Man reportedly tried to get child into car

ANDERSON TWP. - The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office is investigating an attempted child enticement Wednesday evening after a man pulled in front of a suburban residence and tried to get a 12-year-old boy to stop playing basketball and get into his vehicle, according to police reports.

Shortly before 6 p.m. the man pulled up to a house in the 2100 block of Berry Patch Lane in Anderson Township, waved to the boy and pointed to his passenger seat, trying to get him into the vehicle. The 12-year-old ran into his house.

The man is described as black, about 45 years old, driving a white Jeep Cherokee and wearing a brown shirt and a ball cap.

Driver charged afterhitting car, cruiser

GREEN TOWNSHIP - A Hamilton County Sheriff's deputy was among three people who received minor injuries in a three-car crash early Wednesday.

Deputy Thomas Gutman and Sean P. McCully, 22, of Green Township were treated at Mercy Franciscan Hospital and released. Valerie Steele, 28, Price Hill, was treated at University Hospital and released.

Steele's car broke down on North Bend Road near Cheviot Road about 1:07 a.m. Gutman stopped to help and pulled his cruiser in front of Steele's car, authorities said.

McCully was driving on North Bend Road when he apparently didn't see Steele's car and hit it. The impact pushed Steele's car into the deputy's cruiser.

McCully was ticketed with operating a vehicle under the influence and failing to maintain an assured clear distance, deputies said.

Father gets 12 years in son's fatal overdose

BATAVIA - A man whose son died from an overdose of OxyContin was sentenced to 12 years in prison Wednesday by a Clermont County Common Pleas judge.

James S. Dean Sr., 44, will not be eligible for parole, court officials said.

Dean was indicted on one count of involuntary manslaughter, one count of possession of drugs and two counts each of aggravated trafficking in drugs and corrupting another with drugs. Four of the counts were dismissed in a plea bargain.

Dean was arrested last October in the death of his 19-year-old son, James Dean Jr. The younger man died from an overdose of the prescription drug.

Power failure causes Eastgate Mall closing

UNION TWP. - Firefighters evacuated customers and employees from Eastgate Mall for three hours Wednesday after an electrical malfunction shorted a transformer, knocking out power for much of the mall.

About 3:40 p.m., a terminal failure grounded 19,900 volts in one of the mall's primary transformers, said Union Township Fire Chief Stan Deimling. "To be on the safe side, we moved everyone from the mall," Deimling said.

Many stores in the mall reported smoky conditions, and power outages caused several customers to be stuck in department store elevators. Nobody was hurt, and power was restored to nearly all the mall by 7 p.m.

Man accused of string of robberies

OAKLEY - Three armed robberies in less than two hours Wednesday landed a suspect behind bars.

Eugene Smith, 21, of North Avondale, was arrested shortly after the third gunpoint robbery at a Shell gas station on Madison Road at 5:15 a.m. Smith also was charged in the robbery of a White Castle in Avondale at 3:30 a.m. and a United Dairy Farmers in Carthage about an hour later.

At the UDF, $82, the cash register drawer and a 99-cent bottle of Hawaiian Punch were taken, court records said. Smith was charged with three counts of aggravated robbery.