Woman sought in fatal shooting

        Cincinnati police say a man slain just before midnight Monday at the Traveler's Inn at 3244 Central Parkway in University Heights was neither a registered guest nor someone's visitor at the motel.

Pat Moran, an investigator with Cincinnati Police Division, searches for evidence on the roof of the Traveler's Inn on Central Parkway. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        The man, whose name has not been released, was shot five times and found slumped over near an open driver's-side car door in the motel's rear parking lot. Police only gave the victim's description as a black man but say he may be an African national.

        Investigators do not have a motive for the killing, Cincinnati's 38th this year. They are looking for a tall, black woman age 30-40 with a medium build seen running from the area after the shots were fired. Police say she was wearing a pink shirt or dress with thin shoulder straps.

        Anyone with information about the woman or the crime should call the homicide unit at 352-3542 or Crime Stoppers at 352-3040. Callers may remain anonymous and receive compensation for their information.
       

December trial set in woman's death

        A Hamilton County judge set Dec. 10 as the new trial date for a downtown barber accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and her unborn child.

        The trial date for Tony Ringer was set Tuesday by Common Pleas Judge Richard A. Niehaus.

        The trial is expected to last about two weeks.

        Mr. Ringer has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder in the death of Cassandra Betts, 25, who was six weeks pregnant when she was shot to death in her car Dec. 20.
       

Two men sought in bank robbery schemes

        Police are searching for two men wanted in one of the largest bank robbery conspiracies investigators say they have seen in Cincinnati.

        Police say they uncovered the team of five after investigating the shooting death of one of the men Friday by a Cincinnati police officer in the CinFed Credit Union in Roselawn.

        Police say Officer Eddie Hawkins shot Brandon Lowe, 18, formerly of Lebanon, after the man brandished a gun inside the bank.

        After interviewing witnesses and looking at surveillance tapes, police say they discovered that four others were involved in an elaborate plan to rob banks.

        Police say the group was involved in at least three robberies and are investigating to see if there may have been more. They include robberies Aug. 24 at Key Bank on Reading Road, Aug. 29 at the Provident Bank on Montgomery Road and Aug. 31 at the CinFed Credit Union on Reading Road.

        Police arrested Raymond Pope, 21, of Bond Hill, and Lashawn Henderson, 25, of Winton Place over the weekend. Both are charged with complicity to commit aggravated robbery.

        Still wanted on the same charges are: Edward Glaze Jr., 19, and Nashid Haamid, 23, both of Bond Hill.

Power failure closes Talawanda classes

        OXFORD — Talawanda middle and high school students were dismissed 75 minutes early Tuesday after power went out at Talawanda High School.

        Superintendent Phil Cagwin said all but the back wing of the building lost power about 10:15 a.m. The problem was traced to a transformer.
       

Walnut Hills man charged with murder

        A Walnut Hills man was indicted Tuesday on charges he shot an Evendale furniture store owner to death during an argument while others were in the store.

        Alonzo Campbell, 38, could get life in prison if convicted of the charges of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault and illegally possessing a weapon as a convicted felon.

        Police said Mr. Campbell shot Stephen Jones, 49, on Aug. 23 inside A Lucky Step that Mr. Jones and his wife owned in Evendale. The argument was over an alleged debt, police said, declining to elaborate.

        Mr. Campbell remains jailed in the Hamilton County Justice Center in lieu of a $200,000 bond.
       

Inventor honored for biodegradable diaper

        AKRON, Ohio — Rishi Vasudeva said he was joking when he chose a diaper as his idea for a ninth-grade assignment to invent something.

        Now that he's 18, national diaper manufacturers are interested in his idea for diapers made from a corn-based plastic. They not only break down in landfills, but fertilize the soil.

        The Roswell, Ga., man is among this year's six inductees into the National Gallery for America's Young Inventors.

        The group, run by three Akron science teachers, will conduct its ceremony Sept. 15.
       

Death row inmate wins appeal hearing

        A federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered a lower court to hear the appeal of an Ohio death row inmate challenging his sentence for an Akron slaying.

        The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Paul Greer is entitled to be heard on his claim that his trial lawyer did not adequately represent him during a hearing to determine Greer's sentence.

        Mr. Greer said his lawyer failed to call witnesses who could have presented testimony favorable to him.

        Mr. Greer was sentenced to death for the January 1985 stabbing of his landlord.

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