Ohio News Briefs

0

Police arrest Cleveland-area man; call him a serial abductor

CLEVELAND (AP) — Authorities in the Cleveland area have arrested a man who they say broke into two homes and kidnapped a young girl and tried to abduct another within the past year.

Investigators said Monday that they found DNA to link the 29-year-old man to both cases.

They’re calling him a serial abductor and are looking at whether he was involved in similar abduction attempts.

Police on Friday arrested Justin Christian of Lorain on a warrant charging him with rape and kidnapping.

Prosecutors say Christian is suspected in a 6-year-old Cleveland girl’s kidnapping in May and in an attempted abduction of a 10-year-old Elyria girl last February.

There were no court records about the charges against Christian or whether he has an attorney. There was no home telephone listing for him.

Prosecutors charge Ohio teen whose gun killed toddler

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Prosecutors in Ohio have charged a teenager whose gun got into the hands of a 7-year-old who accidentally shot a 3-year-old boy to death.

Authorities in Toledo filed charges of complicity to negligent homicide and failure to secure firearms against the 15-year-old late last week in juvenile court.

They say the teen is a relative of 3-year-old Tyrne Hoskins who died from a gunshot wound in October. Police say several adults were in the home at the time.

Prosecutors have not released the name of the teenager and they earlier decided not to file charges against the 7-year-old who shot the gun.

Police tell The Blade newspaper in Toledo that the gun was fired inside a bedroom and the bullet went through a wall before hitting the toddler.

Off-duty cop hurt while breaking up Cincinnati knife fight

CINCINNATI (AP) — Police say an off-duty officer and two other people were injured after a knife fight broke out in the area of Cincinnati’s Fountain Square this weekend.

Lt. Steve Saunders says police received reports of the altercation at the downtown square around 2 a.m. Sunday. An off-duty Cincinnati officer working nearby attempted to break up the fight and was cut in the left arm by one of the suspects.

Two cousins out celebrating a birthday were stabbed in the back at some point during the melee. Both victims were hospitalized and are expected to survive.

Police are unsure who stabbed the victims.

A 27-year-old man was charged with felony assault in connection with the officer’s injury and was due for an initial court appearance Monday.

Police officer fatally shoots suspect in Summit County

HUDSON, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating after a suspect was fatally shot by a police officer following an accident along the Ohio Turnpike in Summit County.

Hudson police say the unidentified male suspect was driving on the highway at a high rate of speed when he sideswiped another vehicle and his car flipped around 2:45 p.m. Sunday.

The suspect reportedly got out of his damaged vehicle following the crash and fled the scene on foot.

Police say an officer tracked the man to a wooded area off Hudson Aurora Road, where a struggle ensued. City officials say shots were fired by the officer and the suspect was killed.

The identities of those involved weren’t immediately released. No further details were available.

Columbus library will no longer fine for overdue materials

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The public library system in Ohio’s capital will stop charging fines for overdue materials starting Jan. 1.

The Columbus Metropolitan Library says it will instead rely on its existing policy of blocking use of a customer’s library card to physically check out more items while that person has an item that is three weeks or more overdue. Customers still will be charged replacement fees for items that are considered lost.

The library says it doesn’t rely on revenue from the fines and wants to take away anything that impedes the goal of getting more materials into customers’ hands. The library says the fines were an incentive to get items returned on time, and it’s removing them after taking steps to minimize the effect of such fines on customers.

Ohio teen faces juvenile charges in fatal shooting of father

WARREN, Ohio (AP) — A 15-year-old Ohio girl won’t be tried as an adult in the fatal shooting of her sleeping father.

Prosecutors in Trumbull County have decided to keep the case in juvenile court.

The man’s wife says he had abused her for years and that her daughter fired the fatal shot in July to stop it from continuing.

The family of the girl’s father denies there was any abuse.

Bresha Meadows already has denied a charge of delinquency by reason of aggravated murder in the shooting of 41-year-old Jonathan Meadows at the family’s home in Warren.

Prosecutors this past week decided against trying her as an adult but did not explain the reasoning.

The girl’s attorney was pleased with the decision and says the case has a unique set of circumstances.

No posts to display