The Enquirer

A Dayton, Ohio, man was sentenced to six months in jail and five years probation this week for threatening to bomb the Common Pleas Courthouse in Warren County on March 16.

Jeffery Lawson, 44, pleaded guilty to the felony charge and said he made the threat from a cell phone so he wouldn't have to appear in court.

Lawson was behind in child support payments and was scheduled for a hearing that afternoon.

Authorities evacuated the courthouse.

Judge James Flannery was appointed to sentence Lawson because the threat affected judges in Warren County.

"Certainly, the crime is one that evokes emotional terror after the events of 9-11," Flannery said.

Ruling in river death awaits test results

MIDDLETOWN - Drowning remains a possible cause of a 37-year-old man's death, but investigators are waiting for test results.

George Stevens of Middletown was presumed to have drowned after he suffered an apparent seizure and collapsed into the Great Miami River while fishing Tuesday. His 8-year-old niece asked a bystander with a cell phone to call for help.

Stevens, who was pronounced dead at the scene along the river near Ohio 73, had a history of seizures after being injured in a crash several years ago, authorities said.

An autopsy on Wednesday revealed no obvious cause of death.

Bank One robber gets away with cash

A man robbed the Delta Avenue branch of Bank One early Wednesday after he gave a note to the teller warning he had a gun. He fled with an undisclosed amount of money.

Police described him as white, 5-feet-9, 175 pounds and age 20-25.

Treatment, probation ordered in theft ring

One of 19 men charged in what prosecutors called a multimillion-dollar theft ring was sentenced Wednesday to 50 days in a drug and alcohol treatment center and five years probation.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Crush sentenced Mahmoud Alwawi, 31, of Price Hill on two charges of receiving stolen property. Alwawi pleaded guilty May 4.

Alwawi, an employee at G&M Market on Race Street, bought cigarettes for less than half their value from an undercover police officer, thinking they were stolen.

Alwawi and the other 18 people were charged in October in a 105-count indictment that included charges of conspiracy, money laundering, receiving stolen property and tampering with records. Authorities said the ring stole merchandise to resell it.