Wednesday, July 07, 1999
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Retired lawyer pleads in golf-shotgun case
MASON — A retired prominent Cincinnati lawyer accused of pulling a shotgun on golfers at the Golf Center at Kings Island in March pleaded no contest Tuesday to charges of aggravated menacing.
As a result, Bernard Gilday, 76, a former U.S. attorney, criminal defense lawyer and teacher, must undergo an alcohol evaluation and sell his condominium near the golf course. He also is banned from possessing guns, Mason Prosecutor Robert Peeler said.
If Mr. Gilday complies with those conditions, the charges will be dismissed when the case is reviewed in six months, Mr. Peeler said.
Mason police were called to the golf course March 27 after two Lebanon men said a man who appeared to be intoxicated leveled a shotgun at them on the eighth hole. He accused them of pelting his house with golf balls.
According to police, golfers Martin Kearin and Duane Turner told officers the man complained he was tired of people hitting his house.
In April, Mr. Gilday told The Cincinnati Enquirer he was wrongly accused and that it was a case of mistaken identity. He could not be reached Tuesday.
2 on "Most Wanted' list are arrested
Two more “Tristate's Most Wanted” suspects have been arrested, bringing the total to 804 suspects removed from the list out of the 1,259 featured in The Cincinnati Enquirer.
• Stephen Byrum, 41, of Hamilton, wanted in Hamilton County on charges of felonious assault and failure to comply, is being held on unrelated charges at Ross Correctional Institution.
• Dion Carr, 19, of Bond Hill was arrested on a felonious assault charge.
The Enquirer publishes “Tristate's Most Wanted” each Monday. Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Callers to 352-3040 can remain anonymous.
Road construction to sideline bus riders
Some commuters on Metro's Route 71 express service from Paramount's Kings Island will be bypassed for the next eight weeks because of road construction.
While Columbia Road in Deerfield Township is closed between Montgomery Road and Socialville-Foster Road, bus riders in that stretch won't be served. That includes the Metro park-and-ride lot at Lakeview Church of Christ.
For information, customers can call MetroCenter at 621-4455 from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
Cab driver arraigned in traffic-death case
AKRON, Ohio — A taxi driver accused of shooting a man to death in a confrontation on a downtown bridge said he doesn't remember pulling the trigger.
Russell L. Dossie, 47, of Akron, was arraigned Tuesday on a voluntary manslaughter charge and was being held in the Summit County Jail on $100,000 bond.
He is accused of killing Mark Russell, 35, of Akron, on Sunday in the city's downtown. The area was crowded with traffic after an Independence Day fireworks display.
City police said Mr. Dossie's cab almost hit a van driven by Mr. Russell's wife. Police would not release her name.
Boy, 8, faces no charge in cousin's BB death
ZANESVILLE, Ohio — An 8-year-old who shot and killed his 6-year-old cousin with a BB gun will not be charged, the Muskingum County sheriff's department said Tuesday.
The case will be referred to the county prosecutor, but Sunday's shooting of Richard Lowry outside his home in Adamsville appeared to be an accident, Detective Todd Mahle said.
An autopsy revealed that the BB, fired at close range, went be tween two ribs, through a major artery from the boy's heart and embedded in the left lung, said Muskingum County Coroner Howard Marsh.
Speak any Albanian? Your help is needed
People who have Albanian language skills are needed to help with settling of Kosovar refugees in Greater Cincinnati.
Translators and interpreters are needed by the Refugee and Immigration Program of Catholic Social Services of Southwestern Ohio and the International Family Resource Center.
Information: 241-7745.
Mom accused of trying to suffocate infant son
AKRON, Ohio — A grand jury has indicted a mother accused of trying to suffocate her infant son, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
Summit County Prosecutor Michael Callahan said Michelle Butler, 20, of Wooster, was indicted on six counts including aggravated attempted murder, endangering children and assault.
Ms. Butler is accused of trying to kill her now 1-year-old son, Davon, while he was a patient at Children's Hospital in May.
Police have been investigating whether Ms. Butler suffers from a condition known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a rare form of child abuse in which an adult purposely makes a child ill as a way of gaining attention.
Cleveland man heads United Church of Christ
CLEVELAND — A Cleveland minister who was an architect of a historic church union plan among Reformed and Lutheran Protestants has been elected president of the 1.4 million-member United Church of Christ.
The Rev. John H. Thomas, the denomination's chief ecumenical officer, was elected on a vote of 645-56 Monday at the church's General Synod in Providence, R.I.
The Rev. Mr. Thomas, 48, a member of Pilgrim Congregational Church in Cleveland, said his priority is to support developing vital and creative local congregations in the denomination, whose membership has dropped from 2.1 million in 1965 to 1.4 million.
Radio communication idea called "boondoggle'
COLUMBUS — A $327.9 million project to link law enforcement and state agencies though a system of radio towers should be scrapped because of favoritism and cost overruns, a state watchdog group said.
“The state should worry about the citizens of Ohio and not about the fund-raisers,” said Ray Cadwallader of Common Cause-Ohio. “This looks like a boondoggle.”
Mr. Cadwallader told the Columbus Dispatch in a story published Monday that Gov. Bob Taft should stop the project, review it and consider a smaller system.
Mr. Taft could not be reached for comment Monday, a state holiday.
The communications network would link 12 state agencies, and would include a satellite tracking system and computerized voice and data communications that would cover 97.5 percent of the state when completed in 2003.
Xenia house fire, stabbing may be linked
XENIA, Ohio — The body of a woman was found by firefighters responding to a house fire Tuesday. A man who was critically burned in the fire has been hospitalized.
Several Dayton TV stations reported that the woman had been stabbed. Attempts to reach the Greene County coroner were unsuccessful.
Fire Chief David Price said the woman's body was found just inside the front door. A 47-year-old man was found in the basement. He suffered second- and third-degree burns.
The man was listed in critical condition Tuesday at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. The victims' identities were not released until relatives could be told.
Chief Price said the cause of the fire has not been determined.
Heat staggers Midwest, East
Highway gets too-early test
Impeachment managers go on Internet to 'fight back'
Separatist group has P.O. box here
Term limits start a candidate flood
Cable access producers head to town
County: 1 weather warning system
Grants for 'innovative' Mill Creek solutions
Passers-by help save driver of fruit truck on AA Highway
RSViP Club a hot ticket
Car fire, homicide mystify police
Covington police project credited with 14% drop in major crime
Donkeys captivate with charm
Girl, 3, stable after near drowning
High-tech fire trucks debut
Jailed mom rejects move
Jurors want Rogers to die
McConnell will steer Bush's Ky. bandwagon
Money short, but enthusiasm high for Green Township park
Residents voice concerns over proposed connector
School building boom is summer assignment in Warren County
Talawanda readies funding plan
Vote delayed on bids to tear down City Centre
Annexation paves way for upscale development
Cab co. got off easy, spurned customer says
Florence golfers shine in Special Olympics
Killer sentenced to death
Landlord admits bias against blacks
Lockland chief on trial
Winburn proposes gun-victim law
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