HAMILTON — Two men who owe large sums of child support have been extradited to Butler County from distant states, the county prosecutor's office reported this week.

        Aaron Aldridge, chief assistant prosecutor of the Butler prosecutor's child sup port division, said the cases of Jeffrey Tomes, 34, formerly of West Chester Township, and Kevin Schlabach, 40, formerly of Hamilton, were two of the most significant he has dealt with in his three years working on child-support cases.

        Mr. Tomes, arrested in Washington state, owes nearly $150,000 in support payments for his 12-year-old daughter in Alaska, officials said.

        Mr. Schlabach, who was arrested in Arizona, owes around $53,000, about half to Butler and about half to Hamilton County after having “no contact with his child, ex-wife or parents since 1990, and the family assumed he was deceased,” according to a news release from the prosecutor's office.

        Mr. Tomes faces six counts and Mr. Schlabach faces seven counts of criminal nonsupport, a fifth-degree felony punish able by up to a year in prison upon conviction.

        Mr. Tomes and Mr. Schlabach were being held in the Butler County Jail Friday. Cash bonds have been set at $100,000 and $24,000.

        The amount Mr. Tomes owes is “by far the largest amount I've ever dealt with,” Mr. Aldridge said. “A big case would be $50,000 to $70,000.”

        Last year, Hamilton County prosecuted its largest criminal nonsu pport case: Boating industry magnate George Dale Murray was sentenced to 11 months in prison for failing to pay $436,000 in child support.

        One reason Mr. Tomes owes so much is because the case originated in Alaska, which charges interest, Mr. Aldridge said.

        U.S. Customs officials arrested Mr. Tomes as he was preparing to board a bus heading for Canada, Mr. Aldridge said.

        Mr. Tomes is set for a court appearance Thursday.

        When Mr. Schlabach was arraigned July 17, his ex-wife and teenage daughter were present, Mr. Aldridge said.

        “You could tell there was an incredible emotional impact. They just sat there, kind of shell-shocked,” he said.

        Mr. Schlabach is also the subject of a paternity dispute that has been pending with the county's juvenile court since 1992, authorities noted.

        His case is set for trial Sept. 24.

        Enquirer reporter Erica Solvig contributed.

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