WEST CHESTER TWP. — The death of a man in police custody Tuesday is drug-related, but further details won't be known until toxicology reports come back, Butler County Coroner Dr. Richard Burkhardt said Thursday.

Baker

        James “Greg” Baker Jr., 22, of Woodlawn, was pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital Fairfield after apparently suffering a seizure shortly after 4 a.m.

        Police had gone to the Tri-County Inn on Princeton-Glendale Road (Ohio 747) to investigate an attempted break-in.

        While at the motel, they arrested Mr. Baker and one of his friends and charged them with drug possession. Officers suspect Mr. Baker swallowed crack cocaine in an attempt to get rid of evidence, West Chester Police Chief John Bruce has said.

        Dr. Burkhardt and Chief Bruce said a foreign substance was found in Mr. Baker's stomach during his autopsy Tuesday.

        Chief Bruce said the two West Chester police criminal investigators present at the autopsy told him it appeared to be a plastic-type bag of crack cocaine.

        Mr. Baker was a 1998 graduate of Princeton High School and attended Eastern Kentucky University. He was the father of a 2-year-old son.

        He was released from state prison this spring after serving more than a year on two drug convictions in 2000.

Office building fire causes $275k damage

        BLUE ASH — Two tenants are cleaning up after a fire caused $275,000 in damage — but no injuries — at a three-story office building Wednesday evening at 4766 Glendale-Milford Road.

        The building, which housed Designeers Midwest and the Greater Cincinnati Women's Bowling Association, had no sprinkler system.

        The 5:50 p.m. blaze appears to have started in one of the offices and was electrical in nature, Assistant Fire Chief Charles Martin said. No exact cause has been determined.

Security breach delays flights

        HEBRON — The busiest terminal at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport was closed for 45 minutes Thursday because of a security breach.

        A male employee at an airport business went through a security checkpoint and the metal detector in Delta Air Lines' Terminal 3 at 8 a.m. with a small backpack, said Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Chris Rhatigan. Procedure calls for all bags to be X-rayed separately.

        Several flights were held while security officers searched for the man, who was not named.

        The airport returned to its normal schedule by 9 a.m. Delta officials said about 22 flights had been affected. Comair said about 52 of its flights were delayed.

Police, prosecutors check fatal accident

        WILMINGTON — Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers and Clinton County prosecutors on Thursday met to discuss the investigation into Monday's one-car crash in Clinton County that killed four Goshen High School students.

        Witnesses are being interviewed about events leading up to the midday crash on Ohio 28, and investigators are conducting a speed analysis, Sgt. Wayne Price said. An accident reconstruction expert at trooper headquarters will then review findings, he said.

        Driver Sara E. Dale, 16, of Goshen, and front-seat passenger Robert B. Creech, 17, of Loveland, who were wearing seat belts, received minor injuries. Sara had had her driver's license since May.

        The car, taking the teens on a swimming outing, was out-of-control for at least 300 feet before hitting a fence post and a tree.

Training in dealing with hazards funded

        Three of 10 grants awarded by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio for hazardous material training will go to Greater Cincinnati agencies.

        Among the 10 grants totaling $58,124 are:

        • Greater Cincinnati Hazardous Materials Unit and Fairfield Fire Department — $15,540 to enroll personnel in four courses in emergency response training.

        • Adams County Emergency Management Agency and Local Planning Committee — $5,850 for a hazardous materials commodity flow study.

        • Butler County Emergency Management Agency — $9,300 for a hazmat training course.

        Money for these grants comes from fines paid by hazardous materials carriers and shippers.

Two men hurt when ride crashes at fair

        COLUMBUS - A car fell about 15 feet from an Ohio State Fair ride that spins people in circles, injuring two men when it slammed to the ground Thursday.

        A spokesman for the Ohio Department of Agriculture, which is in charge of inspecting fair rides, said an initial review showed that a broken weld caused the car to break loose from the arm of the Re-Mix at about 3:45 p.m.

        “The car went flying,” spokesman Mark Anthony said. “It hit the back fence and fell. It fell to the ground face down.”

        A spokeswoman at Ohio State University Medical Center identified the men as Dennis Nielsen and James Roe, both of Columbus.

        Mr. Nielsen was released after being treated for a head wound, and Mr. Roe was being evaluated for injuries but was stable.

        Mr. Nielsen's wife told Columbus television station WBNS that as the ride was going down, the car detached. “It hits the rails, it hit the asphalt and landed face down,” she said.

— Compiled from staff and wire reports
       

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