Thursday, April 06, 2000
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Jury finds man, 49, guilty of Dec. rape
A jury Wednesday convicted a North College Hill man in the December rape and kidnapping of a woman in Colerain Township.
Henry B. O'Hara, 49, will be sentenced April 12 and faces up to 18 years in prison, officials said. He'll appear before Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Patrick Dinkelacker.
Hamilton County Sheriff's deputies tracked Mr. O'Hara in January.
The victim told authorities she was grabbed at about 12:50 p.m. on Dec. 27 as she got into her car in the lot of a furniture store in the 9800 block of Colerain Avenue.
Mr. O'Hara was in the back seat, officials said.
He drove the woman to Ronald Reagan Highway at Colerain Avenue, where he sexually assaulted her, then drove her back to the parking lot.
Once at the lot, Mr. O'Hara fled.
At the time of the attack he was on parole for a similar offense, officials said.
Fairmount bar fire left $70,000 damage
A 2-alarm fire caused $70,000 damage to a South Fairmount sports bar early Wednesday.
Cincinnati firefighters found heavy smoke and flames in the ceiling and walls of Penny & Phil's Sports Bar in the 1900 block of Queen City Avenue.
The cause of the fire, which was reported at 6:01 a.m., is listed as undetermined. There were no injuries.
"Career criminal' gets 26-year sentence
An Elmwood Place man officials describe as a “career criminal” was sentenced Wednesday to 26 years in prison for his latest conviction for armed robbery.
James Gause, 45, was sentenced for the October robberies of a United Dairy Farmers store and a Wendy's restaurant, both in Walnut Hills. In each incident he was armed with a gun and threatened to shoot.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Arthur Ney sentenced Mr. Gause under the truth-in-sentencing law, which restricts the early release of convicted felons.
Mr. Gause's criminal record dates to 1978 when he was sentenced to prison for breaking and entering.
Two years later, after he was paroled, Mr. Gause was convicted of robbery. He was sentenced to two to 15 years in prison.
In February 1987, he was convicted of aggravated robbery and felony assault and sentenced to 15 to 25 years in prison. Officials said he had threatened to shoot a police officer who was arresting him for a prior theft offense.
During sentencing, the prosecutor's office told Judge Ney that the only time Mr. Gause did not commit robberies was when he was imprisoned.
Ex-youth center worker indicted
A grand jury Wednesday indicted a former Hamilton County Youth Center employee on allegations that the man videotaped himself having sex with an underage high school student.
Tyrone Mitchell, 22, of Westwood was arrested in March after the 16-year-old boy told police of the incident.
The boy told investigators that twice in October, Mr. Mitchell took him out of school and to Mr. Mitchell's residence.
On at least one occasion, Mr. Mitchell videotaped himself and the victim engaging in sexual acts. The videotape and still photos were made using a computer, officials said.
Investigators, using a search warrant, obtained the computer from a Reading Road shop where Mr. Mitchell had pawned it, and recovered the videotaped and photographed material.
Mr. Mitchell, former supervisor for at-risk youth, has been charged with pandering sexual matter involving a minor and could face up to eight years in prison if convicted.
County keeps streak of budget awards
Hamilton County was given the “Distinguished Budget Presentation Award” Wednesday, for the seventh year running.
The award is given to governments that put together outstanding annual budgets. Of the 80,000 governmental bodies in the United States, fewer than 650 have been so honored, said Wade Steen, who presented the award on behalf of the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.
Mr. Steen said Hamilton County is the only government in Ohio to win the award seven straight times.
Quebec Heights has school registration
Special registration sessions for children who will attend Quebec Heights School, 1655 Ross Ave., Price Hill, next year will be held today, Friday and Saturday.
Beginning in August, Quebec Heights, a Cincinnati Public school, is changing to a neighborhood school for grades K-8. A magnet school for many years, it is one of two neighborhood schools recently created in Price Hill in response to requests from the community.
Times are: 5-7 p.m. today, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Friday, and 9 a.m.-noon Saturday.
Parents should bring a child's birth certificate, immunization record, Social Security card and proof of address such as a utility bill. Information: 475-7020.
Spaghetti dinner is fund raiser
A dinner will be held today to raise money for treatment for Courtney Hennessy, a Dent girl with an inoperable brain stem tumor.
The LaRosa's-catered spaghetti dinner is 5 to 8 p.m. at the Oak Hills High School cafeteria, 3200 Ebenezer Road in Bridgetown. There will be door prizes, face painting, and a clown.
Admission is $5.50 for adults, $3 for children. For more information, call 922-2300 or 385-8553.
Mourners overcome at funeral for five
LIMA — Schoolchildren dressed in black joined hundreds of mourners Wednesday at the funeral for five family members killed in a fire. For some, the grief was too much.
Girls in braids and pigtails wept. Older women overcome with emotion had to be carried out of the church. Several people fainted, and others dropped to their knees as nurses stood by to help.
Philippian Missionary Baptist Church was packed with 1,800 people.More watched the service on closed-circuit television in the church basement.
Marian Wright, 33; her children, Marshonda Wright, 13; Marquis Wright, 16; and her fiance's children, Rodnina Bunley, 17, and Ravis Bunley, 14, died in the fire March 29. Ms. Wright's fiance, Rodney Bunley, 41, survived by leaping from an upstairs window.
Investigators this week ruled the fire as arson, and police are now pursuing the deaths as homicides.
Electric cord cause of fatal house fire
COLUMBUS — A spark from an electrical cord started a late-night fire that killed a 3-year-old girl and critically injured her father and three siblings.
The electrical cord was in the dining room area of the house on the city's north side, fire department spokeswoman Kelly McGuire said Wednesday.
Michelle Humphrey died at Children's Hospital Wednesday.
The girl's twin brother, a 5-year-old brother and a 12-year-old sister were in critical condition at Children's Hospital. Their names were not available immediately.
The father, Gary Humphrey, 45, was in critical condition at Ohio State University Medical Center.
His wife, Tracey, was not at home when the fire broke out, authorities said.
Manager on ropes, but not out door
Some students return to CPS
Single instant turned customer into convict
Taft imposes safe-gun policy
Erin, Julia display more than cleavage
Romance writer wants to protect her craft
Jewish lawmaker stands ground
Butler, Warren quit jobs team
Four expelled in school drug case
Foundation will aid education in Warren County
Allen Temple to build impressive new church at Swifton
Fax a cut-and-paste job
Masters jacket: Made in Cincinnati
Moby, Bush thrill Miami audience
Springboro hiring elementary teachers
Teens badly hurt in West Union car crash
Butler newsletter helps businesses cut down on waste
Chemical leaks onto interstate
Ex-firefighter guilty of benefit fraud
Flag says it all about Glendale
Mason schools get free weather radios
Suit hits fees charged at jail
Teen births in city down 29% since '93
Teen drinking to be examined
Variety spices Mason event
Woman likely was strangled
Food Network visiting Northern Kentucky
For ceramic painter, it's guns 'n' skateboards
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Queen City's moments to shine reflected in book
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