Ohio News Briefs

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2 Ohioans charged with dealing tranquilizer-laced heroin

CINCINNATI (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted two Ohioans on charges of distributing heroin laced with carfentanil, a substance used to tranquilize large animals that authorities say is 10,000 times more powerful than morphine.

Federal, state and local officials said the seven-count indictment announced Wednesday alleges 31-year-old Phillip Watkins and 26-year-old Jeanetta Crawford conspired in August 2016 to sell heroin laced with carfentanil from their Cincinnati home. The indictment also charges them with operating drug-involved premises. Authorities allege the drugs caused serious physical harm, including non-fatal overdoses.

Watkins and Crawford were arrested Sept. 15 and have been ordered held without bond.

Watkins’ attorney Scott Rubenstein said Thursday that it’s too early in the case to comment. Crawford’s attorney didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment on her behalf.

Woman admits assisted living home thefts, posing as nurse

DELAWARE, Ohio (AP) — A central Ohio woman has admitted under a plea deal that she stole jewelry, watches and other items from residents of senior living facilities over several years to support her drug habit.

Susan Gwynne pleaded guilty on Wednesday in Delaware to 46 of the 101 charges originally brought against her, including burglary, theft and receiving stolen property.

Gwynne told the judge she began stealing items from patients’ rooms to support her cocaine habit while working as a nurse at an assisted living facility in 2004.

The 55-year-old Columbus woman says she was later fired, but continued to go to facilities in Delaware County and Franklin County in her uniform and stealing from rooms.

Investigators found more than 3,000 items at her home in March.

Gwynne’s sentencing is scheduled for November.

Deputy charged with beating 2 ATV riders after chase in Ohio

JEFFERSON, Ohio (AP) — A sheriff’s deputy has been indicted on charges he beat two all-terrain vehicle riders who prosecutors say led authorities on a chase in northeast Ohio.

Ashtabula County prosecutors said Wednesday that Sgt. James Truckey was indicted Wednesday on charges including felonious assault, records tampering and dereliction of duty. Prosecutors say the driver of the ATV tried to hit Truckey during the chase in Jefferson on Sept. 11 and that Truckey attacked both riders once the chase ended and they were in custody.

Authorities say Truckey then lied about the incident in a police report.

Court documents don’t list an attorney for Truckey.

An attorney for one of the ATV riders tells WJW-TV that his client suffered a concussion, broken nose and eye injuries.

Court revives lawsuit against former Ohio prison doctor

CINCINNATI (AP) — An appeals court has revived a lawsuit against a former Ohio prison doctor who was sued after the 2011 suicide of an inmate under his care.

The Ohio Justice and Policy Center alleged inmate Gregory Stamper was in severe pain from damage to his nervous system but had been refused medication by Dr. Myron Shank to help ease the pain.

A federal judge said last year the doctor reasonably concluded the medications he provided hadn’t worked, and also that Stamper had misused medication.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed in a ruling last week, finding that sufficient evidence exists that Shank’s treatment of the inmate amounted to deliberate indifference.

The case now returns to the lower court.

The Attorney General’s Office, representing Shank, declined to comment.

Another fraternity suspended for hazing at Ohio’s Miami U

OXFORD, Ohio (AP) — Miami University in Ohio has suspended another fraternity after investigating allegations of hazing.

School officials say the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity is suspended through May 2018.

The school had suspended two other fraternities earlier this year for hazing and alcohol-related violations. At least nine such organizations at the Oxford campus are currently suspended.

Miami spokesman Claire Wagner tells the Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News the school has more than 50 fraternity and sorority chapters overall, and most of the participants are focused on values such as scholarship, service and leadership.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports over one-third of the school’s undergraduates are in fraternities or sororities, making the conduct of those organizations an important campus issue.

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