Courts

Last night after 2:00 a.m. in the morning a 15 year old was shot and killed, he was shot by a 17 year old. Both boys lived approximately .2 miles from each other, both boys were out past the curfew that exists in the City of Toledo. The 17 year old had a midnight curfew according to the law, the 15 year old had an 11:00 p.m. curfew according to the law. On December 14th, a 16 year old was shot and killed a few minutes after midnight not far from where I live.

I knew about the expulsion of 13 students at Byrnedale. I thought it was not going to get any media coverage at all, which I thought was a bit strange considering it’s not typical to have that many students arrested at a school, especially a middle school. I knew about it because my daughter attends there and on the day of the arrests came home and shared her personal reaction to what happened that day.

This in via email from the office of Ohio Senator Teresa Fedor:
Senate Bill 280 Unanimously Passes
Senator Fedor Introduces Amendments to Protect Ohio’s Children

Scott Ciolek, the attorney for Jeffrey Hardeman, is presenting a different side to the Road Rage/Stabbing incident that happened on December 11th in Perrysburg as can be read in this article in the Toledo Free Press.
Ciolek is stating his client stabbed Troy Neff in self-defense:

Hardeman
Jeffrey Hardeman, the man charged with stabbing former radio talk show host Troy Neff,…

If you haven’t headed over to check out this week’s Toledo City Paper, the cover story is an interesting one, A Minister’s Mark: How a 1988 protest against City Council shaped a Civil Rights journey. I recommend reading it, especially if you are interested in some of the history of the city especially as it relates to racial relations and and how some of the names involved back then, are still involved today…

Earlier Blade article about Councilman Michael Ashford’s ordinance that was met with cheers by over 40 city workers in attendance that stated no court action had yet been taken by the unions as had been stated was going to take place on Monday.

I think I have a fairly good idea of what the real motivation is behind cities like Waterville or Ottawa Hills placing more stringent residency requirements on where registered sex offenders live within their city limits. It’s a way of telling those who have these types of backgrounds, “you aren’t welcome here”.

This weekend I was told that Karyn McConnell Hancock was going to plead guilty on Monday and that this was part of some type of a plea deal. Which is how our legal system works, people either agree to plead guilty or no contest based on deals on a regular basis. Yesterday she did plead guilty and while the media is reporting she could serve up to 8 years in jail, the real speculation will be on will any time in jail be given at all.

Breaking news headline from WTVG.
Karyn McConnell-Hancock has been indicted on one count of aggravated theft, a felony of the second degree.
The charge carries a sentence of two to eight years, if she is convicted. McConnell-Hancock is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from clients of her law practice.

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern put out two statements today, first calling for the Recusual of Justices Cupp & O’Donnell and then a statement calling Joe Deter’s investigation into election fraud a “Partisan Power Play” that should be abandoned.
STATEMENT: ODP Chairman Chris Redfern Calls for Recusal of Remaining Ohio Supreme Court Justices with Financial Ties to GOP Fundraiser

In a case that is being described as similar to Terri Schiavo, but with a Toledo connection, Karen Weber a former resident of Toledo is in a nursing home in Florida. She has been in one since December after a stroke, it does not appear she can live without the feeding tube. A temporary restraining order was in place in March to prevent the feeding tube from being removed. Karen Weber’s husband Raymond and their three adult children are in support of Raymond Weber being appointed permanent guardian and in support of having the feeding tube removed.

While the story that the Toledo Journal is reporting could very well be true where a woman, Sharonda N. Simpson, reported she was fondled twice by a patrol officer during an early morning traffic stop in a remote area around 3 a.m. on Aug. 14 and she admits in the article that she did have a metal grinder with marijuana residue in it, according to public records, she did not appear in Court on the 15th or on the 25th. Now she has warrants out for her arrest.

Robert has an interesting post over on his blog, Whalertly on his regular election map update as well as an interesting story about an Ohio man who tried to pay his court fine payment in pennies. I recommend heading over and joining in the discussion.

I appear most times here to be calm, cool, collected, with a hint of emotion that wells up from time to time on an issue I am particularly passionate about. When it comes to blogging about victims, it’s much more difficult to do than the end result here demonstrates, in 2006 the story of Tammy Capelletty made me realize that there are victims out there who need to be blogged about. More than just to create discussion but for families like her family who were trying to clear her name, to make sure it was known that she was a victim, a victim of a senseless murder.

Granted, not many of us pay attention to the television viewing of the actual Toledo City Council meetings, but as the City of Toledo discusses providing a way to stream Toledo City Council Meetings on the City website, as was suggested in the past and was again recently suggested by Councilman Collins; so that those who did miss or did not record the twice a month meetings, could watch, I think this is a good time to bring this up.

According to LimaOhio.com the jury is deliberating in the case of Sgt. Joe Chavalia. Did the prosecution present a strong enough case or did the defense? It’s now in the hands of the jury to decide.
The website has video of some of the testimony in the trial for those of you who are interested in more detail than has been reported in the local media.
Updated Chavalia Found Not Guilty

According to LimaOhio.com the jury is deliberating in the case of Sgt. Joe Chavalia. Did the prosecution present a strong enough case or did the defense? It’s now in the hands of the jury to decide.
The website has video of some of the testimony in the trial for those of you who are interested in more detail than has been reported in the local media.

As earlier blogged about when NBC24 announced the FBI is investigating there is an update from Aaron Brilbeck that states:
TOLEDO — The Lucas County Sheriff may not have been totally honest when he denied there was an investigation into an inmate’s death back in 2004.

I have to finish the rest of the notes from tonight’s Toledo City Council Meeting, however, the first item before Council was one that I felt important enough to share via video so you can see what transpired during the 9 minute discussion of the issue of the $45,000 dollar funding for the pre-trial drug testing requested by Toledo Municipal Court and the Mayor’s announcement of the bond ratings for the City of Toledo.

While the below post focuses on Rossford and their decision to create a curfew, last week’s Toledo City Paper (that’s still online) has a cover story on Classroom Cops 101. The article shares the stats of the number of offenses for each of the area High Schools except Springfield which for some reason is not included. I recommend reading it, it sheds some light on some of the problems schools are experiencing in Toledo and outside of Toledo.

This in via email:
Governor Statement on Supreme Court Decision Affirming Right to Bear Arms
Columbus, Ohio – Governor Ted Strickland today issued the following statement regarding the US Supreme Court decision affirming American’s right to bear arms:

As reported as an update to today’s Blade, Judge grants temporary order halting Toledo’s convenience store licensing law.
The date for the next hearing has not been announced but as it stands now:
A federal judge sided with a group of convenience store owners Tuesday morning and granted a temporary restraining order against Toledo’s new law that licenses the establishments.

This in via email from the law office of Scott Cioleck:
Republican Chairman Stainbrook to Dismiss Court of Appeals Challenge:
Questions of Law to Remain Open

I almost dread posting this with what normally happens, but? It’s news and it is something that has been of huge interest to the local blogging community, as reported in the Blade, Investigation shows 11 clients of McConnell Hancock had money missing from estates: