3 teens hospitalized when their car crashes

ANDERSON TWP. - Three teenage boys who attend Turpin High School were taken to the hospital Wednesday afternoon after the car they were riding in hit a guardrail, spun off the road and into the woods, fire officials said.

The guardrail appeared to have smashed through the passenger window of the car and went out the driver's side in the 2:44 p.m. accident at Eight Mile Road north of Kellogg Avenue, said Anderson Township Fire Chief Mark Ober.

A 1993 Ford Probe driven by Nate Lyons, 17, of the 300 block of Stanley Avenue, Columbia Tusculum in Cincinnati, was traveling south on Eight Mile when Lyons attempted to pass another vehicle left of center and lost control of his vehicle, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office said. The vehicle then traveled off the right side of the roadway and struck the guardrail.

Lyons had to be extricated from his vehicle and was taken to University Hospital in Cincinnati, where he was in serious condition late Wednesday.

Front-seat passenger Christopher Lake, 16, of the 3600 block of Church Street, Newtown, who was also extricated from the car, was in serious condition at University Hospital. Back-seat passenger Ryan Kahsar, 17, of the 800 block of Old Kellogg Road, Anderson Township, was in stable condition at Anderson Mercy Hospital. The crash remains under investigation by the sheriff's traffic safety unit.

Springboro officer quits after suspension

SPRINGBORO - Police Lt. Jim Barton resigned Wednesday, two weeks after he was suspended amid allegations of involvement in his wife's 1995 homicide.

Barton's resignation "has no effect on how we're investigating this case," said Warren County Sheriff's Capt. John Newsom, who supervises a multiagency Cold Case Squad that reopened the case of Vickie Barton last April.

Lt. Barton, 48, had called 911 to report finding his wife dead at their Franklin Township farmhouse April 11, 1995. Mrs. Barton, 40, was a well-liked nurse and instructor at Kettering Memorial and Sycamore hospitals just south of Dayton, Ohio.

Last month, investigators revealed that their re-examination of evidence convinced them that Barton wiped down the crime scene during his call to 911. They have not said what role Barton's friend, Waynesville Officer Thomas Barber, may have played in the crime, but Barber also was suspended from his duties last month.

Covington man sought in killing

COVINGTON - Police are looking for a Covington man who is accused of killing a Cincinnati man last month.

Police have issued a warrant charging Matthew W. Smith, 26, with killing Jason Bourrage, 22, said Covington Police Lt. Col. Mike Kraft. Bourrage's body was found in Goebel Park Jan. 30.

Police think Bourrage was killed during a drug deal he engaged in with Smith and Thomas Toll, 43, Kraft said. Police would not reveal how Bourrage died.

Smith is described as white, 6 feet 1 inch tall, 225 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Police believe he may be in Covington or Columbus.

Anyone with information about Smith is asked to call Covington Police at (859) 292-2222.

Conviction upheld in ex-deputy's case

MIDDLETOWN - The conviction of an ex-Butler County sheriff's deputy on charges of rape and kidnapping has been upheld.

In a ruling released Wednesday, the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals said Kirk Kash failed to prove claims that either his lawyer or the judge made any substantial mistakes during his 2002 trial.

Butler County Common Pleas Judge Matthew J. Crehan had sentenced Kash, of Colerain Township, to four years in prison for forcing a 19-year-old Hamilton woman to perform oral sex on him at the Forest Fair Mall in Fairfield.

Kash was wearing his Butler County deputy's uniform while working an off-duty security job there. He later resigned from the sheriff's office.

Domestic dispute sends couple to hospital

WEST HARRISON, Ind. - A domestic dispute Wednesday night at the Harrison Auto Auction sent two people to the hospital with gunshot wounds.

The altercation, thought to be a murder-suicide attempt, occurred about 7:20 p.m. at the auction facility at 134 Harrison Brookville Road (U.S. 52) in Dearborn County, about a half mile north of West Harrison, authorities said.

A man shot a woman then turned the gun on himself, police said. Both of the wounded were transported to University Hospital in Cincinnati. The woman sustained a gunshot wound to the head. Names and conditions were not available late Wednesday.

A child with the couple at the time of the shooting was not injured.

Two banks robbed; suspects sought

Two banks were robbed Wednesday afternoon - one in Springfield Township and another in Northside.

A man wearing a black baseball cap and dark sunglasses robbed the PNC Bank at 8425 Vine St. at 2:25 p.m., Springfield Township police said.

The suspect was described as a black male, 5-foot-10, 200 pounds with facial hair and wearing a dark jacket and blue jeans. He was last seen going west on Galbraith Road in an older model, dark-colored GM vehicle. No one was injured during the robbery.

About 4 p.m., a man who appeared to be intoxicated robbed the North Side Bank & Trust Co. at 4125 Hamilton Ave., police said. No other information was available late Wednesday.