BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
J. Gabbard
|
COVINGTON -- A drug dealer just out of prison who is the chief suspect in the killing of a Fort Thomas girl was spotted in the Lindale area of Clermont County Wednesday night but had still eluded capture this morning
Clermont County sheriff's deputies converged on a woods near Ohio 132 and Ohio 749, but had not found Jeffrey Lee Gabbard.
Mr. Gabbard, a 29-year-old convicted burglar and drug seller, was paroled from an Ohio prison Aug. 14. He violated that parole almost immediately and is now wanted for questioning in the death of Jennifer Harber, a 17-year-old Highlands High School junior, whose body was found Wednesday morning.
Jennifer Harber
|
Fort Thomas police had Mr. Gabbard in their sight briefly early Wednesday -- until he wrecked the car he was driving and ran from them.
Sgt. Robert Evans of the Clermont County Sheriff's office said Mr. Gabbard apparently went to the mobile home of relatives in the Lindale area Wednesday night, but they would not let him in. He then went to a barn in the rear of the property, and from there apparently fled into a nearby woods.
Clermont County officials said Mr. Gabbard is believed to have changed clothes since early in the day, and was believed to be wearing a light purple shirt, blue jeans, sneakers and a jacket of unknown color. They said he is white, 6-feet, 1-inch tall, 184 pounds, with brown hair and many tattoos.
Miss Harber's body, with a gunshot wound, was found Wednesday morning in a park in Covington's Latonia neighborhood. Detectives looked there after another girl, a 15-year-old relative of Mr. Gabbard, told them what had happened to Miss Harber. The two girls were friends, police said, and both attended Highlands.
Police did not give too many details about what they think led to Miss Harber's death. She was reported missing by her father, Ed, to Fort Thomas police at about 8:15 p.m. Tuesday. He told them to look for the Chevy Celebrity she was driving.
It was the car that police spotted next. Shortly before 1 a.m., Officer Scot Gonzalessaw the Celebrity, recognized it as possibly the girl's, and turned around to follow it. When he did that, the driver sped off, led officers on a chase and ultimately rammed the car into a tree on East Crescent Avenue in Woodlawn, Ky.
The driver, later identified as Mr. Gabbard, ran, leaving the 15-year-old in the wrecked car. She was treated for injuries from the accident, then interviewed by police. That's when she told them they would find a body in the park, near 30th Street and Decoursey Avenue. Covington police responded, and found Miss Harber's body.
Investigators do not think Miss Harber and Mr. Gabbard were involved in a romantic relationship, Officer Dill said. The two knew each other through the other girl, he said.
Police said they think the 15-year-old girl knew about the killing because Mr. Gabbard told her about it, Officer Dill said. She is facing charges in connection with the incident, he said, but the exact charges were not identified. Campbell District Judge Gregory Popovich ordered the girl on house arrest after her appearance in juvenile court Wednesday.
Mr. Gabbard was charged with stealing the car, attempting to elude and evade a police officer, wanton endangerment, possession of drugs and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. He also faces several misdemeanor charges, Officer Dill said.
Only two officers were scheduled to be on patrol in Fort Thomas on the day shift Wednesday, Officer Mark Dill said, because a third was off sick. But to try as hard as they could to find Mr. Gabbard, four additional officers were called in on overtime. Still others were called in to help with evidence and other aspects of the case.
"We have an officer in virtually every car that we can get," he said.
Mr. Gabbard, formerly of Price Hill in Cincinnati, had been in prison since July 1994 on a conviction for aggravated drug trafficking, said Andrea Dean, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. He was sentenced to serve nine to 15 years but was released after serving four years and a month.
He had been in prison before that, too, sent there in August 1988 for burglary. On that conviction, he was sentenced to six to 30 years but was released in July 1993 after serving almost five.
Counselors and ministers will return to the school today to help any students who want to talk about what happened.
"She was herself, whether people liked it or not," said Jan Thurman, a junior.
Becky Walz, 17, who works at the Subway restaurant in Fort Thomas, knew Miss Harber as a frequent patron.
"She was funny, outgoing -- a normal teen-ager, basically," Becky said. "She seemed like a nice girl."
Mr. Gabbard's run led Woodlawn resident Terry Rasche to put up a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. The wreck happened in front of his house.
"People up here are nervous," he said. "It's such a shame, and it's really kind of scary."
Susan Vela contributed to this story.
