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A Liberty Township man faces attempted murder, felonious assault and weapons charges after Butler County Sheriff’s officials said he opened fire on a neighbor during an argument Sunday at Countryside Village Mobile Home Park.

Paul E. Maye, 52, of 214 Jacobs Street allegedly fired a revolver at his neighbor Joshua Warren, 26, of 215 Jacobs Street during an altercation. The bullet grazed Warren’s head and a physical struggle for the gun ensued, according to a release from the Sherriff’s Office.

During the struggle, another round was fired. The bullet hit a nearby porch railing.

Warren was eventually able to subdue Maye.

Both men were taken to West Chester Medical Center for injuries. As of Monday morning, Maye is still confined at the hospital.

The Butler County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the incident.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Sheriff's Office, Liberty Township crime, Liberty Township trailer park, Shooting at Liberty Township trailer park

Eighteen people from Butler and Preble counties were rounded up Wednesday following secret indictments in a months-long investigation that targeted marijuana, prescription drug and heroin users.

In all, 24 people from Middletown, Hamilton, Fairfield, Camden and Liberty and West Chester townships were indicted for felony charges following the probe by the multi-agency BURN Task force, coordinated by the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.

Charges include trafficking, possession and fraudulent drug advertising.

The investigation also led to a search of a North Seventh Street residence in Hamilton where authorities said they seized about six grams of heroin, marijuana, pills, needles, scales and several hundred dollars in cash.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Sheriff's Office

Girl born safely in car at gas station in Trenton

Sheila McLaughlin reports:

Dave Runnells’ full-time job is as a Butler County sheriff’s deputy running the graveyard shift. His part-time job is deputy chief of the Madison Township Fire Department, where he’s also an EMT.

Dave Runnells. Photo provided.

Still, he was a first-timer.

The married father of two – a 14-year-old daughter and a 21-year-old son, a soldier deployed to Afghanistan – had always made it to the hospital with mothers in the ambulance in time for their babies to be born. Then he watched.

“A bunch of them. (But) that was my first delivery in the field,” he said Wednesday, recalling the events at 4 a.m. Christmas Eve at the Speedway station at 4682 Trenton-Oxford Road in Trenton.

Runnells, 47, was five hours into his shift Monday as a sheriff’s deputy, sitting cruiser to cruiser with a Trenton police sergeant in a parking lot a couple blocks away when a Trenton dispatcher advised that a female was in labor at Speedway.

The mom, Heather Fitzgerald, and her husband didn’t get far before Fitzgerald announced it was time.

The couple had just left their Trenton subdivision behind the gas station and were trying to make it to Mercy Fairfield Hospital to give birth.

Fitzgerald’s husband called 911 and was standing outside the Ford Fusion when Runnells and the Trenton sergeant arrived. It wasn’t even Runnells call to make but he was invited along.

Fitzgerald was already in the back seat. Runnells said he had to convince the couple of his medical background, then he put dad to work coaching Fitzgerald’s breathing and supporting her back.

“It seemed like the (ambulance) took forever,” Runnells said.

But it arrived just five minutes later.

Before paramedics could even scramble out, Runnells said he was yelling for an obstetrics medical kit which contains special instruments for childbirth.

“The baby popped out,” Runnells said.

He swaddled the baby in a blanket to keep it warm and suctioned the airway while a paramedic cut the cord.

Then Runnells hurried the crying infant into the warmth of the waiting ambulance for a ride to Fort Hamilton Hospital.

“It was a girl. Gracie,” Runnells said.

Both mom and Gracie were doing well, he said. Fitzgerald is already home from the hospital, probably not realizing how the events of Monday night had touched Runnells.

The couple couldn’t be reached and had declined earlier requests for media interviews.

“It brightened everything up,” Runnells said. “I just looked up and said, ‘Wow.’”

Posted in: News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County deputy Dave Runnells, Butler County Sheriff Dave Runnells, Butler County Sheriff's Office, child birth at Speedway, Dave Runnells

As many parents were on their way to pick up their children from Cherokee Elementary School Wednesday, a car struck a student just a half-mile from the school at around 4 p.m.

The female student was on her bicycle crossing from the south side of Kyles Station Road to Aspen Trails Boulevard when an Acura SUV hit her, according to Ohio Highway Patrol Sgt. Brian Bost.

The incident took place only one-tenth of a mile before the school zone starts.

The speed limit on Kyles Station in the Cherokee Elementary school zone is 45 mph during non-school hours and 20 mph when school is in session. According to Bost and the driver, the car was traveling at 30 mph when it struck the girl.

While the investigation is still ongoing, it doesn’t appear that charges will be filed against the driver. The lone witness at the scene told Bost that “there wasn’t anything that could have been done” and that “the girl just darted out in front of the car.”

Furthermore, after the incident took place, Bost said the girl admitted that she wasn’t sure if she checked that side of the street before crossing.

Bost also described the girl to be coherent and was sitting up after the being hit. Bost later went to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Liberty Campus to visit the student and was “almost positive” that she would be released that night.

On Thursday, Cherokee Elementary School principal Paulette Grady confirmed in an email sent out to parents that the injuries to the student were not serious.

“The safety of our Cherokee Cheetahs is our number one priority. Together, we can ensure their safety by frequently reminding our children, to walk, ride their bikes, or scooters directly home after school, always to look both ways before crossing the street, and to be mindful of their surroundings. Our diligence and daily safety reminders are very important. Our students do hear us. Even though we take every precaution, accidents do happen.

Yesterday, one of our students was struck by a car. This accident occurred as many parents were on their way to Cherokee to pick up their children. We have been advised that the injuries to this student were not serious. The Cherokee staff and parents came together to assist in any way they could.

I would like to thank all of our families for following our safety procedures at arrival and dismissal. Our Cherokee community is awesome in every way.”

After Lakota cut busing back to state minimum levels, Cherokee parents complained at the start of the 2011-2012 school year about the safety of students without the aid of a crosswalk or crossing guards. (more…)

Posted in: Levy news, News, Schools |

Tags: Tags: busing, busing cuts, Butler County Sheriff's Office, car accident, Cherokee Elementary, Cherokee Elementary School, Craig Schmidt, levy cuts, student struck by car, student struck by car Cherokee Elementary, teacher, teacher struck by car

A car stuck a child Wednesday afternoon not far from Cherokee Elementary School, according to a report by the Pulse Journal.

The Journal cited Butler County Sheriff’s dispatchers when reporting that a car on Kyles Station Road at Aspen Trails Boulevard hit a female juvenile at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Furthermore, the girl was reported to be on a bicycle crossing Kyles Station when an Acura SUV struck her.

The Journal also reported that the child was taken to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Liberty Campus with non-life threatening injuries.

• Pulse Journal: Child struck on bike near school

This is the second incident reported by the media involving a person being struck by a car near Cherokee Elementary since the Lakota school district decided to cut busing to the state minimum level.

On Sept. 15, 2011, a Cherokee Elementary teacher was struck by car while directing morning traffic. He was not taken to the hospital and the driver Craig Schmidt, 41, of Liberty Township drove off after striking the teacher with his car. Witnesses, however, were able to provide an accurate description of the vehicle to Butler County deputies.

Schmidt was later stopped near the intersection of State Route 747 and Hamilton-Mason Road, which is about four miles south of the school. He was later charged with reckless operation and negligent assault.

Less than a month prior to that incident, on the first day of school Aug. 26, Cherokee Elementary unveiled a new drop-off system. That morning, parents complained about the safety of students crossing the street since there wasn’t a crosswalk.

The latest incident on Wednesday, the Pulse reported that there wasn’t a crosswalk. According to the Pulse, the incident took place less than a mile west of the school.

Posted in: Levy news, News, Schools |

Tags: Tags: busing, busing cuts, Butler County Sheriff's Office, car accident, Cherokee Elementary, Cherokee Elementary School, Craig Schmidt, levy cuts, teacher, teacher struck by car

Sue Kiesewetter reports

A rash of vandalism in parts of Liberty Township has officials working to increase Butler County sheriff’s patrols in targeted areas.

Residents in the Eagle Ridge subdivision brought concerns to trustees this week after some families experienced more than one incident in the past several weeks.

Ramakrishna Kesireddy said vandals put mustard on his garage, threw eggs on his door and spread detergent on his driveway in the first incident.

More recently, a rock was thrown into his basement window, shattering the glass and damaging drywall.

“The response is very good (by Butler County sheriff’s officers) but the outcome is zero,” Kesireddy said.

Others complained of obscenities spray painted on streets, mailboxes and other places.

Even the Lakota Family YMCA was hit. Aquatics director Sara Matchison spoke of a minor incident where flower pots were thrown into a pool but also two incidents where money and keys were stolen. Items have also been stolen from locked lockers.

Lt. Lance Bunnell, who heads the sheriff’s office Liberty substation, said patrols are increasing.

“For some of the incidents we have persons of interest,’’ Bunnell said. “There are some things we’re doing in your neighborhood.”

He declined to elaborate further on tactics being used to stop the vandalism.

“This stuff runs in spurts. It’s kind of a cyclical thing. It’s just an ugly situation right now,’’ said Trustee Pat Hiltman.

“Keep your eyes open and report anything to the police. They’ll catch them. It’s just a matter of time.”

Hiltman predicted that some of the vandalism would end once school begins later this month.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Sheriff's Office, Eagle Ridge subdivision Liberty Township, Eagle Ridge subdivision vandalism, Lakota Family YMCA, Lakota Family YMCA vandalism, Liberty Township Trustee Pat Hiltman, Liberty Township trustees, Pat Hiltman

Janice Morse reports

This year, even the pot plants are puny.

That’s what Butler County Sheriff Rick Jones said Tuesday after his agency’s annual marijuana sweep found pot plants “considerably smaller than in years past.”

Jones thinks this summer’s drier-than-normal conditions affected this year’s crop of marijuana. “I guess the current drought we are experiencing is not just hurting our legitimate, hard-working farmers,” he said in a news release.

In a program the Ohio Attorney General’s Office supports, trained spotters aboard the sheriff’s helicopter looked for marijuana plants and directed officers on the ground to fields where pot was growing, the sheriff’s office said.

Officials found the contraband crop growing in seven different locations, yielding more than 80 marijuana plants. Officers cut them down and confiscated them.

Investigations were continuing to gather evidence that could lead to charges against whomever was “farming” the pot plants, police said. Often, property owners are unaware that their land was being used to support this type of cash crop, the sheriff’s office said.

This summer’s drought has been the most widespread across the U.S. since 1956, federal agencies said in mid-July. The hot, dry conditions have devastated corn crops to the point where dozens of counties in Indiana and Kentucky were declared natural disaster areas. Recent rainfall has brought only limited relief from the drought, the National Weather Service says.

The Louisville Courier-Journal and the Associated Press contributed.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Sheriff's Office, Richard Jones, Rick Jones, Sheriff Richard Jones, Sheriff Rick Jones

Jennifer Edwards Baker reports

A woman who tried to climb a fence around the Butler County jail in an attempt to get inside got her wish over the weekend when she was arrested.

Tiffany Hurd. Photo provided by the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.

A corrections officer saw her on the ground and tried unsuccessfully to get her to leave. The officer suspected the woman was intoxicated.

She was booked into the jail about 8 a.m. on misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

This is the first time anyone has tried to get into the jail by trespassing, sheriff’s officials said.

Sheriff Rick Jones mentioned the incident on his Twitter account Sunday, tweeting: “Prisoner arrested trying (t0) get back (into) jail. … She got her wish. Not the norm. Got it backwards.”

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Richard Jones, Sheriff Richard K. Jones, Sheriff Rick Jones, Tiffany Hurd, Tiffany R. Hurd

Sketch drawing of a suspect who attacked a woman in her home off Indian Creek Road in Oxford Township on July 9. Sketch provided by the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.

The woman, in her 50s, reported that she encountered a man inside her home about 1:45 p.m. July 9. She told police that the man attacked her, pushed her to the ground and got on top of her. She was able to fight him off and broke free, locking herself in an upstairs room while she called 911.

She was treated at McCullough-Hyde Hospital in Oxford for lacerations to her hands.

The suspect is described as white, 25 to 35 years old with brown hair and a mustache. The day of the attack, he wore a camouflage shirt and blue jeans.

Anyone with information are asked to contact the Butler County Sheriff’s Office at 513-785-1300.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Sheriff's Office, Oxford Township

The Butler County Sheriff’s Office arrested two men in connection to an incident at a Liberty Township home Sunday afternoon where a Middletown reported being pistol whipped and robbed.

According to a report from the Sheriff’s office, Justin Fiora was struck several times in the head by a pistol before being robbed of $1,600. Fiora was treated at a local hospital and then released.

Fiora was invited over to the home by his friend John Hause, 21. Once there, he was approached by Michael Sims, 23, of Middletown. Sims demanded money and when Fiora didn’t comply he stuck him with the pistol, according to the report.

Detectives conducted a search warrants on Sims’ residence, on Roosevelt Blvd., in Middletown and at the home where the incident occurred. Sims (photo – right) was taken into custody and has been charged with aggravated robbery.

Hause (photo – left) confessed to getting some of the money from the robbery and was charged with complicity to aggravated robbery.

Both subjects are being housed at the Butler County Sheriff’s Correctional Complex.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County crime, Butler County Sheriff's Office, John Hause, Justin Fiora, Liberty Township crime, Michael Sims, Pistol whipping, robbery Liberty Township