Man wonders where heroin came from

By Katie Wedell | Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 08:21 PM

When a police dog alerted officers to the presence of drugs in a vehicle stopped on South Euclid Avenue Monday, the 19-year-old driver allegedly claimed it wasn’t his.

An officer asked Trammell Stanford why he had 17 gel caps of heroin in a baggie in his vehicle, to which Stanford replied, “I was wondering why I had it in there too,” according to a police report.

Trammell Stanford

Stanford was pulled over for a tinted window violation at about 5:45 p.m., Feb. 13. He had $3,513 in cash in his pockets and another $245 in the car.

The police dog that located the heroin in the car also alerted officers to the odor of drugs on the cash.

The total weight of the heroin was 3 grams, worth between $200 and $300 on the street.

Stanford was booked into the Montgomery County Jail where he faces a felony drug possession charge.

Jail and court records show that Stanford was arrested on Jan. 16 for resisting arrest and obstructing official business. He pleaded not guilty to the latter charge Jan. 18 and has a pre-trial hearing set for Feb. 26. His initial court appearance on the drug charge is scheduled for Feb. 15.

Permalink | | More: Drug busts, Traffic stop

Cops find over $7,700 during traffic stop

By Doug Page | Monday, February 13, 2012, 02:50 PM

An Ohio State Highway patrolman pulled over a rental car Feb. 3 at the intersection of Philadelphia Drive and Siebenthaler Avenue.

The OSP officer clocked the 2012 rental going 52 mph in a 35 mph zone and called for assistance from Dayton police. A police sergeant from Good Samaritan Hospital also was on scene. Though there was a strong odor of marijuana inside the car, no drugs were found.

However, officers found a good deal of cash on the the 23-year-old driver and his two passengers.

The 22-year-old passenger had a wad of cash in his front pocket — $3,760. The 21-year-old passenger had a somewhat smaller wad in his pocket — $2,055. The driver, who had warrant out, had a mere $1,890 in his pocket. The driver was taken to the Montgomery County Jail on his warrant.

The cash totaled just over $7,700. A tidy bit of walking around money. But it was a Friday night.

We’ll keep checking into this to see where it leads.

Permalink | | More: Traffic stop

The power of mom and family: how ‘community policing’ really works

By Doug Page | Friday, February 10, 2012, 10:58 AM

Sir Robert Peel is credited with establishing the first modern police force back in the 1820’s in Great Britain. Some 190 years later, Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl loves to quote the former British Home Secretary when talking about “modern” community policing.

“The police are the public and the public are the police,” Peel said. “The police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.”

Thursday offered a perfect example.

Police were called to the 900 block of North Gettysburg on a report of an aggravated robbery. When officers arrived, they determined it was another in a long string of “jacboy” robberies. Jacboys are groups of young teens, often armed, who target lone pedestrians.

In this case the victim was a 16-year-old robbed of his cell phone at gunpoint, according to the police report. The victim told police he was approached by four young men, one of whom he knew from grade school. His former friend asked to use the victim’s cell phone, and the victim agreed. The former friend began to walk away with cell phone in hand.

The victim asked for his phone. The former friend then said, “Put a gun on him,” according to the police report. That prompted one of the four “jacboys” to produce a small handgun and wave it around. The four then fled.

The story did not end there.

Three hours later, the two officers were called to Kammer Avenue. A mother wanted the officers to take in her son, the former friend, for the robbery. When police arrived, the mother said she had been contacted by the her son’s aunt. The aunt told her the victim had activated the GPS on his stolen phone and traced it to the aunt’s house.

The victim and his grandmother then came to the aunt’s house and confronted the former friend and a group of young men on the aunt’s porch. The former friend told the victim that the phone had already been given away. The victim and his grandmother left.

Hearing all this, the former friend’s mother called police, who took her son, the former friend, into custody. The former friend is being questioned by robbery detectives.

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Suspected dealer gives a very suspect story

By Doug Page | Thursday, February 9, 2012, 01:23 PM

The suspect told police he was working a con on a “geeker”. He also said he was hoping to work his way up the drug ladder of success — jumping from selling marijuana to selling heroin.

The only problem he had was no heroin. He forgot to mention the nearly 2 grams of suspected heroin he tried to dump when confronted by two security guards.

Dayton police were call called to the Summit Square apartments around 7 p.m. Wednesday. The Ranger Security officers had the suspected dealer in handcuffs, while keeping watch on the alleged buyer.

The security officers told police they had spotted the white male in a car parked in the apartment’s lot. When they stopped to question him, they discovered a hypodermic needle. The man told the security officers he had used his cell phone to contact the suspected dealer and was waiting for the dealer to deliver. The security officers had the man remain in his car while they kept watch for the dealer.

When the suspected dealer came out the apartments and walked to the car, so did the security officers. The suspected dealer attempt to flee but stopped when one of the security officers drew his weapon and ordered the man to halt. The security officers recovered a baggie of what appeared to be heroin the suspected dealer dropped.

When questioned by police, the suspected dealer told them he had been sitting in his girlfriend’s car, eating Chinese and waiting on her as she was having her hair done. He was unable to tell police what apartment his girlfriend was visiting. The suspect told police he spotted the white male and walked up to his car, offering his phone number to the driver should he ever want any drugs.

The suspect told police he never intended to sell the drugs; rather he was planning to take the “geeker’s” money and run. A geeker is street slang for a white person, generally from the suburbs, who comes to Dayton to buy drugs. The driver was from Lebanon.

Without prompting, according to the police report, the suspect told police he’d been arrested two days prior for trafficking marijuana. He admitted he sold weed, but never hard drugs.

A further search of the suspect turned up a baggie of empty gel caps, the standard method for street dealers to sell heroin. Asked about the caps, the suspect said he was planning to become a heroin dealer.

He was taken to the Montgomery County Jail, awaiting his initial court appearance. The suspect previously had been released from jail a day earlier after no formal charges were filed in his trafficking arrest.

Permalink | | More: Drug busts

Man dreaming of fighting terrorists shoots self in leg

By Doug Page | Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 02:37 PM

According to one man, his dream of fighting off terrorists ended when he shot himself in the leg.

Dayton police were called Tuesday to a home on Larchwood Drive minutes just after 5 a.m. They found the victim being treated by medics for a superficial leg wound.The 32-year-old man told officers he was asleep, dreaming he was fighting with terrorists when he shot himself, according to the police report.

He told police he sleeps with a .38-caliber Ruger revolver under his pillow.

Officers examined his bed and clothing, concluding that the man’s story was likely correct.

The man added he had two other firearms in a living room ottoman.

The man was taken to Miami Valley Hospital by his girlfriend, declining the services and cost of an ambulance.

No charges were filed in the accidental shooting.

Permalink | | More: Bizarre crimes

Gunshot victim may be wandering in the area

By Doug Page | Monday, January 30, 2012, 12:52 PM

Dayton police said there is a chance a man with a gunshot wound is somewhere in the area.

Police confirmed Monday they had notified area hospitals to be on the lookout for anyone with such a wound.

The Regional Dispatch Center received a call early Sunday morning from a woman saying her husband was fighting in their backyard with someone who had broken into their garage. She told the dispatcher that her husband was holding a man at gunpoint. She later told police she heard a gun shot while on the phone to 911.

When police arrive in the 700 block of Superior Avenue, they found a blood smear on the backyard fence and a large pool of blood near the garage.

The husband said he confronted the man as he was rolling tires out of the garage. The husband said he was able to kick the unidentified man in the face. The man then jumped over the fence and fled. The husband claimed he was not armed, but if he had been he would have shot the intruder. Upon hearing this, his wife told her husband to go ahead and tell the truth. The husband maintained he was not armed.

Police found a 9mm semiautomatic pistol inside the house with one round fired. The husband said he’d fired the weapon New Year’s Eve.

Police were able to find a bullet fragment in the pool of blood.

As of 1 p.m. Monday, there were no reports of a gunshot victim.

Permalink | | More: breaking & entering

3 cops injured, 2 cruisers and unmarked car smashed in arrest of convicted drug dealer

By Doug Page | Thursday, January 26, 2012, 03:21 PM

Three Dayton police officers were injured and two cruisers and an unmarked car damaged Wednesday afternoon in a gas station parking lot when the officers attempted to stop a stolen car driven by a convicted drug dealer, four months out of prison, according to police.

Police said a plainclothes detective spotted a stolen 2011 Dodge Charger on Germantown Pike around 3:15 p.m. The detective followed the Dodge and called for backup as the car pulled into the BP station at the intersection with Gettysburg Avenue.

Frank Chatman Jr.

One cruiser pulled in front of the Dodge. The Dodge’s driver, Frank Chatman Jr., 22, of Dayton, put his car in reverse, slamming into a cruiser that pulled up behind him. Seeing the Dodge was about escape, the detective drove his unmarked car into the Dodge as it slammed into the front cruiser, Maj. Pat Welsh said.

Chatman then jumped from the car and fled, only to be run to ground by the pursing officers. The detective and the officer in the rear cruiser were injured in the crashes. A second uniformed officer was injured during the foot chase, Welsh said.

The major said all three officers were treated and later released. None are cleared for duty until Monday.

Police recovered a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol with 14 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. Cocaine and heroin were recovered from Chatman.

Chatman was taken to the Montgomery County Jail. He was charged Thursday in Dayton Municipal Court with felonious assault of a peace officer, felony possession of cocaine, felony possession of heroin, felony vandalism and a felony weapons charge.

According to court records, Chatman was convicted of drug trafficking, two counts of heroin possession and a weapons charge in 2008 and sentenced to 3 years in prison. He was released from prison on Sept. 23 and was under probation supervision.

According to police records, Chatman had numerous arrests as a juvenile for drug possession, weapons charges and fleeing police. During one arrest, police discovered Chatman was wearing an electronic anklet because he was under house arrest.

Permalink | | More: Drug busts

Man unhappy with return allegedly steals tax forms

By Katie Wedell | Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 10:52 PM

One man let the stress of tax time boil over and he now faces a possible felony charge as a result.

Police were called a tax preparation business at 3251 West Siebenthaler Ave. Monday evening on a report of a robbery.

The manager said a customer became angry when his return was less than originally estimated. He was also informed that he was not eligible for a loan from the business.

According to a police report the man demanded to see his completed tax forms, then took them and tried to leave. He allegedly shoved an employee several times on his way out of the store.

He ran down the street leaving his vehicle behind. Employees told police that a woman later came and picked up the car.

The manager said the man owes $244 for the tax services performed by the company.

Police tracked the man down at his home in Harrison Township and arrested him. He did not turn over the completed tax forms and police were unable to locate them. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and faces a possible felony robbery charge.

Permalink | | More: Robbery

Vice sting made Wednesday a bad night in Dayton for a ‘date’

By Doug Page | Thursday, January 19, 2012, 03:12 PM

Wednesday was a bad night in Dayton for a “date”.

Vice officers set up an Internet sting, arresting three men who sought the services of an undercover officer posing as an escort at a local hotel.

The men offered the “escort” anywhere from $40 to $200, depending on the services they desired.

The vice officers took out an ad advertising the “escort’s” services on BackPages.com and waited for the calls. One at a time, the “escort” bargained with the callers, agreeing to meet them at a local hotel.

Once at the hotel, the caller was directed to the hotel bar, met the “escort”, chatted her up and walked her to her room where the caller was greeted by vice detectives rather than the agreed upon services.

Two of the callers tried to tell detectives they were just there to get a massage. One admitted his wife likely would not approve of his getting such a massage. The third admitted he made “a bad decision.”

All three were hauled off to the Montgomery County Jail and later released. All three face possible misdemeanor soliciting charges when they make their initial court appearances. The cash the three were carrying was confiscated.

Which did not make for a good date night.

Permalink | | More: Prostitution

Mom leaves toddlers alone at home, arrested three days later

By Doug Page | Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 02:21 PM

When police opened the door to an apartment in the 3100 block of Wexford, they found a 2-year-old asleep in front of a TV and 4-month old awake in a bassinet, his diaper filled. The baby also had a major diaper rash fore and aft.

What officers did not find last Friday was a parent or a guardian or any adult supervising the toddlers.

It was not the first time the toddlers had been left alone to fend for themselves.

According to the officers’ report, a neighbor had called after hearing a child wailing in the apartment for nearly one-half hour. The officers reported the apartment was filthy. The only food found in the refrigerator was for adults. A bottle of prescription antidepressants was on a coffee table within reach of the 2-year-old. A knife was found on the floor, the report said.

Child Protective Services was called. The caseworker told police Protective Services had just closed a case on the mother and children. The officers searched police records and found the mother had left her children alone under similar circumstances in 2010.

Protective Services removed the children.

The mother never returned to the apartment. Tuesday, however, police got a tip that she was staying at an apartment in the 2300 block of Germantown Pike. She was quickly arrested. During the arrest, officers found a crack pipe. The mother remains in the Montgomery County Jail facing possible child endangering charges when she makes her initial court appearance.

Permalink | | More: Child endangering