Saturday, May 27, 2000
A.M. REPORT
Dayton man sought in gas station holdup
SPRINGBORO — Authorities are searching for an 18-year-old Dayton-area man in connection with a holdup at a Springboro service station this week.
Joshua Leggett has been charged with aggravated robbery, police said. He and a 17-year-old are accused of trying to rob the BP Service Station on W. Central Ave., at gunpoint around 11 p.m. Wednesday.
The 17-year-old brandished a gun, police said, but the clerk pulled his own weapon and shot the teen in the arm. The suspects then fled.
The teen who was shot was released from Miami Valley Hospital Thursday afternoon and remains in the Warren County Juvenile Detention Center on aggravated robbery charges, Springboro Police Lt. Jim Barton said.
No charges are expected to be filed against the clerk who shot the teen, authorities said.
Principal, lawyer to fill MRDD board
LEBANON — The outgoing principal of Lemon-Monroe High School and a Waynesville attorney will take the final two seats on the Warren County Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Board.
Cathy Hamilton, who has been principal of Lemon-Monroe High School for several years, and lawyer Michael Foley were named to the board Friday by Warren County Probate Judge Mike Powell. They join five new board members appointed by the Warren County Commissioners on Thursday.
“I just thought that these two just brought some qualities to the board that based upon the mix ... would make up a good board overall,” Judge Powell said. “I hope that the public and those who have relatives who are receiving services from the board are going to give this new board a chance and permit them the opportunity to restore the board's credibility.”
Mrs. Hamilton, of Mason, has been active in special education and disabilities for several years, Judge Powell said. She has an adult daughter who is receiving residential services from Warren County MRDD.
Mr. Foley has been solicitor for Waynesville, is active in the Loeb and Warren County foundations, and is an assistant prosecutor in Greene County.
All seven board members will be sworn in next week.
5 arrested on drug trafficking charges
NORWOOD — Four men have been arrested on felony counts of trafficking in crack cocaine and a woman with trafficking in marijuana.
Police are looking for two other men on charges of trafficking in crack cocaine, said Police Lt. Michael Wheeler.
“All of these arrests were made during undercover operations near schools in Norwood including the high school and elementary schools, said Lt. Wheeler.
Those arrested are all Norwood residents: William Cogar, 20, charged with two counts of trafficking in cocaine; Jamie Bradford, 29, three counts; Dennis Smith, 46, three counts; David Schnitzler, 24, six counts. Charged with one count of trafficking in marijuana is Norwood resident Melissa Robbins, 31.
Still at large are: David D. Cain, 41, of Norwood charged with four counts of trafficking in cocaine and Derrick Ferris, 24, of Pleasant Ridge with a single count of trafficking cocaine.
The cocaine-related counts are all third-degree felonies, each punishable by a sentence of one to five years in jail and up to a $10,000 fine. Ms. Robbins faces a fourth-degree felony punishable by six to 18 months in jail and fine of up to $5,000.
Man may face death in children's slayings
URBANA, Ohio — A man convicted Friday of killing his two young stepchildren to punish his wife because he thought she had been unfaithful faces a possible death penalty.
After six hours of deliberation over two days, the Champaign County Common Pleas Court jury found Kevin Neal guilty of two counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of India Smith, 11, and her 4-year-old half brother, Cody Smith.
Mr. Neal, 34, sat calmly as the verdicts were read.
Gary McGraw, Cody's father, pumped his fist in the air and glanced across the courtroom at Kevin Neal's wife, Sue, who was at the trial for the first time. She smiled when the verdicts were read, but then began crying.
As she left the courtroom, Sue Neal hugged Champaign County sheriff's Sgt. Chuck Stroud, lead investigator in the case.
“I did not do this,” Mr. Neal told reporters as he was led from the courthouse in handcuffs. “My conscience is clear.”
Mr. Neal said the children disappeared from the yard of their Urbana-area home on July 9, 1997, while he was inside cleaning and his wife was at work. For days, hundreds of volunteers searched for the children around the area about 35 miles northeast of Dayton.
Two months later, a farmer found the children's remains eight miles away, near Nettle Creek Cemetery, about 100 feet from the grave of Sue Neal's mother.
Teacher reprimanded for student punishment
COLUMBUS GROVE, Ohio — A teacher was reprimanded for tying shut a door after putting a girl in the room for punishment.
Gary Kirst received the reprimand early this week for tying the door shut, said high school Principal Martin Thomas.
Kirst has taught developmentally handicapped students in grades 6 through 12 at Columbus Grove for more than 20 years.
Students who misbehave are typically put in the room for a “time out” period, Mr. Thomas said.
“I don't have a problem with putting the student in there,” he said.
Mr. Thomas found out after the girl went home and told her parents, Eric and Barbara Grohoske.
Barbara Grohoske said her daughter has a seizure disorder and might have seized while she was in the closet. She said her daughter has had a personality conflict with the teacher.
The school is trying to place the girl with a different teacher.
Drivers dig deep to pay for fuel
Boats become crowd scene
Eraser caper sends lawyer to slammer
County, city face riverfront deadline
Day of emotion: Vets recall friends lost
Donated stone marks tiny grave
River unsafe on Ky. side
RAMSEY: Education
4th district GOP chairman to step down
Blue Ash dedicates city tower
Bring appetite, umbrella
Buses to cut fares during smog season
Dayton man sought in gas station holdup
Dog taken, owner cited after attack on girl, 5
Fairy tale gets contemporary spin
Get to it
Job fair comes to Lincoln Heights
Ky. horse country to hold Bush fund-raiser
Lockland chief defends officers
Massie student dies on senior-class outing
Police focus on seat-belt use
Police officer not guilty in jogger's death
Prison nursery a step closer
Songs spice up soup kitchen
Queen City's moments to shine reflected in book
