Wednesday, May 17, 2000
Tristate Digest
Ex-lawyer gets prison on theft charges
A former lawyer from Cincinnati told a judge Tuesday he couldn't afford to return the nearly $40,000 he stole from two clients last year. So the judge sent him to prison for six months.
Michael Edwards, 51, was convicted of theft this year in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. Judge Robert Kraft had given him three months to repay the money before he would impose the six-month prison sentence.
But Mr. Edwards failed to pay by Tuesday.
Prosecutors say Mr. Edwards deposited money from his clients' estates into his own account. He voluntarily surrendered his law license last year.
Apartment fire hurts 2, routs families
CHEVIOT — Two people were injured and 11 families were displaced by a fire Tuesday in an apartment building on Camvic Terrace, Cheviot fire Lt. Robert Klein said.
The fire apparently started in a second-floor apartment at 4:31 a.m., causing an estimated $70,000 to $80,000 damage to the building, Lt. Klein said.
One person was burned and another injured a foot. Both were treated at a hospital and released.
Several apartments had no damage, but it was unclear when residents might be able to return, Lt. Klein said.
Man gets prison for beating death
An Over-the-Rhine man will spend the next 15 years to life in prison for beating a woman to death with a beer bottle.
Jesse Pickett, 40, was convicted Tuesday of murder and felonious assault in the death of Sharon Peterson last year. Prosecutors said the July 8 slaying occurred in Inwood Park after the pair spent the afternoon drinking and smoking crack cocaine.
Mr. Pickett's attorneys had argued he was defending himself against a woman who was “out of control” from drug use. They said Ms. Peterson, 30, of Walnut Hills, doused Mr. Pickett with rubbing alcohol and came after him with a lighter.
The jury in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court deliberated for about four hours before convicting Mr. Pickett. Judge Thomas Crush immediately sentenced him to 15 years to life.
Officer, suspect badly hurt in shooting
DAYTON, Ohio — Police say a man who ignored repeated orders to drop his gun and critically wounded a police officer was shot five times by police.
Officer Mary Beall, 40, a two-year veteran, was in critical condition at Good Samaritan Hospital following surgery. She was shot in the neck.
The suspect, Raham Twitty, 21, of Dayton, was in serious condition at Franciscan Medical Center, where he was under police guard. Police said Mr. Twitty had wounds to the chest, abdomen, left arm and both legs.
The shooting happened Monday on the city's west side after police received a report that a man had shot at a woman and her baby. Police identified the woman as Kia Richardson, 19, Mr. Twitty's girlfriend.
Police found Mr. Twitty sitting in a car in a driveway a few blocks away. Police said when they approached Mr. Twitty, he got out of the car holding a semiautomatic weapon.
Lt. John Barnes said the officers ordered Mr. Twitty many times to drop the gun, but he refused and shot Officer Beall.
Man files lawsuit in school hazing case
STOW, Ohio — A former high school wrestler has sued a school district, two wrestling coaches and five teens over hazing claims that led to the assault convictions of three teammates.
The lawsuit was filed in Sum mit County Common Please Court by the now 18-year-old man and seeks at least $225,000 in damages.
The man claims wrestlers at Stow-Munroe Falls High School bound his wrists and ankles with duct tape. They abandoned him in a locker room and violated him with an object several times from November 1997 to March 1998, he said.
Five wrestlers were charged with hazing and assault, and in September, three were convicted of misdemeanor assault.
The lawsuit claims the school did not enforce its anti-hazing policy. The plaintiff is being home-schooled because he was ostracized at school, the lawsuit said.
Mt. St. Joe program aids needy students
DELHI TOWNSHIP — The College of Mount St. Joseph Upward Bound Program is accepting applications for the Summer Component.
Upward Bound helps low-income high school students succeed academically and enter college.
To be eligible, students from the Cincinnati Public Schools must be entering their sophomore year in the fall, meet family income guidelines, and be members of a family whose heads of household do not possess a baccalaureate degree.
The Summer Component will take place on the Mount St. Joseph campus from June 25 to Aug. 4. Students will live on campus and attend classes designed to reinforce their current skills and prepare them for next year's curriculum.
For information or an application, call 244-3280.
Students' skit teaches of inhalant dangers
READING — Ninth-graders in the Reading Junior and Senior High School Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates will present an educational skit on the dangers of inhalants to students at the Academy of World Languages today.
The 20 ninth-graders identified inhalant use as a problem they wanted to address, researched the topic with the help of staff at the Talbert House and school nurse Patty Elliott, and wrote a play on the dangers.
7 churches to open for day of pilgrimage
Area residents can make a pilgrimage without straying far from home. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati, along with the Diocese of Covington, is sponsoring a day of pilgrimage Sunday.
Seven churches in the Cincinnati area were selected for their historical and architectural significance. The churches will be open 2-6 p.m. At some churches, there will be guided tours. The churches can be visited in any order.
The participating churches are: St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, downtown; Old St. Mary's, Over-the-Rhine; St. Francis Xavier, downtown; Holy-Cross-Immaculata, Mount Adams; St. Louis, downtown; Mother of God, Covington; and Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington.
Information: 421-3131.
Wanted man shoots himself to death
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — A man wanted by federal agents on a weapons charge shot and killed himself in a drugstore parking lot Tuesday just as he was about to be arrested, authorities said.
Myron Caddes, 53, of Rossburg, put an “improvised firearm device” to his head and shot himself, said Pat Berarducci, spokesman for the Ohio office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.
Mr. Berarducci said an arrest warrant for Mr. Caddes had been issued after a search this week turned up 23 firearms, including an Uzi submachine gun. Having those weapons was a crime because Mr. Caddes previously had been convicted of aggravated burglary, said Mr. Berarducci.
Stadium overruns might exceed $45 million
Tax opponent denied entry for stadium tour
Income tax cut dumped in Ohio
No money lost in street deceit
Passengers rate airport No. 1 in U.S.
RADEL: Aquarium sets new standard
Students' Web site has local stories of courage
Teacher pay plan praised
11-year-old guilty of molesting girl, 7
Chiropractor arrested on sex, theft charges
City says judgment threatens payroll
Doctors' group polishes its image
Firefighter convicted in crash
Senate votes to require vaccine
Street targeted for cleanup
CROWLEY: Pols love a good fight
Broadway Series glamorizes 2000-01 schedule
GET TO IT
Pig Parade: Greater Cincinnati Pig
Bras battle for attention
'House of Yes' has offbeat appeal
May Festival tenor cancels
More 'Millionaire' for fall
WB 'steals' two shows to beef up fall lineup
Around the Commonwealth
Auditor checking tax bills
Book collection dedicated
City backs vets' effort
Covington covets grants
Florence makes case for bigger share of Boone Co. budget
Healing alternatives explored
Kenton tax hike advances
Lakota shuffles to ease crowding
Middletown arrests 21 in public housing drug bust
Office-industry park zone OK'd
Small cemetery renewed
Suspect arrested in Laurel stabbing
TANK center not welcome
Trenton list for manager cut to four
Tristate Digest
