Man accused of kidnapping woman at Cincinnati bus stop
CINCINNATI (AP) — Police have arrested a man who they say abducted a woman from a Cincinnati bus stop.
Authorities in Cincinnati say 48-year-old Roger Rust has been charged with kidnapping.
Police say Rust forced a woman into his vehicle Thursday morning and then drove into Kentucky where he made her perform a sex act.
Court records say the woman escaped and flagged down a Campbell County deputy sheriff.
Rust turned himself into police several hours later.
There’s no telephone listing for Rust. Court records don’t indicate whether he has an attorney.
Ohio Highway Patrol seizes millions’ worth of heroin, meth
CAMBRIDGE, Ohio (AP) — The State Highway Patrol says it has seized millions of dollars’ worth of heroin and methamphetamine during a traffic stop along a central Ohio interstate.
The patrol says in a statement it stopped a rental truck with Virginia plates Thursday morning for following a vehicle too closely on Interstate 70 in Guernsey County. The patrol says a drug-sniffing dog was brought to the scene and alerted troopers to the presence of narcotics inside the truck.
The patrol says 110 pounds of heroin and methamphetamine worth $3.7 million were found.
A 27-year-old North Carolina woman driving the truck was arrested and charged with drug possession and drug trafficking.
The stop occurred roughly 80 miles (129 kilometers) east of Columbus.
Advocacy group wants private hospital patients protected
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A legal advocacy group is asking the state to protect patients at a private Ohio psychiatric hospital subject to complaints and investigations.
A report from Disability Rights Ohio highlighted continued “violations of essential patient safety, care and treatment standards” at the 130-bed Ohio Hospital of Psychiatry in Columbus.
The report includes allegations of physical and sexual abuse, a lack of medical oversight and the use of seclusion rooms.
Michael Kirkman, executive director of Disability Rights, tells the Columbus Dispatch the group questions the hospital’s ability to implement an adequate corrective plan of action and protect patients.
Hospital CEO Angel Piper told the Dispatch the hospital takes all complaints seriously, conducts investigations and reports to the state.
Piper said state inspectors noted significant improvements over the past six months.
Attorney General certifies marijuana legalization petition
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s attorney general has certified a petition for another proposed ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana.
The initiative would allow Ohioans age 21 or older to possess, grow, use, sell and share marijuana in the state.
The petition language certified by Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine on Thursday would keep the state’s medical marijuana program in place.
The petition now goes to the bipartisan Ohio Ballot Board, which must decide whether the measure contains one or multiple ballot issues.
Supporters would then need to gather at least 305,591 signatures of registered Ohio voters to put the issue on the ballot. Organizers are aiming for the 2019 ballot.
Voters defeated a recreational marijuana initiative in 2015.
2 aboard crashed plane in Ohio treated for minor injuries
ORRVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say a single-engine plane has crashed shortly after takeoff from a private airstrip in northeast Ohio.
The Wooster Daily Record reports Orrville Fire Chief Chris Bishop says the plane had trouble getting lift during takeoff and crashed nose first from about 30 feet before flipping over. The crash occurred shortly before 10 a.m. Friday.
Bishop says the occupants are believed to be a husband and wife. They were taken to an Orrville hospital for minor injuries. They were still strapped to their seats when medics arrived.
The crash occurred a short distance from a home.
Orrville is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Cleveland.
Appeals court overturns conviction in Ohio corruption case
CLEVELAND (AP) — An Ohio appeals court has vacated the conviction of an attorney accused of promising to quash a corruption investigation in exchange for help getting elected county prosecutor saying his trial was held in the wrong county.
The 8th District Court of Appeals in a ruling Thursday said Martin Yavorcik’s 2016 jury trial on bribery, corruption and racketeering charges should not have held in Cuyahoga County because prosecutors alleged that most of his crimes occurred in Mahoning County.
The 44-year-old Youngstown resident represented himself at trial. He received a year of home detention despite being convicted of multiple felony charges.
A spokesman says the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, which helped try the case in Cleveland, is considering whether to appeal Thursday’s ruling to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Ohio man charged with murder in teenage grandson’s death
OAKWOOD, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say a 73-year-old man has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of his teenage grandson in western Ohio.
The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office says William Miller II was arrested Thursday night after shooting 19-year-old Evan Holcombe in the chest. Holcombe was dead when deputies arrived.
The Sheriff’s office hasn’t said why Miller killed his grandson. They lived together in the home in Oakwood.
Miller is being held in the Paulding County Jail. It’s unclear if he has an attorney yet. A court hearing has been scheduled for Monday.
Oakwood is roughly 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Toledo.
