State to review actions involving fatal police cruiser crash suspect

STAFF PHOTO

STAFF PHOTO

Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday ordered a review of what state agencies knew about a man paroled this month who now is accused of stabbing his father, stealing a police cruiser and killing two children in a crash.

DeWine told the inspector’s office with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections — which is similar to an internal affairs unit — to thoroughly review state agency contacts with Raymond Walters.

Specifically, the review is to determine what the ORDC and the Adult Parole Authority knew about potential problems regarding Walters and what actions they took. Walters was released from prison earlier this month.

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Neighbors said Walters had acted erratically, appeared to be under the influence of drugs and had threatened violence since his release. They said they had reported their concerns to the Adult Parole Authority.

DeWine ordered the review after the Dayton Daily News and WHIO-TV questioned the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections about the allegations made about Walters and the parole agency.

“He wants the investigation to look at, in-depth, the entire facts of the situation, including what DRC knew, when DRC had that information and what actions DRC took with that information,” said Dan Tierney, his press secretary.

In less than 15 minutes on Monday night, Walters allegedly stabbed his father multiple times in the face and body, stole and crashed his truck, stole a Riverside police cruiser, rammed another cop car and then crashed into two vehicles downtown in front of the library, killing two children and injuring 10 people, police said.

The children, Penelope Jasko of Dayton and Eleanor McBride of Huber Heights, were cousins and both 6 years old.

DeWine asked for the review to be done as fast as humanly possible in light of the tragedy that happened.

“The governor wants this done as soon as possible, but it needs to be thorough,” Tierney said.

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Walters had history of trouble

The 32-year-old suspect has had numerous run-ins with the law. Dayton police said his criminal history includes aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, theft, possession of drugs, tampering with evidence, domestic violence, aggravated menacing, felonious assault, receiving stolen property and resisting arrest.

He has been charged and convicted of four adult felony offenses and 27 adult misdemeanor offenses since 2008, according to a June 2018 pre-sentence investigation report included in Montgomery County Court records.

Walters was released from state prison on Aug. 10.

Some friends of Walters’ family say he was hallucinating, acting irrationally and making violent comments and threats against his father after being released.

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They say Walters should have been in treatment or had his parole revoked, but said parole officials failed to act even after hearing about his behavior.

“We called (the parole officer) this morning and said, ‘You’ve got blood on your hands, lady,’” Jason Butts, Walters’ father’s friend, said Tuesday.

Butts and other family friends said they contacted the parole office multiple times because they were worried about Walters’ increasingly erratic and paranoid behavior.

Eighth-grade education

Walters only completed eighth grade and never had any legitimate employment, a pre-sentence investigation report states, and he has been supported by his parents, with his only income from the Social Security program.

When sentenced to community control, Walters had poor performance because he failed to report to his probation officer and also failed to follow through with substance abuse treatment, court records say.

“He can’t read or write,” a family friend told this newspaper.

Walters has been living at 148 Boltin St. in east Dayton with his father, Lloyd Walters, since being released from prison and resided there and with his father before that as well.

Neighbors say his mother, Linda Walters, died of cancer over the summer and his girlfriend, Misty Adkins, also died earlier this year.

Walters started acting irrationally and paranoid shortly after returning from prison, and police have come to the home multiple times, neighbors say.

Multiple neighbors claim they called Crime Stoppers about drug use and other problem activities at the home. A few neighbors said they hoped Dayton police would try to get the Boltin Street home declared a drug house and nuisance property.

Crime Stoppers officials say they cannot confirm whether they received tips about the address because the program is based on anonymity. But regional dispatch confirmed there have been 47 calls there in the last year related to public safety concerns.

In October, Dayton police were called to the 148 Boltin St. home on a report of an overdose.

Officers said they met Walters at the door of the home, who allegedly said he used heroin but was “fine” and declined treatment from medics, the police report states.

On Monday, less than two hours before Walters’ alleged crime spree, Dayton police officers responded to the Boltin Street home on a report of a drug complaint.

The complaint said people were doing heroin in the home.

Police said they could smell marijuana and found a small bag of weed on the ground, but no one at the home admitted to using heroin, a police report states.

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