Tuesday, July 20, 1999
TRISTATE DIGEST
Man, 40, indicted in beating death
An Over-the-Rhine man was indicted Monday on charges of murdering a woman in Inwood Park in Mount Auburn on July 8.
Jesse Pickett, 40, is charged with murder, felonious assault and receiving stolen property in the death of Sharon Peterson.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen said Ms. Peterson died from massive head injuries.
If convicted, Mr. Pickett faces 241/2 years to life in prison.
East End man facing charge from standoff
An East End man is facing up to 10 years in prison after a grand jury indicted him Monday on a charge of holding his girlfriend at knifepoint for more than three hours.
Darrell Asher, 37, was arrested July 11 after a hostage standoff with police. He is charged with one count of kidnapping.
He is accused of holding his girlfriend, Tanya Taylor, hostage for about 31/2 hours. Prosecutors say police responded to Mr. Asher's house when Ms. Taylor's mother called to say her daughter was in trouble.
Police had been to the house the night before to serve a domestic violence warrant against Mr. Asher, but he was not there.
Prosecutors say the girlfriend was released unharmed after several hours of negotiations. They say Mr. Asher surrendered a short time later.
Attack on reporter results in indictment
A Green Township man was indicted Monday on charges of attacking a television reporter.
Floyd King, 47, is accused of attacking Kevin Landers while the reporter was covering a story July 9 for WXIX-TV, Channel 19.
Prosecutors say Mr. King became angry as Mr. Landers was preparing to do a live report on the severe storms that had rolled through the area that night.
Mr. King was verbally abusive and grabbed the reporter's arm, prosecutors say.
They say Mr. King then hit the reporter's equipment, including the Channel 19 van, causing an estimated $1,000 damage. Mr. Landers, who sought safety inside the van, was not injured.
Mr. King is charged with misdemeanor counts of criminal damaging and assault. If convicted, he faces up to nine months in jail.
Winburn wants better fire safety for elders
The fire that killed a 61-year-old Walnut Hills woman Friday has prompted a Cincinnati councilman to call a special meeting today to ask for more safety requirements for buildings that house elderly tenants.
Patricia Moon, who was disabled, died in her bedroom when she could not escape a blaze at Kemper Lane Apartments, which houses about 125 seniors and disabled residents.
Councilman Charles Winburn will propose a plan today that will require owners of such buildings to install sprinkler systems and to monitor fire alarms.
The apartment complex, built in the 1920s, had smoke detectors, but it was not required to have a sprinkler system.
Mr. Winburn would like the city to inspect buildings that house seniors every six months to check on evacuation plans, sprinkler systems, alarms, exits and lighting.
Columbus family wins right to sue police
A Columbus family won reinstatement Monday of its lawsuit against the city and several police officers who chased a drug suspect into their home without knocking.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati allowed the lawsuit, which accuses officers of unreasonable entry, arrest without probable cause, unlawful seizure, excessive force and emotional distress.
The ruling comes as the city negotiates with the U.S. Justice Department about allegations that police were involved in a pattern of excessive force, making false arrests and conducting improper searches.
The appeals court ruling is based on a 1994 police chase.
Officers, including some who were not in uniform, entered the family's home through an unlocked door without knocking or identifying themselves, court records said.
Police said they were within their rights because they were in pursuit.
Worker hurt when hit by cardboard bundle
An employee at a Lebanon company was injured Monday morning after being struck by a bundle of cardboard.
Officials at J.I.T. Packaging Inc., 1550 Kingsview Drive, declined to release the worker's name, but Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton identified him as Michael Jansen and said he was in good condition. His address was unavailable.
About 200 pounds of cardboard material fell on him about 11:30 a.m.
Authorities arrest "Most Wanted' suspect
Another “Tristate's Most Wanted” suspect has been arrested, bringing the total to 815 suspects removed from the list out of the 1,277 suspects featured in The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Sheila Turner, 44, was arrested on a charge of deception to obtain dangerous drugs.
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.
Boat repair shops enjoying lake levels
TOLEDO, Ohio — Boaters are finding sandbars and rock piles in Lake Erie the hard way this summer because low water levels are exposing obstacles that haven't been seen in a generation.
More boaters than usual are coming ashore with broken propellers and cracked hulls, keeping repair shops busy.
Water levels are at 30-year lows in all of the Great Lakes because the past three winters in Canada and northern Michigan have been unseasonably dry.
But with long stretches of clear weather encouraging boaters to head out onto the lake, the low water levels are becoming costly.
“People are hitting unmarked items that they normally just cruise right over,” said Jeff Wilson, general manager of Coastal Marina in Port Clinton. “There's been some charter fishermen who've had trouble and they're out there every day.”
Mr. Wilson said Monday that his repair business is up 20 percent. Damages can cost from $85 to fix a propeller to $5,000 to reconstruct a Fiberglas hull.
Two charged with witness intimidation
CLEVELAND — Two men were charged Monday in connection with an acid attack on a woman who is a potential witness in a federal drug case.
Mario L. Levy, 20, of Bedford, and Buster B. Young III, 20, of Cleveland, were charged with witness retaliation, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. They surrendered during the weekend.
The two are suspected in an attack on Raycine Smith, 29. She was working at a hair salon in East Cleveland when acid was thrown into her face.
Ms. Smith is a potential witness in a federal drug investigation, FBI Special Agent Robert Hawk said Monday, and officials are still trying to determine if that was the motive behind the attack.
Authorities are also continuing their investigation of the two suspects.
The two turned themselves in after an 11-day investigation that became a “very high priority case” for FBI and local police officials, Agent Hawk said.
Bond for the two suspects will be set at a hearing in federal court on Wednesday.
Taft scuttles sales tax plan
Anderson High to stay Redskins
Bad air likely to linger for the week
Corrections made in way trash hauled
Headline: 'Footsteps on moon!'
Neighbors missed auto
911 service cut off for 12 hours
Taft gives Bush Ohio thumbs-up
Bell's upstream ride goes smoothly
A generation will remember Jackie's boy
A feel for farming
Friends of slain West End man 'can't figure out the reason why'
Let out, Watts now prisoner of his memories
Pickets back MU students
Butler Co. high school backs off on uniforms
Butler traffic watch reports big drop in DUI accidents, no deaths
Clermont's 150th fair has touch of history
Ky. man helped Kennedy keep fit
New law empowers townships
Parking at airport may get easier
Plant will give town a new life
Study: Ohio education agency lost, inefficient
Walnut Hills man found dead in Fla.
Buyouts may solve flood woes
Center accepts check
GET TO IT
Juvenile judge must decide: Is teen a victim or attacker?
Two new defendants OK'd in school asbestos case
Police, coroner study death of West End girl, 4
Principal coming out of retirement for one-year stint at Donovan
School's in session for Heritage Hill kids
Storms sap power in 200 homes
TRISTATE DIGEST
Victimized family forgives man who shot at them
