Police: 5 accused of theft, fraud in 2 states

GREENHILLS, Ohio (AP) — Police say five people accused of stealing more than $100,000 worth of merchandise from vendors in southwestern Ohio and northern Kentucky with an invalid credit card have been charged with theft and fraud.

Police in the Cincinnati suburb of Greenhills this month impounded three trucks filled with stolen furniture purchased with an inactivated credit card. Police say the suspects also fraudulently purchased alcohol, electronics and vehicles.

Greenhills’ police chief credited the arrests to Officer Zzachery Clark’s “good investigative instincts.” Clark followed up on a reported suspicious transaction at a furniture store. The suspects were arrested after hauling away the merchandise.

Investigators say the suspects pretended to call the card issuer when the card wasn’t accepted and an accomplice on the phone gave cashiers a code number for the transaction.

Man convicted in extortion case indicted on drug charges

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — A quadriplegic suspected of running a drug pipeline between California and Ohio has been indicted on drug charges nearly two years after a judge decided it would be too costly to imprison him in another case.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports 31-year-old Patrick Griffin was indicted Sept. 11 on suspicion of running the pipeline involving methamphetamines and heroin.

A message seeking comment was left Monday for the Akron man’s attorney.

Griffin previously avoided jail time after pleading guilty to extorting former Ohio State University football player Beanie Wells. The FBI said Griffin and an accomplice threatened Wells and his family unless they paid $175,000.

The judge in 2016 ruled that putting Griffin in prison medical care would be too costly for taxpayers and sentenced him to a year’s house arrest.