Ohio interior designer gets prison for tax evasion

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A central Ohio interior designer has been sentenced to three months in federal prison for failing to claim $600,000 in income from a project authorities say included fraudulent invoices.

The Columbus Dispatch reports a federal judge in Columbus considered 63-year Connie Christy’s cancer diagnosis when sentencing the New Albany woman Wednesday. Prosecutors sought a sentence of two years. Christy must spend four months in a halfway house after leaving prison and pay $124,000 in taxes.

Christy pleaded guilty to tax evasion last June after being indicted in 2015 on 44 counts including wire fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors have said Christy couldn’t provide receipts for the nearly $1.6 million she billed a client.

Christy has said she did nothing wrong but didn’t want to go through a trial.

Ohio State officer awarded for stopping school attack

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The police officer who fatally shot the man responsible for a car-and-knife attack at Ohio State University last year has received an award for his actions.

WBNS-TV reports OSU officer Alan Horujko has received the Steven Michael Smith Valor Award from the Ohio Tactical Officers Association. The award is named for a Columbus officer who was killed in the line of duty in 2016.

On its website, the association says the award is presented to those who “distinguish oneself or themselves through valorous actions.”

Horujko shot and killed 18-year-old Abdul Razak Ali Artan in November after he drove into a crowd outside a classroom building and attacked people with a knife. Horujko’s actions were cleared by a grand jury in May.

Thirteen people were injured in the attack.

Ohio teen killed, 3 injured in single-car accident

STRONGSVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say a 16-year-old girl has died and three others have been injured when a car carrying six teen girls left the roadway and crashed into a tree outside of Cleveland.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the teen killed as Kailee Mayher, of Strongsville. The crash occurred Wednesday night in Strongsville.

Strongsville police say the three injured girls were sitting in the backseat and were taken to hospitals. The 16-year-old driver and a 16-year-old front-seat passenger weren’t injured. Mayher died at the scene.

The crash remains under investigation.

Man shot by Ohio officer at shelter in critical condition

CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say an Ohio man shot by police at a homeless shelter remains hospitalized in critical condition.

The (Canton) Repository reports that Canton police on Wednesday identified the man as 47-year-old Kevin Jones. Police say he was shot twice in the abdomen after refusing to drop a baseball bat.

Police have yet to identify the officer, who was providing security at the shelter. A police statement says Jones made “threatening movements” toward the officer with the bat.

Jones wasn’t staying at the shelter. Witnesses say he may have been living in a nearby abandoned warehouse.

Refuge of Hope is Stark County’s lone homeless shelter for men and offers free meals to the public.

Data shows 43 overdose deaths in Ohio county over 13 days

CLEVELAND (AP) — A medical examiner’s office says drug overdoses killed at least 43 people in a northeast Ohio county since Memorial Day weekend.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office in Cleveland reports that 29 men and 14 women died in the 13-day period from May 26 to Wednesday. The statistics released Wednesday don’t say how many of the 43 overdoses were caused by opioids, such as heroin and fentanyl, or other drugs.

The 43 deaths included 20 residents of Cleveland and 23 residents of other municipalities. Statistics show the victims ranged in age from 21 to 68.

Cuyahoga County reported a record 666 drug overdose deaths in 2016, with many caused by heroin and fentanyl. Officials are projecting another spike to approximately 775 overdose deaths in 2017.

Authorities look for Ohio man accused of trafficking teens

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Authorities are asking for the public’s help in finding an Ohio man indicted on charges of trafficking two teenage girls for sex.

A statement from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office says Michaiah Price was indicted last month by a Franklin County grand jury in Columbus on charges that include trafficking in persons and compelling prostitution.

The Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force is looking for the 26-year-old Reynoldsburg man accused of trafficking a Toledo-area teen and a Columbus teen.

Task force investigators found that Price allegedly advertised the teens for sex on the Internet and then trafficked the 15-year-old and 17-year-old girls out of central Ohio hotels between October 22 and December 6, 2016. Both were rescued.

Anyone with information about Price’s whereabouts is urged to contact law enforcement.