Friday, February 05, 1999
Ex-schools chief faces extradition over van shooting
BY ALLEN HOWARD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A retired school official who allegedly fired a shot into a minivan in Springfield Township before wrecking his car in Kentucky will be in Kenton District Court in Covington at 8:30 a.m. today for an extradition hearing.
Police said Ebbie Lee Gadd, 58, who was superintendent of New Miami School District, an assistant superintendent at the Kings Local School District and a former principal of Lakota High School, faces four counts of felonious assault in the minivan shooting that occurred about 9 p.m. Wednesday at Hamilton Avenue and West Kemper Road.
He was arrested just before 11 p.m. after he ran off the road in Independence and hit a mailbox. The wreck was reported to police, who responded and charged Mr. Gadd with drunken driving. The officer wrote in his report that Mr. Gadd had a strong smell of alcohol on his breath and that he did not know where he was. His breath test showed an alcohol level of 0.137, more than the legal limit of 0.10.
Independence police impounded Mr. Gadd's Pontiac Bonneville and took him to jail. They soon got a call from the Hamilton County sheriff's office, which had learned through a national crime computer that Independence had run a check on the Pontiac's license plate.
The gun used in the shooting in Springfield Township has not been found.
Mr. Gadd pleaded guilty to the drunken-driving charge Thursday in Kenton District Court. He was fined $200 and court costs. His driver's license was suspended for 90 days, and he was ordered to enter an alcoholic treatment program.
Mr. Gadd worked in the Lakota Schools for 14 years, including two years as principal of Lakota High School (1982-84). He was superintendent at New Miami Schools from 1984 to 1991, when he became assistant superintendent in the Kings Local Schools. He retired from Kings in 1996.
Scott Frederick, Mr. Gadd's lawyer, said people who know Mr. Gadd are devastated by the incident.
“This is not the Ebbie Gadd we all knew,” Mr. Frederick said. “This is a man who was a pillar of the community and worked all his life in education and helping kids.”
Steve Barnett, information officer for the Hamilton County sheriff's department, said Mr. Gadd pulled alongside the minivan at a stoplight, smiled, pulled a gun and fired a shot into the minivan.
The minivan was occupied by Daniel and Pamela Devlin of Pleasant Run, as well as their two children.
The bullet shattered the glass on the passenger side, narrowly missing Mr. Devlin's head. It burst through the driver's side window. Mrs. Devlin suffered minor cuts to her face from shattered glass.
Mr. Frederick said he will represent Mr. Gadd at the extradition hearing. “I haven't been able to find out what happened to cause him to do this.”
Staff reporter Jane Prendergast contributed to this story.
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