Ohio teacher accused of letting teens used LSD at her home
SPRINGBORO, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio elementary school teacher faces criminal charges over allegations she allowed teenagers to buy and use the psychedelic drug LSD in her home.
Forty-year-old Amy Panzeca, of Springboro, entered not guilty pleas Tuesday in a Warren County courtroom in southwest Ohio after being indicted on charges of permitting drug abuse, endangering children and permitting drug abuse. She was freed on bond.
Prosecutors say Panzeca’s son sold LSD to at least high school 20 students. He is being held in a juvenile detention center on felony drug charges. A drug task found LSD and marijuana during a search of the family’s home in May.
Panzeca teaches fifth grade. The Springboro school district has placed her on paid leave.
Panzeca’s attorney couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Teen electrocuted while climbing transmission tower
AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Investigators say an Ohio teenager was electrocuted and fell about 30 feet to the ground after climbing a transmission tower supporting high-voltage power lines.
A coroner identified the victim Tuesday as 17-year-old Antonio Jarrod Victor Simon, of Streetsboro. Police say he died Monday at a park in Akron.
A spokesman for FirstEnergy Corp. called the teen’s death “tragic” and said the company has routinely advised people to stay away from dangerous equipment.
The Akron Beacon Journal reports that the power lines carry about 23,000 volts of electricity.
Police: Woman stole money meant for crash victims’ families
AKRON, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio woman who raised money to support the families of two teenagers who were killed and another who was hurt in a car crash has been charged with stealing donated funds.
Police say 40-year-old Melissa Szentes, of Akron, was arrested Monday and charged with theft.
Investigators say she set up a benefit after two 14-year-old girls were killed and a 15-year-old boy was injured May 28 while walking along a road in Coventry Township.
Police say 24-year-old Natasha Boggs drifted across a white line known as the “fog line” and struck the teens. She pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and texting while driving.
Taylor Galloway, of Akron, and Amber Thoma, of Coventry Township, were killed.
WEWS-TV reports that Szentes declined to comment on the charges.
Police: Car-bus crash kills car’s driver, injures bus driver
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say a bus and a car crashed head-on, killing the car’s driver and injuring the driver of the transit authority bus in northwest Ohio.
Toledo police say the car went across the center line and into the path of a Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority bus around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Lucas County coroner’s investigator Steve Kahle says the car’s driver, 55-year-old Beverly Barrett, was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead. Authorities say the bus driver received minor injuries.
Police said there were only two passengers on the bus at the time, and they did not appear injured.
Authorities say the crash remains under investigation.
Teen’s trial set in death of her baby found buried near home
LEBANON, Ohio (AP) — An 18-year-old Ohio woman charged in the death of her newborn infant found buried outside her home is scheduled for trial starting Nov. 6.
A Warren County judge set the date Tuesday for Brooke Skylar Richardson and continued barring attorneys and others involved from commenting publicly outside of court. The judge has said the gag order is intended to help ensure a fair trial.
Richardson has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and other charges in the May death of the infant. The remains were found July 14 in Carlisle, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Cincinnati.
A prosecutor alleges that Richardson “purposely caused” the death, then burned and buried the baby.
Richardson’s attorney previously said she “didn’t kill her baby.”
