Police: Off-duty sheriff’s deputy crashes cruiser into house

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio (AP) — Authorities in suburban Columbus say an off-duty sheriff’s deputy who got into a dispute with his family before crashing a cruiser has been charged criminally.

The Columbus Dispatch reports Licking County Sheriff’s Deputy Jonathan Yaeger was charged Thursday with two counts of domestic violence and one count of disorderly conduct. He’s been placed on administrative leave.

Reynoldsburg police say they received a 911 call Wednesday afternoon about a domestic disturbance at Yaeger’s home. Police say the 39-year-old deputy drove away from his residence and crashed into a neighboring home. No one was inside the home at the time.

Yaeger was taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center for treatment.

Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp says a “mental-health issue” triggered the incident.

Court records don’t indicate whether Yaeger has an attorney.

Missing man’s body found in home that burned down last year

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A body found last week inside a house in Ohio that burned down last year has been identified as a man who was last seen the day before that fire.

WDTN-TV reports that a neighbor looking for his dog discovered the body of 41-year-old James Briscoe in the basement of the Dayton home last Friday. Briscoe was last seen alive on Dec. 22, the day before the building burned down.

Briscoe’s friend, David Hale Jr., says he worries that Briscoe’s body might have been there all winter.

Investigators are still trying to determine when and how Briscoe died. Dayton Fire Department spokesman Bryan Adams says the building was reported to be vacant, but fire crews did conduct a search until they were forced out by the flames.

Officer suspended after video shows him kick suspect

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio township has suspended a police officer after a cellphone video showed him kicking a handcuffed man lying on the ground in the head.

Franklin Township officials in suburban Columbus aren’t releasing the officer’s name while the department’s police chief investigates what’s seen on the video.

A township trustee says a bystander recorded the video after a police chase Tuesday.

Trustee Aryeh Alex says he’s shocked by the video and that the officer’s behavior is completely unacceptable.

Outside groups spend $640K in Ohio GOP congressional primary

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A Republican congressional primary in northeast Ohio pitting a conservative state lawmaker against a former pro football player is attracting big money from national groups.

Rep. Christina Hagan and Anthony Gonzalez, a former NFL wide receiver, are running for the 16th District seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci.

The Columbus Dispatch reports outside groups have invested over $640,000 into the race, most of it favoring Gonzalez.

Business-friendly groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and CLA, a dark-money group that doesn’t disclose donors, support Gonzalez. Supporting Hagan are ultra-conservative groups, including Drain the Swamp and the House Freedom Fund, a PAC linked to Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, of Urbana.

Conservative Leadership PAC, a group funded by Ferragon Corp., Gonzalez’s father’s Cleveland-based steel company, is opposing Hagan.

3 Ohio nursing home employees indicted in woman’s death

OTTAWA, Ohio (AP) — Three employees at a western Ohio nursing home where a woman wandered off and died of hypothermia in January have been charged in connection with her death.

The Lima News reports 36-year-old Rachel Friesel and 20-year-old Destini Fenbert, both of Pandora, were indicted Thursday on charges that include involuntary manslaughter, forgery and gross patient neglect in the Jan. 7 death of 76-year-old Phyllis Campbell.

Thirty-one-year-old Megan Schnipke, of Columbus Grove, has been charged with forgery and gross patient neglect.

A state investigation found that Campbell left Hilty Memorial Nursing Home in Pandora around 12:30 a.m. Jan. 7 through a courtyard door equipped with an alarm. A device she wore apparently failed to alert workers. The low temperature that night was zero degrees.

It’s unclear if the women have attorneys.