The Medina County Sheriff’s Office will be getting an additional deputy next year to work on the county’s Drug Task Force.

County Commissioners agreed Monday morning during a 2016 budget meeting to authorize $53,435 for the sheriff to fund a deputy’s salary for next year.

Adam Friedrick

“You hear about all the things going on with heroin and the drug epidemic; we wanted to do more, and hopefully this will help with that,” Commissioner Adam Friedrick said. “We had to find some money to do something.”

Sheriff Tom Miller said the task force does not have a sheriff’s deputy working on it because county-paid deputies cannot be compensated through the task force, which is funded by the county Drug Abuse Commission. Officers from other jurisdictions who work on the task force can be paid with task force funds, he said.

“That’s why the request was done in the way that I did it,” Miller said. “The truth is I’ve never seen anything like what heroin is doing in this community and this might be an opportunity to add a person to the task force to try to make a difference with that.”

While the budget is not yet finalized, county Finance Director Beverly Valentine said commissioners also agreed to give the sheriff’s office an additional $6,000 for computers and a special chair to accommodate 24-hour dispatch officers. The expenditure for the chair is $1,500.

The budget meeting had been scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday, but commissioners changed the time to 9 a.m.

Valentine said commissioners are attempting to finalize the 2016 budget and approve it by Dec. 29, so they won’t have to come up with a temporary budget for January before approving a final budget for the year. They hope to pass a resolution during their 9:30 a.m. meeting Dec. 29.

A Medina man who was stabbed in the chest this weekend, allegedly by his 61-year-old wife, was in critical condition Monday in the intensive care unit at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, police said.

David Gerspacher, 67, was stabbed once in the chest Sunday after an argument with his wife, Diana, at the couple’s single-family home on Beechwood Drive in Medina, Medina police Sgt. Brett McNabb said.

Diana Gerspacher is being held at the Medina County Jail on a charge of felonious assault, McNabb said.

Her bond is $100,000, set Monday in Medina Municipal Court.

Police responded at 5:45 p.m. Sunday and David Gerspacher was flown by helicopter to MetroHealth, McNabb said. No one else was in the house at the time of the incident.

McNabb said police seized two items from the home. He said he could not release any details on the weapon or weapons.

“It’s still under investigation,” he said. “We still want to speak to him.”

He said police have interviewed both parties, but “we want to go a little more in-depth.”

Granger Township trustees have dismissed two firefighters and suspended another.

During their meeting last week, trustees suspended Ray Allen and terminated the employment of Jackie Poremba and James Williams. The three were disciplined for unrelated reasons, Trustee Richard Pace said Tuesday.

“There’s no big incident,” he said.

The Granger Township Fire Department is a volunteer unit, meaning firefighters are paid for their service but not on a full-time basis, Pace said.

According to the draft of meeting notes, Allen tore up a co-worker’s time card in early October. When Capt. Kevin Hylbert asked him about the incident, he lied, but later admitted he destroyed the time card because he was angry, the notes said.

During a 25-minute executive session, trustees determined he broke two of the department’s written rules and voted to suspend Allen for 15 days, from Jan. 1 to 15.

Poremba was not showing up to emergency calls and absent from weekly training sessions, according to the notes.

“She simply wasn’t showing up to anything,” Pace said. “We thank her for her past service but she obviously has other things she wants to do now.”

The department requires members to attend 15 hours of training each year, which Poremba did not meet.

Without training, “you have to kind of wonder if they’re prepared for what they’re going to face,” Pace said.

Poremba was not present for the executive session hearing and trustees agreed to terminate her position after an eight-minute discussion.

Williams was called to the meeting because he told Fire Chief James Paulett in July 2014 that he injured his knee and wouldn’t be able to perform his duties. According to the meeting notes, the department warned him twice, in October 2014 and March this year that he needed to get a department-paid physical in order to return to work. This month, he still hadn’t gotten a physical, setting him over the one-year, leave-of-absence limit.

“That’s just too long,” Pace said. “Those are decisions made by him.”

Trustees voted to fire Williams after a 12-minute executive session hearing.

Pace said the firings free up space in the department of about 30 members for new volunteers. He said despite the department’s volunteer status, it is restricted by equipment and management limitations.

“You can only have so many personnel to manage,” he said.

He said the department is in the process of adding personnel to replace Poremba and Williams, both longtime members.

“We’re always looking for people to join,” Trustee John Ginley Jr. said.

Ginley said the last time someone was let go from the department was less than five years ago and maybe as recently as 1ﾽ years ago.

Pace said trustees don’t terminate the employment of volunteers often, but members come and go often.

Ginley said if Poremba’s or Williams’ schedules open up again, they are free to reapply.

“We don’t want to burn any bridges,” he said.

A Montville Township breeder of Persian cats is set to appear in court Monday after a witness alleged he saw her abandon three cats in a Brunswick parking lot, according to police.

Trixxe McCowin, 41, of the 3300 block of Country Club Drive, was charged with criminal trespass and abandoning animal charges last month.

According to a police report, a witness said he saw a woman in a yellow Hummer with “blinged out” chrome wheels stop her car Nov. 13 in a restaurant parking lot on Town Center Boulevard in Brunswick. He said the woman took a small animal kennel out of the car, placed it on the ground and drove away.

Police found three cats inside. They were turned over to the Medina County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Humane Officer Kate Marshall told police the cats are a rare breed — blue Persians.

All three cats were described as having issues ranging from upper respiratory problems to dirty and matted fur, according to the report. One cat needed its eye removed due to an infection, she said.

Another one was euthanized, Brunswick Animal Control Officer Mike Kellum said.

Marshall told police the cats were about 7 months old and would be transferred to a foster home.

Several Montville police officers identified McCowin as a suspect, with her vehicle matching the description. McCowin operates an online cat-breeding business, Pure Royalty Persians, out of her home. On the business’s website, she advertises five different types of Persian kittens for sale.

McCowin was questioned by a Brunswick police officer Nov. 23. She told police she cares for all of her cats and her attorney advised her to not respond to any calls or social media posts about the incident.

McCowin did not respond to a telephone call from The Gazette.

McCowin appeared Dec. 15 in Brunswick Mayor’s Court where she pleaded not guilty. Her next court date is in Medina Municipal Court at 8:30 a.m. Monday.

In 2011, the state filed for a sales tax lien against McCowin, then Trixxe Conn-Kirtley. She also was fined for disorderly conduct in 2009. In 2013, she was fined and placed on probation following an arrest on charges of theft and criminal trespass, according to court records.

Kellum said, aside from during the Great Recession, he rarely sees animal abandonment cases in Brunswick. However, this year the city has experienced a spike with three or four cases in the past 12 months.

He added the animal control department offers assistance to people who want to relinquish their pets and connects owners with adoption agencies.

“If you have trouble keeping your pets, contact us,” he said.

Two police officers rescued a dog from a house fire Sunday afternoon in Wadsworth.

The fire started about 12:30 p.m. Sunday at 162 Highland Ave. from a possible explosion, according to communication between a dispatcher and emergency responders.

Wadsworth police officers Dan Chafin and Joe Rose arrived at the house first and rescued a dog, police said.

Police said the residents were not at home at the time of the fire.

Neighbors across the street said heavy smoke could be seen coming from the chimney and flames were visible in the basement windows. They said the family had just left for Christmas vacation.

Wadsworth Assistant Fire Chief Robert Lindner said he was uncertain what caused the fire and didn’t have a damage estimate.

According to the Medina County auditor’s website, the two-story house, built in 1908 and valued at $93,170, is owned by James and Elizabeth Jedinak.

A 67-year-old Medina man who was stabbed in the chest on Dec. 20 has been released from MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, a hospital spokeswoman said.

David Gerspacher, of the 800 block of Beechwood Drive, allegedly was stabbed by his 61-year-old wife, Diana Gerspacher, police have said.

She has been charged with felonious assault and remains at the Medina County Jail.

Diana Gerspacher’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11:20 a.m. Wednesday in Medina Municipal Court. She is being held on $100,000 bond.

CLEVELAND — Officials are urging calm as they brace for expected protests after a grand jury voted not to indict a white Cleveland police officer for fatally shooting a 12-year-old black boy who was carrying what turned out to be a pellet gun.

Small groups of protesters gathered Monday outside the Cuyahoga County Justice Center and at the recreation center where Tamir Rice was shot by then-rookie patrolman Timothy Loehmann in November 2014. The size of those protests likely was reduced by a cold and steady rain that fell throughout the day.

County Prosecutor Tim McGinty announced that Loehmann and his field training officer wouldn’t be indicted because of “indisputable” evidence that Tamir was reaching for what officers thought was a real gun tucked in his waistband, and urged those who disagreed with the grand jury to protest peacefully.

“It is time for the community and all of us to start to heal,” McGinty said.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson made a similar plea, as did Tamir’s family. Attorneys for the family condemned the grand jury’s decision but called on people to express themselves “peacefully and democratically.” Deputies set up metal barricades outside the Justice Center after McGinty’s news conference on Monday afternoon.

Outside the recreation center, protesters chanted, “No justice, no peace!”

Cleveland resident Art Blakey held a sign that read, “Indict, Convict, Send Killer Cops to Jail!” He said he wasn’t surprised by the grand jury decision.

“There never has been any justice in these police murders,” he said. “We’re supposed to swallow these things whole as if this is business as usual.”

Activists have said they’re planning a protest outside the Justice Center on Tuesday afternoon.

The grand jury had been meeting several times a week since mid-October to hear evidence and testimony about the shooting. McGinty said he recommended to the grand jury that Loehmann and patrolman Frank Garmback not be indicted because they had no way of knowing that Tamir was carrying an Airsoft-type gun that shoots nonlethal plastic pellets instead of the actual firearm it’s modeled after, a Colt semi-automatic pistol.

A man called 911 that November afternoon to report that a “guy” was pulling a gun out of his pants and was pointing it at people. He also told the dispatcher that it might be a juvenile and the gun might not be real. But the 911 call taker didn’t relay that information to the dispatcher who gave the officers their high-priority radio assignment for what is known in police parlance as a “gun run.”

“Simply put, given this perfect storm of human error, mistakes and miscommunications by all involved that day, the evidence did not indicate criminal conduct by police,” McGinty said.

There was no immediate comment from Loehmann after the decision was announced. An attorney for Garmback issued a statement that said the officers “acted within the bounds of the law.”

Steve Loomis, president of Cleveland’s largest police union, said the organization was pleased with the grand jury’s finding but added the decision “is no cause for celebration, and there will be none.”

In a statement, Tamir’s family said it was “saddened and disappointed by this outcome — but not surprised.” It accused the prosecutor of “abusing and manipulating the grand jury process to orchestrate a vote against indictment.”

A video of the shooting recorded by a surveillance camera and released publicly in the days following Tamir’s death sparked outrage and helped fuel the national Black Lives Matter protest movement that gathered momentum after black men were killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City. Officers in both of those killings were cleared of criminal charges by grand juries.

The surveillance video shows Loehmann shooting Tamir less than two seconds after he emerged from a police cruiser driven by Garmback that skidded to a stop just a few feet from the boy.

Loehmann and Garmback’s legal issues haven’t ended with the grand jury decision. Jackson said the city will begin an internal review to determine whether the officers should be disciplined for their roles in the killing. The officers and the city are being sued by Tamir’s family in federal court, and a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in Cleveland said Monday that there’s an ongoing civil rights investigation concerning Tamir’s death.

The Ohio Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating an early Monday morning fire that killed a Granger Township woman, township Fire Chief Jim Paulett said Wednesday.

ELIZABETH DOBBINS / GAZETTE
Yellow caution tape surrounds a Granger Township condo and a bush partially covers a broken upstairs window.

Janet Watson, 62, died after fire broke out in her condominium unit at 171 Granger Road, Paulett said.

The chief said the investigation into the fire will take several weeks, but officials suspect the fire was accidental.

The Granger Township Fire Department received a call about the fire at 12:09 a.m. Monday from neighbors in an adjoining unit, Paulett said.

He said the neighbors’ carbon monoxide alarm sounded, but they didn’t realize Watson’s unit was on fire until they exited their condo and saw smoke coming from the window.

“This had been going on for a while before anyone was notified,” Paulett said.

The Granger department arrived at 12:27 a.m. shortly after the Bath Township Fire Department, which automatically was notified. The Sharon Township Fire Department also responded.

Watson was still inside the building when firefighters arrived, Paulett said.

Bath firefighters made the initial entry into the building, with the Granger department acting as support.

Paulett said Watson died at the scene.

Her body was transported to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s office for further investigation, fire officials said, and Watson’s family was notified late Monday afternoon.

The condo, where Watson lived alone, was valued at $150,000, according to the Medina County auditor’s website.

The Medina County Sheriff’s Office barked up the right tree in October after making a call for donations to replace an aging police dog.

ELIZABETH DOBBINS/GAZETTE
Deputy Dave King and Sheriff Tom Miller accept a check on behalf of the Medina County Sheriff’s Office from Lake Erie Labrador Retriever Club co-president Judy Segedi and treasurer Peggy Drysdale.

The office has made a $12,400 deposit on two new police dogs after raising close to $25,000. The purchase exceeds the office’s initial goal of obtaining one new dog.

“I originally said if we raised enough money, we could get two dogs,” Sheriff Tom Miller said.

The purchase will allow the department’s current dog, 10-year-old Hero, to retire once the new dogs arrive.

“My boys can’t wait for him to be home all the time,” said Hero’s handler Deputy Dave King.

Miller said the department plans to buy two young German shepherds — one that is 14 months old and the other 18 months old — from Excel K-9 Services based in Hiram in Portage County.

Each dog costs $12,400 — or $24,800 total. The cost of equipping a second car with a kennel is about $4,000, bringing the total cost to $28,800. So far, the department has raised $24,685.

King said Hero’s veterinarian fees are paid by donations and Medina County-based company Bil-Jac donates food. These donations also will cover the two new dogs after Hero’s retirement, King said.

The dogs are expected to start their service in about 14 weeks, after six to eight more weeks of individual training and another six weeks of training with two deputies.

The dogs, which were brought from Slovakia by Excel K-9 Services, are trained in the Czech language for tracking and narcotics detection. According to Excel K-9 Services’ website, the business — run by former police Sgt. Paul Shaughnessy — has sold dogs to many Ohio law enforcement agencies, including the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office and the Cleveland Police Department.

King said he chose Excel K-9 Services because, unlike other agencies he looked into, it offered two-year health and workability insurance for the dogs. Workability insurance guarantees the dogs won’t lose their “drive” and stop working — an occasional police dog issue, King said.

Miller said the donations for the new dogs have continued to roll in even after Community Assessment and Treatment Services Inc. donated $2,000 in early December. That amount was the remaining money needed to obtain one police dog. On Dec. 23, Domino’s Pizza held a second fundraiser for the sheriff’s office, raising about $450. Last week, two members of the Lake Erie Labrador Retriever Club presented a check for $700 to the department. The check represents half the proceeds from the club’s annual dinner and auction.

“I think this would be a worthy cause to donate half the proceeds to,” co-president Judy Segedi said.

Miller said the department plans to continue fundraising to cover the cost of a kennel and maybe a third dog for the county jail. Miller said the third dog could be used for inspections and to help find contraband in the jail.

King said in 2007 or 2008, the office had three police dogs — the most at one time in recent memory.

King said the police dogs are important for tracking missing people and battling Medina County’s heroin
epidemic.

“One of the big reasons is the heroin problem in the county,” he said. “We’re having a lot of overdoses, a lot of people dying.”

Checks may be sent to the Medina County Sheriff’s Office at 555 Independence Drive, Medina.

A 21-year-old Westfield Township man pleaded guilty Monday to four felony charges related to an October 2014 crash that killed a 21-year-old woman and injured three others.

KATIE ANDERSON / GAZETTE
Noah Silcox, of Westfield Township, is handcuffed by a Medina County Sheriff’s Deputy Monday morning after he plead guilty to four felony charges related to an October 2014 crash that killed a 21-year-old.

Noah Silcox, of the 8800 block of Westfield Road, will wait in the Medina County Jail until his sentencing set for 9 a.m. next Monday before Common Pleas Judge Christopher J. Collier.

The Medina post of the Ohio Highway Patrol said Silcox on Oct. 17, 2014, was attempting to pass another vehicle on U.S. Route 42 in Lafayette Township when he struck a vehicle head-on before colliding with a vehicle driven by Teresa Green, then 40 of Medina. Green’s passenger, her 21-year-old daughter, Tara Green, of Burbank, was killed.

Teresa Green, who was in court Monday with four other family members, suffered a broken back, leg and ribs in the crash.

The vehicle Silcox hit head-on was driven by Jordan Howell, then 23. Howell and his father, John Howell, then 59, of Lodi, were both injured in the crash.

Silcox pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular assault, second- and third-degree felonies punishable by up to eight and five years in prison. He faces a lifelong suspension of his driver’s license.

Silcox had a suspended driver’s license at the time of the crash as a result of an April 2014 conviction on a charge of drug abuse, according to Medina Municipal Court records.

Silcox is being sued for damages by both the Howell and Green families in Common Pleas Court.

In the Howell lawsuit, Silcox is accused of harming both Howell men, as well as causing emotional suffering to John Howell’s wife, Toni Howell. The Howells also accuse Silcox’s mother, Heidi Silcox, of negligence in entrusting her vehicle to her son, who did not have a driver’s license.

Similar accusations were made in the Green lawsuit, where a settlement was reached last month with details not available Monday. The Howell lawsuit has not been settled but is set for a second mediation at 10 a.m. Jan. 22.

The old Medina County Fair Board building on West Smith Road in Medina has a new purpose — a training facility for Medina police.

The Medina County Fair Board office will be used for police training. GAZETTE FILE

Medina County commissioners agreed Tuesday morning to allow the building at
710 W. Smith Road to be used for a week by Medina police.

“One of our young officers that does the firearms training, Jim Tighe, checked out the building and asked about it Sunday,” Police Chief Patrick Berarducci said.

The facility would be used by about 40 officers throughout the week for “simunitions training.”

“It’s paintball adapted for police training,” Berarducci said.

During the training, officers will use small paint projectiles in the bullet rounds that can be used in the officers’ own guns. For a week, they’ll be able to train for active shooter or other types of dangerous scenarios.

“It gives us the ability to use our regular weapons and holsters and everything else,” Berarducci said.

“And it gives them the ability to react under stress. It gets pretty life-like.”

Berarducci said the department does not yet have a week set for the training, but hopes to complete the program by February.

County officials are planning to tear down the building eventually. The fair board built a new building next door last year.

The trial for a Medina man accused of leaving his 20-month-old daughter’s dead body in a crib has been postponed.

Eric Warfel

Eric Warfel, 34, was arrested Wednesday, July 29, after an Armstrong Cable technician, who was installing upgrades in all of the apartments where Warfel had been residing, found the decomposed body of Ember Warfel and called police.

A pretrial hearing is set for Thursday in Medina County Common Pleas Court when a new trial date is expected to be scheduled.

Eric Warfel was arrested in Crocker Park in Westlake with help from Fairview Park and Westlake police in a daylong investigation. He was with his daughter, Elizabeth, who was age 7 at the time.

Elizabeth Warfel was released after questioning to the custody of her grandparents.

Eric Warfel was charged with gross abuse of a corpse, evidence tampering, three counts of child endangering and two counts of possession of cocaine.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges by reason of insanity but was found competent to stand trial.

Ember Warfel

Medina County Prosecutor Dean Holman asked that Warfel’s trial, scheduled for Jan. 19, be postponed, since the autopsy of the girl has not yet been completed, “due to the advanced state of decomposition of her body when she was found.”

“The state is unable to make a final charging decision regarding the defendant’s course of conduct in this case without the autopsy,” Holman’s motion reads.

Medina County Coroner Neil Grabenstetter told The Gazette on Thursday that the final autopsy report has taken “an unusually long period.”

He said the state of decomposition of the body has required “more sophisticated tests.”

The Medina County Drug Task Force made two arrests Wednesday afternoon after raiding a Medina apartment that had an alleged methamphetamine lab.

PHOTO PROVIDED
Medina County Drug Task Force agents disassemble a meth lab that was discovered at Liberty Plaza Apartments on Abbeyville Road.

Agents said there was a 2-year-old child in the apartment when they arrived.

“The thought of a 2-year-old child being subjected to extensive exposure to these types of hazards is unconscionable,” drug task force director Gary Hubbard said.

Caseworkers from Medina County Job & Family Services were notified about the situation involving the 2-year-old, who was placed in emergency custody.

Erica Grabowski

The child’s mother, Erica Grabowski, 32, was charged with illegal assembly of chemicals at Liberty Plaza Apartments, 253 Abbeyville Road, Medina. Agents said the charge was enhanced to a second-degree felony because her child was present during the incident. Grabowski was taken to Medina County Jail pending arraignment.

The task force said apartment resident Jerry Canfield, 36, wasn’t at the apartment during the raid and later was arrested by Lorain County sheriff’s deputies. Canfield was arrested on charges of possession of meth and illegal manufacturing of drugs. The manufacturing charge against Canfield was enhanced to a first-degree felony because of the child being present.

Jerry Canfield

Hubbard said there were two Medina police officers on the scene, “six or seven” drug task force agents, as well as firefighters from the Medina Fire Department.

“These things are really involved,” Hubbard said. “You have to be mindful of what you’re doing. You have to make sure you do it properly. There is a huge risk of a fire.”

Medina police and task force agents converged on the apartment Wednesday afternoon after they received a report of a meth lab in operation and were granted consent to search the apartment. The task force did not identify who consented to the search.

They discovered what agents called an active “one-pot, meth lab reactionary vessel.” They evacuated the area, and task force agents were called. Firefighters from the Medina Fire Department were called to assist.

Megan Thacker, manager of Liberty Plaza, said agents got the apartment in working order.

“They’ve already cleaned up that unit,” Thacker said. “It’s been deemed not hazardous.”

Hubbard said many of the agents wore hazardous material suits.

“Prior to leaving the scene of this type of operation, agents ensure that the air quality is safe for nearby residents and that no fire hazard exists,” Hubbard said. “This type of situation is extremely hazardous to all involved.

“The potential for explosion and fire is tremendous. Toxic fumes from clandestine labs carry the potential for prolonged or even life-threatening health concerns.”

KATIE ANDERSON / GAZETTE Noah Silcox, right, of Westfield Township, sits next to his attorney Kristopher Aupperle on Monday morning in Medina County Common Pleas Court, where Silcox was sentenced to four years in prison for felony charges related to an October 2014 crash that killed a 21-year-old.

A 21-year-old Westfield Township man was sentenced to prison Monday for killing a 21-year-old woman and injuring three others in an October 2014 vehicle crash.

Noah Silcox, of the 8800 block of Westfield Road, was sentenced by Medina County Common Pleas Judge Christopher J. Collier to four years in prison with a lifetime suspension of his driver’s license.

According to the Medina post of the Ohio Highway Patrol, Silcox was attempting to pass another vehicle on U.S. Route 42 in Lafayette Township on Oct. 17, 2014, when he struck a vehicle head-on before colliding with a vehicle driven by Teresa Green, then 40, of Medina. Green’s passenger, her 21-year-old daughter, Tara Green, of Burbank, was killed.

Teresa Green suffered a broken back, leg and ribs in the crash.

The vehicle Silcox hit head-on was driven by Jordan Howell, then 23. Howell and his father, John Howell, then 59, of Lodi, both were injured in the crash.

“I should have never gotten behind the wheel that day,” Silcox said in court Monday. “I apologize to the Green family for the injuries and loss of life that I caused them.

“I also apologize to my family for causing them pain and dragging them into this.”

Noah Silcox

Silcox had a suspended driver’s license at the time of the crash as a result of an April 2014 conviction on a charge of drug abuse, according to Medina Municipal Court records.

“I talked to the family and the parents twice and they approved this,” county Prosecutor Dean Holman said. “The sentence is as long as others handed out in traffic fatality cases.

“Nothing is going to bring Tara Green back. This is a tragic situation and a grievous loss.”

Teresa and Bill Green, Tara’s parents, were in court Monday with about 20 family members and friends who all wore matching blue shirts in honor of Tara.

The Greens’ pastor, Floyd Costello, of West Salem United Methodist Church, read Teresa’s statement during the sentencing. In the statement, Teresa mentioned how she was not able to attend her daughter’s funeral because of her own injuries.

“Part of our hearts died that day,” her statement said. “No parent should ever have to bury their child before them. Tara will be missed.”

Costello continued reading about Tara, who graduated from Cloverleaf High School with honors and was studying to be a veterinarian.

“I’m so sorry,” Collier told the family. “This doesn’t make anything right.”

The Medina County Sheriff’s Office started the new year by cracking down on drugs at the jail.

KATIE ANDERSON/ GAZETTE
The Medina County Sheriff’s Office installed a new full-body scanner two weeks ago to prevent inmates from smuggling drugs and other contraband into the Medina County Jail. They hope to have it up and running by next week.

The department installed a new full-body scanner two weeks ago to prevent inmates from smuggling drugs and other contraband into the Medina County Jail.

Sheriff’s Lt. Dean Lesak, who serves as the jail administrator, said he had been researching the scanner for about a year because he was looking for additional ways to combat the heroin epidemic.

“We need to do everything we can,” he said. “The days of ‘lock them up and throw away the key’ are over. We have to try to break the recidivism.”

About 20 people who work at the jail were trained to use the scanner, which is similar to full-body scanners at airports, Lesak said.

“It would be like an X-ray, but it doesn’t rise to the level of an X-ray,” he said.

He said use of the scanner takes about five to eight seconds and emits “minute radiation.”

“You would need to go through this scanner 400 times to reach the same amount of radiation that you would be exposed to in a single chest X-ray,” Lesak said.

Lesak said he hopes to be able to use the scanner on inmates beginning next week. Before people are integrated into the jail, they will go through the scanner to determine if they are hiding drugs or paraphernalia in body cavities.

In 2015, there were four cases of people trying to smuggle drugs into the jail, Lesak said.

“Those are just the ones we’ve caught,” he said. “There were probably more and we just didn’t have a way of searching for it.”

The scanner cost about $188,000, which was paid for through a “jail donations account,” and didn’t cost taxpayers anything, Lesak said. Payments for the scanner will be made for five years. The county’s Adult Probation Department also chipped in $70,000, obtained through a grant.

Lesak said the sheriff’s office also has begun drug testing everyone who is jailed.

The Medina County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Board offered to fund the testing for the next two years. At $6 per test, Lesak estimated it would cost them between $42,000 and $44,000 for the two years.

He said drug testing was not mandatory previously because the department couldn’t fund it, but it wants to start testing new inmates to determine whether a detoxification program is needed.

“Unfortunately, not everyone who comes through tells us the truth about the drugs they’re taking,” Lesak said. “We’re not doing this to rack up the charges against people. You won’t be charged criminally if you’re testing positive.”

The program will test for nine different drugs including opiates, heroin and cocaine.

Lesak said the department wants to prevent overdoses from happening at the jail. So far, it’s been successful, he said.

Lesak said one man who was booked this month and had a positive drug test afterward admitted to an officer that, just before his arrival to the jail, he swallowed half of a gram of heroin.

“We were able to get him to the hospital to monitor him,” Lesak said. “So, with that situation, the testing might have already prevented an overdose.”

Spencer Township residents Jim and Debbie Young, whose daughter was shot and killed Thursday in Orrville, have been granted custody of their grand­children, according to court records.

Emily Young

Medina County Domestic Relations Court records show the Youngs’ request for custody of their three granddaughters was approved last week and the children were placed with their grandparents Friday afternoon.

The couple’s daughter, Emily A. Young, was shot multiple times at close range by her husband, LaReece KeSean “Wally” Woods, Orrville police said.

A service for Young will be at 1 p.m. today at Spencer United Methodist Church, 201 E. Main St., Spencer.

She is survived by her daughters, 2-year-old Adrianna and 6-month-old twins Helaina and Delainee.

The twins were in the backseat of the 2013 Kia sports utility vehicle when their mother was killed. They all had been living with Young’s family in Spencer Township at the time of her death.

Wally Woods

Orrville police say Woods, 22, confessed to shooting his wife, a 2009 Black River High School graduate who also attended the Medina County Career Center.

Woods, of the 200 block of N. Vine St., Orrville, remains at the Wayne County Jail on $1 million bond. He is charged with aggravated murder, murder, voluntary manslaughter, violating a protection order and domestic violence.

Young, 24, had a protection order against Woods approved Oct. 27. Court documents show her husband was ordered not to come within 500 feet of Young, her children or her family for five years. He also lost visitation rights with the children.

The protection order came after several incidents between the couple, according to domestic relations court records obtained by The Gazette:

•  Young accused her husband of slashing her vehicle’s tires and pushing her down, which led to a domestic violence charge through the Medina County Sheriff’s Office on Sept. 15.
•  Woods reportedly broke a window at an apartment where Young was living, which led to a criminal damaging charge and a criminal trespassing charge by Medina police on Oct. 24. Woods pleaded no contest. Woods is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. Feb. 10 on the domestic violence and criminal damaging charges in Medina Municipal Court.
•  Young filed for a protection order three days later, on Oct. 27.
•  Nearly a month later, on Nov. 20, Young went back to court and alleged that Woods had violated the protection order. She said in court documents that he called her and accused her of multiple acts of misconduct. She alleged he also created a fake Facebook account and accused her of having HIV.

CLIFF PINCKARD/PLAIN DEALER VIA AP
Authorities respond after a deadly house explosion Monday in Northfield Center Township in Summit County.

NORTHFIELD — Investigators say an Ohio house fire and explosion that killed a family of four was arson.

The state fire marshal’s office said Wednesday that investigators have determined what caused the fire in Northfield Center Township, but they aren’t releasing details while the investigation is underway.

Authorities say Jeffrey and Cynthia Mather were killed, along with their 8- and 12-year-old daughters. Neighbors say Monday night’s explosion shook homes throughout their development.

Dominion East Ohio Gas says testing confirmed there was no natural gas leak from its lines at the home, about 15 miles southeast of Cleveland.

The fire marshal’s office says it is working on the investigation with the Summit County sheriff’s office and a local fire department.

The post Fire marshal: Summit County house explosion was arson appeared first on Chronicle-Telegram.

Police announced Wednesday they could not find forensic evidence to confirm a report of a sexual assault said to have occurred in Medina Township last month.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification examined a sexual assault kit collected after the Dec. 3 report, but did not find any evidence of a sexual assault, a statement from the township police department said.

Police responded to a report of a sexual assault at 5:45 p.m. Dec. 3 on Hamilton Road in the township.

A 26-year-old woman, who reported the assault, was transported to Medina Hospital for immediate medical attention and later transferred to Fairview Hospital for a forensic examination by a trained sexual assault nurse examiner, police said.

The kit was sent to BCI at its facility in Richfield the next day for examination.

The 26-year-old described three men — one white between 35 and 40 years old and two younger men. She said the older man was about 5-foot-11 and drove a white pickup.

The police department shared a composite sketch of one of the men through Facebook and local media, receiving multiple leads.

“We’ve got all sorts of suspects, but right now I’m not sure if there was a crime,” township Police Chief David Arbogast said.

The woman who reported the assault or the suspects possibly involved still could face charges, a police news release said.

“I’m trying to leave it open. I’m not sure where it’s going to go from here,” Arbogast said.

A Medina County corrections officer was arraigned Thursday following an investigation into the officer’s sick leave requests, according to Captain Kenneth Baca.

ELIZABETH DOBBINS/GAZETTE
David Ihrig pleads not guilty with his lawyer David Sheldon in Medina County Common Pleas Court.

David Ihrig, 43, of the 5000 block of Brompton Drive, pleaded not guilty to 10 fifth-degree counts of forgery; 10 third-degree counts of tampering with records; and one third-degree count of theft in office for a value more than $7,500.

An indictment filed Dec. 30 stated Ihrig forged doctor’s notes from two Akron Children’s Hospital doctors.

“It deals with fraudulent paperwork that was filed for the use of sick leave,” Baca said.

He said the charges come after an investigation into Ihrig’s sick leave, which was conducted during late fall last year.

Visiting prosecutor, Omar Siddiq, a Richland County assistant prosecutor, said the charges were related to incidents occurring over a year and a half, from January 2014 to August 2015.

According to Baca, the Medina County Sheriff’s Office is in the process of firing Ihrig.

At the arraignment, Ihrig’s attorney, David Sheldon, described Ihrig as a 14-year veteran at the Medina County Sheriff’s Office and the father of two children — a 10-year-old and a 3-year-old. The older child has developmental disabilities, he said.

“David (Ihrig) adamantly denies any wrongdoing,” Sheldon said. “I’m going to present a vigorous defense for him.”

Ihrig received a signature bond, meaning he agreed to return to his next court date without posting any money for bail.

“We do believe the defendant will appear and is not a flight risk,” Siddiq said at the arraignment.

Ihrig’s pretrial is set for 8:30 a.m. March 8 with a jury trial scheduled to begin  9 a.m. March 15.

A Brunswick man who police said barricaded himself in his house and threatened suicide was sentenced to six months in the Medina County Jail on Thursday.

Luke Pfeiler

Luke Pfeiler, 24, of the 3300 block of Valley Forge Drive, pleaded no contest and was found guilty on charges of resisting arrest, inducing panic and domestic violence last month.

Medina County Common Pleas Judge Joyce V. Kimbler sentenced Pfeiler to 180 days in jail with 101 days time served.

Kimbler said he would be assessed for the Community Based Correctional Facility — a location with a variety of rehabilitation services which accepts low-level inmates. Kimbler said he will be assessed for a program focusing on mental health as well.

Pfeiler was also sentenced to three years of intensive supervision by the Medina County probation department and classes, including anger management.

The sentencing comes almost 10 months after the March 21 police stand-off, where Pfeiler barricaded himself in his home with a knife and threatened to kill himself using prescription pills. Police shot him with nonlethal “beanbag” bullets and a stun gun, which induced a seizure, according to reports.

In court, Pfeiler’s attorney Ronald Spears said the judiciary process was delayed partly because Pfeiler was in a coma for several months following a suicide attempt.

Spears described Pfeiler as musically talented, but struggling with mental health issues. He asked Kimbler to sentence his client to service, not further jail time.

Assistant County Prosecutor Matthew Razavi asked the judge to consider Pfeiler’s mental health issues and actions, which he said endangered others.

Pfieler was released from prison two weeks before the March incident on charges that he tried to “commit suicide by cop” by leading police on a high-speed chase in Montville Township.