man hiding a handgun in his right front pants pocket. Officers approached that man, later identified as Thomas, and asked if he had any weapons on him, the report said.
Thomas told officers he had a pocketknife but didn’t have a gun. When the officers asked to pat him down, Thomas swung his arm at one of the officers and struck him in the chest, the report said.
Thomas then ran out of the hub and through Courthouse Square with officers in pursuit. While running, he was holding his right front pants pocket, the report said.
When he reached the north end of Courthouse Square, Thomas encountered another officer who had his gun drawn and followed orders to lie on the ground. He said to officers, “All right. It’s in my front pocket. I carry it for my protection. I live in a bad neighborhood,” the report said.
Officers recovered the handgun and transported Thomas to the jail, the report said.
Thomas pleaded guilty in March to illegally discharging a firearm, according to Dayton Municipal Court records.
TweetPolice arrest one in shooting
DAYTON - One person has been arrested stemming from a shooting that occurred about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 15, in the 1300 block of West Riverview Avenue.
Police were dispatched on a report of someone who had been shot after someone opened the door of their home and fired a shot.
Police have not made clear how the person arrested is involved in the incident. The victim, police said, suffered a non life-threatening injury to his arm. Stay with DaytonDailyNews.com for more information.
TweetMan with 253 suspected drug capsules known to court
DAYTON — A 20-year-old man arrested Tuesday, July 14, for allegedly possessing 253 capsules containing suspected heroin is also facing two other open court cases on charges of possession of heroin.
James D. Burrows, 20, was arrested in front of 37 Fernwood Ave. at about 4:55 p.m. Tuesday after officers first responded to a report of a man carrying a concealed weapon on North Main Street, according to a police report.
Officers spotted a man later identified as Burrows walking while trying to hold up his shorts that appeared to be weighed down in the pockets. He walked to evade police, and he was soon stopped in front of the home on Fernwood, the report said.
Officers found three cell phones and cash on Burrows, whose pockets were no longer bulging. While searching the rear of the home, officers found a CD case and plastic bag containing a combined 253 capsules of suspected heroin and a handgun they believe belonged to Burrows, the report said.
The capsules contained a combined 37.76 grams of the substance, the report said.
Burrows is currently facing two charges of possession of heroin in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court stemming from incidents in June 2008 and February 2009, according to court records. He was also convicted in September 2007 of robbery, for which he received a sentence of five years of community control.
Burrows was booked into the Montgomery County jail on a charges of possession of drugs and carrying a concealed weapon.
TweetMurder charge filed for man accused of shooting girlfriend’s brother
DAYTON - The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office has approved a murder charge against a 28-year-old whom homicide detectives said shot and killed his girlfriend’s brother.
DaJuan M. Bell has been formally charged with one felony count each of murder, involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide, Sgt. Gary White said Tuesday, July 14.
Bell is accused of shooting and killing Kantron Gipson, 22, about 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the 3000 block of Wexford Place. Gipson’s sister, Ebone Gipson, said her brother went to confront Bell about a domestic violence incident involving their sister the night before.
Homicide detectives and assistant prosecutors met for more than three hours Monday afternoon before deciding on the charges, White said.
It is unclear when the case will go before a grand jury, but White said the multiple charges will be narrowed down during grand jury proceeding.
A call Tuesday morning to the prosecutor’s office seeking an explanation of the charges was not immediately returned.
Gipson is the father of a 3-year-old son and had a baby on the way, his sister Ebone said.
White said witness cooperation and cooperation from Bell led to getting a murder charge approved. White said the gun used in the shooting still has not been located.
Bell is in Montgomery County Jail and is expected to appear in court today at 1:30 p.m.
You can read more about the city’s 25th homicide and check the status of all others since 2008 by clicking here.
TweetRestaurant owner arrested for selling marijuana out of business
DAYTON - The Dayton Special Weapons and Tactics team arrested the owner of Sam’s Eatery Monday, July 13, after a confidential informant tipped drug detectives marijuana was being sold inside the restaurant.
William Oglesby, 45, and his wife Charlotta Oglesby, 41, were arrested by SWAT-team members about 4 p.m. after detectives were able to secure a warrant for the business at 1288 S. Broadway St., according to police.
Police said the couple were selling marijuana inside the restaurant and detectives performed a successful controlled drug buy before the SWAT team arrived, according to a police report.
Charlotta Oglesby told detectives she sold marijuana because business was “slow” and she needed money to the bills, the report stated.
Detectives recovered nearly 500 grams of marijuana inside an office in the restaurant, according to police. That amount of marijuana has a street value of nearly $300, the report stated.
The restaurant was shut down Tuesday to customers as the couple was still in Montgomery County Jail.
The couple faces felony drug trafficking, possession and permitting drug abuse charges. They are expected to appear in court at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to jail records.
TweetPolice looking for man who shot tail-wagging dog twice in head
DAYTON - Police are looking for a gunman who approached a dog playing in the 1000 block of Wilmington Avenue, pulled out a pistol and shot the Australian Shepherd twice in the head.
The 14-month-old Australian Shepherd was dead when officers arrived about 8 p.m. Monday, July 13, according to police.
Witnesses told officers a white man, 6-feet tall and about 215 pounds, approached the tail-wagging dog playing and barking in the front yard of an apartment complex. The gunman looked over both his shoulders and then shot the dog before running away, according to a police report.
The man ran into an apartment at 1053 Wilmington Ave., witnesses said.
Witnesses said the gunman was leaning against a tree smoking a cigarette in the apartment complex for about 40 minutes before shooting the dog.
The dog’s owner was found nearby and the woman told officers the dog ran out of her apartment while she was moving items inside, the report stated.
When told her dog had been killed, the woman started shaking and crying, the report stated.
Occupants of the apartment complex said the same gunman recently shot at outside lights in the area with a BB gun.
Officers searched numerous area apartments, but could not find the described gunman. Anyone with information of his whereabouts should call 333-COPS.
TweetSuspect, victim identified in weekend homicide
DAYTON - The man who police said shot and killed his girlfriend’s brother after a domestic dispute has been identified as 28-year-old DaJuan Bell.
Bell is in Montgomery County Jail on charges of involuntary manslaughter, domestic violence and resisting arrest, according to jail records.
The man killed during the incident has been identified by the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office as 22-year-old Kantron A. Gipson.
The coroner’s office is checking with investigators as to the correct spelling of the victim’s name.
Homicide detectives were called to the 3000 block of Wexford Place, in the Hilltop Homes, Saturday about 1:30 p.m.
Lead homicide detective Sgt. Gary White said Bell and his girlfriend were involved in a domestic situation that developed into a confrontation involving Bell and his girlfriend’s brother.
“The female’s boyfriend shot and killed her brother,” White said.
Witnesses told police Bell was chasing the victim and firing a gun. Bell disappeared from the scene for a short time, but then got in contact with detectives.
“People tried to reach out to the suspect to turn himself in and that did happen. There are a number of people who are trying to help us resolve this issue and that was encouraging,” White said.
White said the handgun Bell allegedly used in the shooting has not been located.
The shooting is Dayton’s 25th homicide this year, White said.
A background check found Bell has numerous arrests, including multiple arrests on domestic violence charges that were later cleared by Dayton and/or Montgomery County prosecutors, according to jail records.
He did serve jail time for other domestic violence incidents dating back to July of 2001. It is unclear at this time if his girlfriend was involved in these incidents.
You can track this homicide and all others in the last 18 months through our interactive map and database by clicking here.
TweetIce cream shop owner grabs robber’s gun, pulls the trigger
DAYTON - Officers responded to the Nice N’ Sweet Ice Cream Shop at 1235 Linden Ave. Saturday after the shop’s owner thwarted a would-be gunman’s attempt to rob his store.
The owner, David M. Quatman, told police a white man, about 6-foot-2 and 150 pounds and wearing a green ski mask walked into his store about 11 p.m. and pointed a handgun at employees washing dishes in the rear of the building.
It’s worth noting that the ice cream shop was burglarized in March and April. There have been no arrests made in those two burglaries, according to police.
On Saturday Quatman rushed to the back of the store after hearing his employees scream and confronted the gunman, according to a police report.
Quatman grabbed the gunman’s arm and turned it around, which put the barrel of the handgun in the robber’s chest, the report stated.
Quatman said he wasn’t sure if the gun was fake or unloaded because he pulled the trigger and nothing happened, the report stated.
When the gun didn’t fire Quatman screamed “Get the hell out of my store,” and pushed the gunman out the back door, the report stated. Once outside, the gunman took off with nothing.
A K-9 unit was called but could not track down the suspect, the report stated.
Anyone with information about the attempted robbery needs to call 333-COPS.
TweetPolice responding to report of man shot in neck and arm
By Steve Bennish, Staff Writer
DAYTON — Police are responding to the report of a man shot in the neck and arm while on the street in the 3700 block of East Cornell Woods Drive.
Officers received the call about 4:30 p.m. Friday, July 10. It appears the shooting might have taken place on another street and the male wandered to Cornell Woods Drive, according to police.
He was alert and talking to police.
He was shot five time and was rushed to an area hospital, police on the scene said.
Stay with DaytonDailyNews.com for more information.
TweetOnly survivor of deadly triple shooting recovering, not talking
DAYTON - Detectives are still unable to speak with the 25-year-old man who was the only person to survive a double fatal shooting Wednesday night, July 8.
Edward L. Heflin, 25, is recovering from gunshot wounds to the neck and chest but is still medically unable to speak, investigators said.
Heflin drove himself to Grandview Hospital about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday and collapsed right inside the emergency room, police said.
The other two men, 21-year-old Ryan J. Daniel and 29-year-old Thomas Casey were found dead about 30 minutes later in a house at 857 Euclid Ave, according to police.
Lt. John Bardun said the incident was the result of an attempted marijuana deal that went bad.
You can read more about the shooting by clicking here.
Police are not looking for any other suspects and believe only the three men are involved. It is unclear who fired the shots, though investigators did find two guns in Heflin’s vehicle.
You can check the status of these homicides and all others from this year by clicking here.
TweetState troopers asked to take 10-day furloughs
DAYTON - The state has asked Ohio Highway Patrol employees take a 10-day furlough within the next year, including the roughly 1,500 uniformed officers.
The Ohio State Troopers Association has yet to vote on the request, but it appears furloughs of some sort are going to happen, Patrol spokesman Lt. Shawn Davis said.
If approved by the union, it would be the first time in the patrol’s 76-year history that its troopers had taken furloughs. Gov. Ted Strickland is the first governor in Ohio history to ask employees to take furloughs.
Davis said lieutenants and above will take a mandatory 80-hour furlough between July 1 this year and June 30, 2010. If troopers approve the furloughs, they must take time off during the same time frame, Davis said.
Trooper’s union president Larry Phillips was not immediately available for comment Thursday, July 9.
Davis said the union has a deadline to ratify the contract proposal, which includes the furloughs, but wasn’t sure of the date.
Davis said he could provide that information on Friday.
The state’s largest employees unions, accounting for nearly 40,000 workers, have already agreed to wage freezes and 10-day furloughs, a measure that will save the state $173.2 million.
TweetOperation FALCON nets 169 local arrests
DAYTON — A month-long effort led by the U.S. Marshals Service meant to find and arrest persons accused of serious crimes netted 169 arrests in June, the Marshals Service said.
The effort, dubbed Operation FALCON (Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally), combined manpower from local 23 law enforcement agencies as part of the national operation that occurred for the fifth year. The Marshals announced the effort’s results during a Thursday, July 9, news conference attended by representatives of several local law enforcement agencies.
The arrests cleared 308 warrants throughout the Miami Valley, said U.S. Marshal James M. Wahlrab. During the program’s first year in 2005, only about 30 local arrests were made, said U.S. Attorney Gregory G. Lockhart.
“Quite often, as a result of these activities, other crimes are discovered as well,” Lockhart said.
“We know from our statistics that the vast majority of violent crimes are committed by people who have prior felony convictions, and many of these people who we arrested in this operation FALCON have prior convictions.”
An average of about 50 officers and deputies per day met at 6 a.m. for a briefing before making their searches and arrests, Wahltab said. Dayton police officers were involved in 31 of those arrests, said Dayton police Chief Richard Biehl. The number of arrests aided by other specific agencies were not identified.
Nationally, the operation collected 35,190 arrests to clear 47,418 warrants, the Marshals Service said.
“It was extreme strain for all the departments, especially in this day and age, to do this, but I think by doing it our community is much safer,” Wahlrab said. “We’ve got these people off the street. There are less felonies being completed because they’re locked up today.”
TweetPolice searching for mother to discuss child endangering complaint
DAYTON — Police are attempting to contact a 26-year-old woman to discuss a child endangering report filed by the grandmother of her two children, who said the children were neglected inside a house covered in feces and cockroaches and that they were infested with lice.
An officer on routine patrol on Wednesday, July 8, was flagged down by a woman who said she had just picked up her grandchildren at a home in the 600 block of Milburn Avenue, according to a police report. The woman said she visited the home to check on the children because their father, who is her son, has been incarcerated for about one month and she is trying to help the mother.
The children, ages 2 years old and 5 months old, were in a home with “deplorable” conditions, including feces on the floor and cockroaches and bugs running throughout, the grandmother told police. She said she removed the children because of her concern for them, the report said.
The grandmother told police that the children’s mother was not home, and that she had left her mentally disabled brother to care for them, the report said. In the past, the grandmother has found the children sleeping on the floor and under tables because they had no cribs, the report said. She had since provided cribs for them, the report said.
Officers were told the mother was visiting a friend nearby. That friend told police that she was no longer there and knew police were looking for her, the report said.
The woman’s mother, reached at her home in Oklahoma by police, said she had recently driven to Ohio to take custody of the 4-year-old twins because the mother told her she could not care for them, the report said.
Inside the Milburn Avenue house, police found a package of hot dogs, a frozen pack of meat and two frozen loaves of bread in the refrigerator and conditions the grandmother had previously described, the report said.
An evidence crew was called to the house to continue investigating while officers searched for the mother, the report said. The children were taken to Children’s Medical Center to be checked and then allowed to return to the grandmother’s home, the report said.
TweetTwo males found dead in house had been shot, Dayton police say
DAYTON - Two males found dead Wednesday night, July 8, in a residence at 857 S. Euclid Ave. had been shot, police said.
Homicide and gang unit detectives were dispatched about 7:40 p.m. on a report of two bodies found at that address.
A neighbor said she heard at least 10 shots and then a car start up. Other neighbors went to the porch, looked through windows, and saw the bodies.
Investigators at the scene have made no official comment to reporters, but some people in the neighborhood have said they believe one of the victims is in his late teens and the other is in his early 20s.
More than 100 people gathered near the one-story house, which is cream in color with peach trim, as police and Montgomery County coroner’s investigators worked the scene.
You can read the complete version of this story by clicking here.
TweetPolice responding to shooting find man hit three times
DAYTON - Police are responding to Grandview Hospital on the report of a man shot three times in the back about 6:10 p.m. Wednesday, July 8.
A dispatcher said officers are still trying to determine where the shooting occurred. The condition of the victim is not immediately known.
Police would not confirm if the incident was related to a shooting at 857 Euclid Ave. that claimed the lives of two black males. You can read about that story by clicking here.
No further information is known at this time.
TweetWoman faces five charges in shoplifting and chase
MIAMI TWP., Montgomery County — A woman who allegedly stole polo-style shirts from a Dayton Mall department store before leading Miami Twp. police on a high-speed chase along Interstate 75 faces five charges stemming from the incident, according to court documents.
Iva J. Smith, 46, of West Carrollton was arrested at 4:43 p.m. on Tuesday, July 7, following the incident that began at the Elder-Beerman store at the Dayton Mall. Police finally stopped Smith on the on-ramp from I-75 to Main Street downtown, where she was arrested.
Charges of robbery, possession of criminal tools, failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, felonious assault and attempt to commit vehicular assault were filed Wednesday in Miamisburg Municipal Court. Smith remained in the Montgomery County Jail on Wednesday afternoon.
A Miami Twp. officer first tried to stop Smith in her red Ford van on Ohio 741 near the intersection with Ohio 725, said Miami Twp. deputy chief John DiPietro. Boxed in with another car in front of the van and the police cruiser to the rear, Smith attempted to strike the officer, who was standing next to the van, to get away, DiPietro said.
Smith then drove north on Rt. 741 and merged onto I-75 in Moraine. Police pursued at speeds near 80 mph before the van took the downtown Main Street exit and became clogged up in traffic, DiPietro said.
Police discovered $480 worth of polo shirts that police believe Smith was going sell to gain money to purchase drugs, DiPietro said.
Two officers injured during the pursuit, including one who broke out the driver’s side door window of Smith’s van when she attempted to strike him, were treated and released from a local hospital on Tuesday, DiPietro said.
TweetOne of accused pair still sought in June homicide case
DAYTON — Police are continuing to search for one of two men they say entered a Dayton residence for a drug-related robbery and shot a Clayton man last month.
Charges were filed Tuesday, July 7, against Dalcapon A. Morris, 20, and Michael D. Guy, 19, in the June 2 shooting death of Richard A. Pogue in the 1300 block of Kingsley Avenue. Guy remains in Montgomery County Jail while police are searching for Morris, said Dayton police Lt. Patrick Welsh.
Guy was arrested on June 21 on an unrelated aggravated burglary charge by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Welsh said. Following Guy’s arrests, interviews with him and more investigation indicated he and Morris were responsible for Pogue’s death, Welsh said.
Morris and Guy face charges of murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, kidnapping and felonious assault, according to Dayton Municipal Court records.
Guy also faces two counts of aggravated burglary from the unrelated incident that occurred in August 2008 in the 1900 block of Republic Drive. Guy and another man are accused of burglarizing and assaulting a man at that address, according to court records.
TweetTwo-woman fight leads to officer emergency call
DAYTON — A man and a woman were arrested on assault charges at a west Dayton gas station on Tuesday, July 7, after officers arrived to find two women fighting near a rowdy crowd.
Ebony M. Ward, 25, and Gary Sumlin, 33, were arrested following the call at 2:45 a.m. that there was a disturbance at the All-in-One, a gas station and convenience store\ at 119 N. James H. McGee Blvd., according to a police report.
The first responding officer, who heard multiple people calling for help, saw a woman, later identified as Ward, punching another woman, the report said. Witnesses told the officer that Sumlin had also choked the woman with both hands around the neck, the report said.
Shortly after the first officer responded, the dispatcher sent out a “99” call, which indicates an officer emergency. At that point, a crowd of about 30 was causing a “large commotion” at the gas station and convenience store, the report said.
The female victim told officers Sumlin had choked her because of the fight with Ward, which began because the victim had a relationship with Sumlin that upset Ward, the report said.
Sumlin was verbally combative with officers and wouldn’t provide his identification information following his placement in the back of a cruiser, the report said, so he was arrested on an additional charge of obstructing official business.
The victim was found bleeding from a scratch on her right hand and was bleeding from her upper lip, the report said.
TweetMurder charges filed against two in June shooting
DAYTON — Criminal charges were filed Tuesday, july 7, against two men in the shooting death of a man in Dayton last month.
Dalcapon A. Morris, 20, and Michael D. Guy, 19, were charged with murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, kidnapping and felonious assault in the June 2 incident that left Richard A. Pogue dead, Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Greg Flannagan said.
Pogue, 22, of Clayton was gunned down near midnight in a home at 1369 Kingsley Ave., in a killing police said was part of a robbery attempt in which two men kicked in the door before robbing and shooting Pogue.
Montgomery County Jail records indicate that Guy was arrested June 21 near his home in the 5100 block of Embassy Place. Morris was not in the jail Tuesday evening.
TweetPolice: Hospital worker leaves baby in car and goes to work
DAYTON - Police have arrested a woman who allegedly left her 8-month-old son alone in her car while she went to work at Miami Valley Hospital.
The mother, 19, clocked in for work in the nutrition services department Monday, July 6, about 6 a.m., Dayton police Sgt. David Reed said.
She has been identified through Montgomery County Jail records as Dnaye Duerson.
About 8 a.m. a passerby noticed movement in the floor board of a car parked on a street and discovered it was a baby, Reed said.
Hospital security said the child’s diaper was soiled and a bottle was found next to the boy, Reed said.
Duerson first told officers that her boyfriend must have put the baby in the car after she left it for work, but Reed said she has since changed her story.
The infant was rushed to the emergency room at Miami Valley by hospital security and was eating applesauce by the time Dayton officers arrived, Reed said.
“He is OK and was put in the custody of (Montgomery County) Children’s Services,” Reed said.
Duerson is in jail on a misdemeanor child endangering charge, but could face additional charges, Reed said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2494 or lsullivan@DaytonDailyNews.com.
TweetWoman died from head injury, was not run over by sister
DAYTON - A woman dragged by her sister’s car after an apparent fight was not run over and died after hitting her head on pavement, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
Cheryl Satterfield, 45, died Saturday, July 4, from severe head injuries from the fall, Coroner Dr. James Davis said Monday.
Officers responded to the 1200 block of Valley Street about 11:30 a.m. Saturday to find Satterfield unconscious, Lt. Brian Johns said.
Witnesses said Satterfield and her 42-year-old sister got into an argument as part of a days-long dispute between the two women.
The sister was sitting in a 2002 Subaru Forrester when Satterfield punched her through an open window, Johns said. Satterfield grabbed onto the Subaru as the sister tried to flee and was dragged along the pavement before she fell and hit her head, police said.
Satterfield’s sister has not been charged with any crime and it appears Satterfield might have been drinking, Lt. Larry Faulkner said.
Homicide detectives will present the case to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office for possible charges, as is routine in these incidents, Faulkner said.
Police have labeled the incident a vehicular homicide, but Faulkner said he agreed with Johns’ statement that Satterfield’s death appears to be an accident.
TweetPolice: Man says ‘I lost it’ after beating pregnant woman
DAYTON - A 26-year-old pregnant woman was sent to Good Samaritan Hospital after she said her boyfriend beat her to the point of unconsciousness Friday, July 3.
Officers arrived to the 3100 block of West Riverview Avenue about 11:30 p.m. to find Derek J. Chalupa, 19, walking toward their cruisers, the report stated.
Chalupa said out loud to officers “I hit her. I lost it.” Officers went inside to find the woman beaten badly enough to call Dayton Fire Department medics, the report stated.
The woman told officers she was nearly three months pregnant with Chalupa’s child and got out of bed to use the restroom, the report stated.
The woman said Chalupa came into the restroom and started talking about “The Bible,” the report stated. The woman said she asked Chalupa to leave and that’s when he grabbed her around the neck and threw her into the bathtub, the report stated.
The woman’s head hit the bathtub and Chalupa started punching her, she told officers.
The woman said she lost consciousness and when show woke up her two children, both under age 5, were standing in front of her, crying, the report stated.
The woman complained of severe head and neck pain and had no feeling in her left arm, the report stated. She was treated at Good Samaritan hospital and later released.
Chalupa faces a felony charge of felonious assault and a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence.
TweetRobbers put gun to head of Tank’s bar owner
DAYTON - It was a busy Fourth of July for Dayton police that started early Saturday about 3:30 a.m. with two men robbing Tank’s Bar & Grill at gunpoint.
Employees of the bar, located at 2033 Wayne Ave., were leaving work when two men, described to be white, under 6-feet tall and wearing masks, grabbed a worker and told everyone inside the bar to “get down,” according to a police report.
A co-owner of the bar walked to the back of the building when he heard an employee scream and was greeted by one of the robbers, the report stated.
One of the robbers put a gun to the co-owner’s head and asked where the safe was, the report stated.
The owner said there wasn’t one, the report stated. One of the men, wearing a black coat and mask with “skeleton bones” went to the bar and raided one of the cash registers, the report stated.
The gunmen then came back and threatened to kill the co-owner if he wouldn’t tell the robbers where the safe was, the report stated.
The other gunmen said to forget about the safe and the men left with the money they already had stolen, the report stated.
Officers, along with University of Dayton police searched the area for the robbers, but found nothing. The robbers wore latex gloves so there were no fingerprints left, the report stated.
No employees were physically hurt during the robbery.
Anyone with information about the Tank’s robbery is urged to call 333-COPS.
TweetPolice surround house on Dayton’s east side
and Steve Bennish Staff Writers
DAYTON - The Dayton Special Weapons and Tactics team has surrounded a house near Smithville Road and Bellaire Avenue where they believe a suspect wanted for domestic violence is holed up.
Police Chief Richard Biehl said the incident, which began about 8:30 Thursday night, July 2, is related to temporary protection order from a domestic violence situation involving a boyfriend and girlfriend.
The man they are seeking, a 31-year-old Hispanic, is believed to have assaulted the woman on Wednesday and threatened her life, Biehl said. The man also is believed to be armed with a Tech 9 semiautomatic weapon, Biehl said.
Smithville Road continues to be blocked off to traffic at Bellaire Avenue in both directions, and nearby residences have been evacuated.
As of 10 p.m., it is unclear if the man police are looking for is in the house.
Stay with DaytonDailyNews.com for more on this breaking news story.
TweetPolice, citing drug and prostitution arrests, shut down local motel
DAYTON - Police padlocked the entrance to the Dayton Motor Motel Thursday, July 2, after the motel’s owner did not show up in court earlier this week to discuss a nuisance abatement filed against the business.
The motel, located at 1639 N. Keowee St., has been the site of numerous drug and prostitution arrests this year and years prior, Lt. Brian Johns said.
The motel’s owner, identified by the Montgomery County Auditor as Kailash G. Patel, also allowed homeless families to stay at the motel for a reduced rate, according to police.
Most recently the motel was the scene of a SWAT standoff with an alleged robbery suspect from Columbus, which ended with the surrender and arrest of Wayne A. Sparks.
Johns said the motel will be shut down for at least one year. A message with Patel was not immediately returned.
TweetMan arrested for exposing himself after court hearing on public indecency
KETTERING — Police arrested a Kettering man on Wednesday, July 1, after a woman said he exposed himself to her while both were at the Kettering Municipal Court for hearings.
Justin W. Farthing was in court to face a charge of public indecency following a June 5 arrest. On that date, police found him running nude in a neighborhood at Marshall Road and Lincoln Park Boulevard about 3 a.m., Kettering Officer Michael Burke said.
Soon after changing his plea from not guilty to guilty on the offense, Farthing exposed himself to the woman sitting next to him. She alerted court officials, who called police, Burke said.
Police arrested Farthing on another misdemeanor public indecency charge and took him to the city jail before he was transfered to the Montgomery County Jail, Burke said.
TweetSOFAST arrests alleged kidnapper, later discovers apparent drug house
Members of the U.S. Marshals Service-led group that searches out wanted persons has arrested a man accused of kidnapping his 11-year-old daughter and later served an arrest warrant that led to the discovery of guns, drugs and a surveillance system at a house in west Dayton.
The Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, known by the acronym SOFAST, arrested Victor Jones, 41, at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 1. He was wanted for kidnapping his daughter shortly before a custody hearing, said William Taylor, supervisory deputy of the Marshals for the Southern District of Ohio.
Authorities in South Bend, Ind., and Niles, Mich., helped SOFAST track Jones to the Fairborn home of a relative, where he was arrested, Taylor said.
Authorities kicked in the home’s door after Jones, who was looking out a front window, would not open it, Taylor said. Jones struggled with authorities, who used a Taser on him. The girl was also combative with SOFAST members, Taylor said.
She was turned over to Greene County Children Services, Taylor said. Jones was also wanted for soliciting a child for sex in Indiana and failing to register as a sex offender in Michigan, he said.
Later in the morning, SOFAST members served an arrest warrant for a probation violation at a home in the 1500 block of South Broadway Street. While there, authorities discovered large amounts of a substance believed to be heroin, guns and an elaborate surveillance system that included flat-screen televisions, Taylor said.
Dayton police secured a search warrant for the home and were continuing to search it Wednesday afternoon.
TweetOther agencies looking into chase suspects
TROTWOOD — Several area law enforcement agencies are communicating with Trotwood police regarding three suspects arrested after an armed robbery and a 30-minutes chase on Tuesday, June 30, because they could be suspects in other crimes, a Trotwood detective said.
Police arrested JaMarcus Drane (aka JaMarcus Brown), 18, after the car in which he was riding lost two tires and stopped in front of a house on Gettysburg Avenue. Police arrested two other juveniles, including Drane’s younger brother, said Trotwood Detective Steve Derringer.
The three men are accused of robbing a woman outside of her home, which doubles as her business, at 1:45 p.m. Tuesday and then leading authorities from the Dayton and Trotwood police departments and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office on a half-hour chase throughout west Dayton.
Drane remains in Montgomery County Jail, and the two juveniles are also in custody pending the formal filing of charges. Police will seek to have the two juveniles tried as adults, Derringer said.
The brothers are well-known to Trotwood police and other area law enforcement agencies as suspects in multiple crimes, Derringer said.
“They’re into prettty much everything.” Derringer said.
The incident began when the three suspects approached a woman outside her home in the 5000 block of Wolf Creek Pike. They had apparently watched her come out of a bank and believed she had a large amount of cash on her, Derringer said.
The suspects fled and were spotted soon after by Trotwood police, who initiated a pursuit that led police on the chase that included their white Cadillac hitting a police cruiser near the corner of Layton Drive and Stanford Place, running over stop sticks that slashed their tires on East Third Street and finally coming to a stop on Gettysburg.
The two brothers were arrested near the car, and the suspect by apprehended by a police dog after a short chase and treated at Grandview Hospital for injuries acquired while resisting arrest, Derringer said.
The suspects are believed to have tossed at least one gun from the vehicle during the chase, Derringer said.
A gun was recovered on Decker Avenue in Dayton.
TweetFire at senior community controlled by sprinklers
DAYTON — A fire that was likely caused by a discarded cigarette was contained to the bedroom of a senior living community apartment by effective sprinklers, a Dayton fire district chief said.
Firefighters were called to Pheasant Run, 2920 Old Troy Pike, at about 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1, on the report of a structure fire. When they arrived, they discovered smoke coming from a third-floor window, said District Chief David Grahl.
The initial investigation showed that the fire began on a mattress and was likely started by a cigarette left in the area when the resident left. The sprinkler system activated and kept the fire from spreading to other rooms in the apartment or throughout the building, Grahl said.
There were no injuries, Grahl said. Most of the damage is water-related, he said, and discarded pieces of the mattress were tossed from the window.
“A cigarette can take hours to get a fire started,” Grahl said.
Investigators were called to the scene due to the size of the building, he said.
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