He has been convicted of more than 140 minor misdemeanor and higher-level misdemeanor offenses in Dayton Municipal Court.
Arden also has been convicted of assaulting a peace officer (a fourth-degree felony) and felonious assault (a second-degree felony).
He now faces multiple charges of felony vandalism.
“To say he has been a (menace) in downtown Dayton would be a gross understatement,” said Dayton police Maj. Brian Johns.
Jane Scott, owner of Lisse Beauty Bar, one of the vandalized businesses, said some people who roam downtown have mental health challenges and other problems and she thinks there would be less criminal property damage and fewer disruptive activities if these individuals got the help, treatment and interventions they need.
Downtown spree
At about 4:15 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12, a man was captured on video breaking glass and Plexiglas windows and doors on eight storefronts and a church located on West First Street and North Ludlow Street in the northwest part of downtown, said Johns, who oversees the east and central business district patrol operation divisions.
Businesses and groups that were victimized include Teardrop Steakhouse, Rabbit Hole Books, Lisse Beauty Bar, Cosmo Joe’s Atomic Lounge, the League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area and the Salon.
The suspect was injured after kicking, hitting and throwing rocks through windows and doors, and police officers followed the blood trail and located the suspect not far from the vandalized properties, Johns said.
“It has to be well over $10,000 in damage to these folks’ windows who are doing nothing but trying to have a business in downtown Dayton and survive and help our community,” he said.
Johns said law enforcement has had lots of run-ins with Arden, who has been trespassed from a variety of businesses and properties for his behavior, including in downtown and the Oregon District. Police reports indicate he’s been kicked out of bars for harassing customers and acting disorderly.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
The Dayton Daily News analyzed Arden’s Dayton Municipal Court records for misdemeanor offenses going back 13 years.
They include about 19 convictions for criminal trespassing, 74 for public intoxication, 20 for open alcohol containers in public and seven for disorderly conduct. Many of the charges are minor misdemeanors, like public intoxication and open containers. But criminal trespassing is a fourth-degree misdemeanor, and he has faced other higher-level misdemeanor charges.
Arden was arrested by Dayton police in April after he reportedly used racial slurs and acted in a threatening way toward some juveniles near the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority bus hub on South Jefferson Street, says a Dayton police report. Arden, who was intoxicated and carrying a hammer, tried to flee from officers, and he was later convicted of obstructing official business, a second-degree misdemeanor.
Court records suggest that Arden’s most serious criminal convictions were for assaulting a police officer in 2018 and felonious assault in 2015.
In 2015, Arden attacked a 60-year-old man at a carryout business in West Dayton after asking him for money and being told no, a Dayton police report states. Arden, who was highly intoxicated, caused life-threatening injuries, including a brain bleed. He was sentenced to two years in prison for the attack. His assault on a police officer resulted in a six month prison sentence.
Major Johns said Arden appears to have a “slight” history of mental illness, but most of his criminal activities appear to be related to his alcohol consumption and intoxication.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Lisse Beauty Bar, which had three windows and an entrance door broken on Aug. 12, has had issues with trespassers and homeless individuals sneaking into a sublevel beneath the store and causing damage that cut off the lights, utilities and internet, said Scott, the owner. She said someone also stole copper from the basement area.
Scott said some people who hang around downtown have significant, untreated mental health issues and they need professional help or other interventions.
“Since 2023, it’s been crazy,” she said.
The store coordinator for Rabbit Hole Books told this news outlet that she hopes the suspect gets the help he needs. Employees at a couple of businesses and stores that were victimized on Aug. 12 said they would like to see more police patrols in the northwest part of downtown.
Cleaning up the vandalism will not be cheap. But a volunteer at the book store said they were touched to receive a couple of unprompted donations to help pay for repair costs.
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