Saturday, April 08, 2000
Inmate's aunt held in scheme
BY MARIE McCAIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A Columbus woman was arrested Friday, accused of sending a bogus release order to a state correctional facility by fax in a botched attempt to spring her nephew from prison.
Neissa L. Bender, 26, was jailed in Circleville, Ohio, and charged with conspiracy, tampering with records, and forgery, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
On Tuesday, a document marked “URGENT” was faxed to prison officials at the Correctional Reception Center, in Orient, Ohio. The document called for the release of Raymond Akins, 26.
Mr. Akins was convicted of the 1998 strangling death of his girlfriend, whose body was found in her Bond Hill apartment.
He has been housed at the reception facility since February, shortly after being sentenced to 15 years in prison by Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Richard Niehaus.
The fake paperwork stated that Mr. Akins' involuntary manslaughter conviction had been a mistake.
The document carried the signatures of a Hamilton County judge, the county prosecutor, a defense attorney and a court clerk. In addition, it carried a time stamp and a seal from the clerk's office.
Officials noticed that the document was a fake because none of the signatures matched the real ones.
On Wednesday, corrections officials searched Mr. Akins' footlocker. They found court papers and other items that led them to believe he created the document.
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