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Alleged marijuana grower Justin Baker, who authorities said was part of the supply chain that distributed the drug to high school students in Mason and Kings districts, will be set free after his conviction was overturned on June 10, 2013. / Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction

Sheila McLaughlin reports:

A Warren County man who was part of the supply chain for marijuana sales at Mason and Kings high schools will be freed from prison after the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals threw out his conviction.

Justin Baker, who was serving a mandatory 8-year sentence, was accused of growing marijuana at two homes in Butler County and a warehouse in Blue Ash that eventually found its way to Mason High School teen Tyler Pagenstecher for distribution to students.

Authorities described it as a potential $3 million business.

The 12th District ruled that none of Baker’s alleged crimes occurred in Warren County and that he should have been tried in either Butler or Hamilton counties.

Prosecutors contended that Baker, 32, engaged in a pattern of corrupt activity involving other dealers and growers. Appellate judges, however, said prosecutors did not prove the marijuana Baker sold through a series of growers or dealers identified in the alleged ring ever made it to Pagenstecher for distribution in Warren County.

The appellate judges noted their ruling resulted in a “distasteful outcome” because Baker legally cannot be tried again for the same crimes.

Baker, who was one of seven adults charged in the case, had waived a jury and was tried and convicted of 10 felony charges before Warren County Common Pleas Judge Robert Peeler.

Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said he is reviewing the ruling and may file an appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: 12th district court of appeals, appeal, david fornshell, drugs, justin baker, kings, marijuana, mason high school, tyler pagenstecher, warren count

Benji Pauline Brown. Photo/Warren County Jail

The Enquirer

A Warren County grand jury has indicted a Loveland woman on a slew of charges in connection with a police pursuit last month that reached speeds as fast as 125 mph and left a Mason police officer injured.

Benji Pauline Brown, 43, has been indicted on two first-degree felony counts of felonious assault; failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, a third-degree felony; forgery and unauthorized use of a vehicle, both fifth-degree felonies, and resisting arrest, a second-degree misdemeanor.

The indictments were announced Monday.

The incident began May 19 when an Ohio State Patrol trooper discovered Brown sleeping alone in a stolen Dodge Caravan at the rest stop off Interstate 71.  She took off, according to a statement from OSP Lt. Matt Hamilton. Investigators don’t think alcohol or drugs were involved, the statement said.

After chasing Brown for 23 miles, troopers arrested her after she crashed into a trooper’s cruiser on I-71 near Western Row Road. Brown was taken to Arrow Springs Hospital, where she was treated and released, then taken to the Warren County Jail.

A trooper and a Mason police officer were hurt during the incident. Mason Police Officer Scott Burdick suffered deep cuts and burns to his hands and forearm while trying to lay down stop sticks to try to stop Brown.  The trooper hurt his hand and forearms during the crash. Both were treated for minor injuries.

Brown is being held at the Warren County Jail on a $250,000 bond.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: mobiletopnews

Brittany Rager of Mason sits on the steps at her job, Eve’s Ink, and shows out her tattoos after speaks about getting attacked by a Mason family.  The Enquirer/ Joseph Fuqua II

Brittany Rager thought she was visiting an estranged friend to repair their friendship.

She had no idea she was walking into what she called a “torture chamber” that would leave her fighting for her life.

That’s the scene the 27-year-old Mason woman described the morning of May 5 when she visited the Mason mobile home of childhood friend, Shena Moore, who shares the home with her father, Gerald Moore Jr., and boyfriend, John Gulley.

The two had been as close as sisters until Gulley began sending her sexually explicit text messages, she said.

“She was my right-hand girl. She was always a little too quick to fight, but she always had my back and was a good friend,” Rager said.

Rager said Moore invited her to her home in the 700 block of Reading Road to discuss the rift, but shortly after she arrived, she says a 450-pound Gerald Moore struck her with his cane while Shena Moore and Gulley began punching her.

“It was 1,300 pounds against 115 pounds,” Rager said. “I kept saying, ‘Please let me leave, I won’t call the cops.’ They just kept beating me.”

Rager said that under Gerald Moore’s orders, the trio then held her down and first tried to break her fingers and then tried to cut them off with long-handled pruning shears.

Their goal, she says, was to sabotage her career as a tattoo artist.

“Shena put my pinkie in (the shears) and said, ‘This all could have been avoided if I had just not told her that her boyfriend was cheating on her,’” Rager said.

“I remember Gerald saying I wasn’t going to make it out alive. I thought, ‘I’m going to die.’”

Rager said she was able to escape after one of her kicks knocked down Gerald Moore. During the struggle, she said Gulley struck her in the forehead with the pruning shears, which resulted in a concussion and hairline skull fracture.

Prosecutors said the Moores then called 911 with the intention of telling police Rager had attacked and tried to rob them. Gulley fled the scene and was apprehended nearby soon after.

A Warren County grand jury last week indicted Gerald Moore, 49, Shena Moore, 24, and Gulley, 31, on felony charges of kidnapping and felonious assault. Each faces up to 19 years in prison if convicted of the charges.

(more…)

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: assault, brittany rager, gerald moore, john gulley, kidnapping, loppers, mason, pruning shears, shena moore

Christopher Wise Photo/Montgomery County Jail

Christopher Wise has had better months.

The 22-year-old Kettering man racked up eight felony charges in a one-month period.

Wise’s troubles began April 29 in Warren County, when police say he presented fraudulent receipts to Mason Municipal Court.

Wise had been ordered to make payment of $640 to the court after pleading guilty in May 2012 to disorderly conduct. In that case, police say Wise pulled a fire alarm after he said he was locked out of a Deerfield Township apartment.

A Warren County grand jury last week indicted Wise on one count of tampering with records, a fifth-degree felony punishable by up to 12 months in prison and a $2,500 fine.

Then, on May 28, police say Wise kidnapped his adoptive mother and assaulted her in their Kettering home.

Authorities were first alerted to the alleged crimes by a liquor store drive-through clerk, who said he saw a female passenger in a vehicle driven by a man mouth the words, “Help me,” Dayton’s WHIOTV reports.

The store clerk gave police the vehicle’s tag number, which led them to an address on Hollendale Drive in Kettering, but no one was home, according to WHIOTV.

Later that evening, a concerned co-worker of the victim checked on the woman at her home and told police she answered the door with her face bloodied and mouthed, “Help me, my son is trying to hurt me,” WHIOTV reports.

When police arrived, Wise fled the scene in a Chevrolet Tahoe. The pursuit was later called off.

Police, acting on a tip, finally apprehended Wise the next morning at his Kettering home. Wise was taken into custody after a brief foot pursuit, police records show.

He’s been charged with seven felonies in that case: two counts of kidnapping and one count aggravated robbery, all first-degree felonies; one county felonious assault, a second-degree felony; one count tampering with evidence and failure to comply, both third-degree felonies, and theft, a fourth-degree felony.

Wise faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted of the charges in Montgomery County.

He’s being held at the Montgomery County Jail on a $250,000 bond.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: assault, christopher wise, crime, felony, hollendale drive, kettering, kidnap, mason, mason municipal court, tampering with records

Donald Peterson II Provided

Paul McKibben reports:

Fort Wright Police on Wednesday arrested a homeless Covington man who is accused of stealing from a nonprofit organization’s collection box at the Fort Wright Walmart store and in other local communities, including Mason.

Donald J. Peterson II , 47, was charged with two counts of theft, a class D felony punishable by 1-5 years in prison. Police arrested Peterson Wednesday afternoon at the Fort Wright Walmart.

Fort Wright Police Chief Dan Kreinest said Peterson stole Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals donation containers from Fort Wright and nine other Tristate communities. Those are Milford, Fairfax, Mason, Florence, Eastgate, Middletown, Lebanon, Alexandria and Colerain Township.

(more…)

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: charity box, children's miracle network hospitals, covington, crime, donald peterson II, fort wright, mason, theft

Three Mason residents are accused of attacking a woman and trying to cut off her fingers. From left, Gerald Moore Jr., Shena Moore and John R. Gulley. Photos/Warren County Jail

Three Mason residents each face up to 19 years in prison on charges they lured a woman to their trailer and forcibly held her down while trying to cut off her fingers with pruning loppers.

A Warren County grand jury Friday indicted Gerald Moore Jr., 49, Shena Moore, 24, and John Gulley, 31, on felony charges of kidnapping and felonious assault.

Police say Shena Moore, a student, and the 27-year-old victim were friends until Moore’s boyfrend, Gulley, began sending the victim flirtatious text messages.

Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said Moore invited her friend to her home in the 700 block of Reading Road May 5 to discuss the rift.

Shortly after she arrived, a 450-pound Gerald Moore allegedly struck the victim, who Fornshell describes as being of “slight stature,” with his cane while his daughter began punching her.

The trio then allegedly pinned the victim on the ground and attempted to cut off her fingers with garden loppers, a type of long-handled pruning shears. The victim works as an artist and investigators believe the three suspects intended to sabotage her career, said Fornshell.

The victim kicked Gerald Moore and was able to escape while Shena Moore attended to her father, said Fornshell. During the struggle, Gulley allegedly hit her in the forehead with the loppers, for which she required staples and suffered a concussion, he said.

Fornshell said the Moores then called 911 with the intention of telling police the victim attacked and tried to rob them. Gulley fled the scene and was apprehended nearby soon after.

“We believe it was obviously a complete ruse,” said Fornshell, of the 911 call.

Fornshell said his office plans to “aggressively” prosecute the case.

“To be held down while people try to cut off one of your limbs is pretty horrific,” he said. “The injuries this victim suffered, as well as what could have happened had she not been able to break free, I can’t imagine.”

Gulley pleaded guilty in March 2012 to assault and received a sentence of eight months in prison.

Shena Moore and Gulley are each being held at the Warren County Jail on $50,000 bonds. Gerald Moore was released from custody May 17 on his own recognizance due to a medical condition.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: assault, crime, david fornshell, felony, gerald moore, john gulley, john r. gulley, kidnapping, mason, prosecutor, shena moore, warren county, warren county common pleas

Warren County sheriff’s deputies arrested four in a TV theft scheme at the Deerfield Twp. Target store. From left are Joel Blust, Gregory Kalejs, Michellia Harp and Erin Teal. Photos/Warren County Jail

Warren County Sheriff’s deputies arrested four people Monday who they say brazenly tried to steal flat-screen TVs from the Deerfield Township Target store.

Police say they received a call from the store at 9841 Waterstone Blvd. about 7 p.m. reporting a theft in progress. Deputies in the area apprehended the vehicle shortly after at Fields-Ertel and Escort Drive.

Those arrested are Joel Blust, 26, Cincinnati; Gregory Kalejs, 36, Cincinnati; Erin Teal, 25, Cincinnati and Michellia Harp, 23, Manchester.

Warren County Sheriff’s Lt. John Faine said Blust and Kalejs entered the store and each grabbed two 42-inch LED TVs valued at $1,800 and ran out a fire exit door, where Teal and Harp waited in a truck.

The entire incident took less than a minute, he said.

“I cannot believe how brazen some of these people are,” said Faine. “It’s a common thing now to just pick up and walk right out the door with a large-ticket item.”

The four were each charged with fifth-degree felony theft and are being held at the Warren County Jail. Blust was also charged with possession of drug abuse instruments and drug paraphernalia.

Police say the arrests allowed them to solve another unsolved crime. Blust now faces additional theft charges in a previous incident at the Deerfield Township Walmart, where police say he walked out of the store with a computer.

Investigators were able to identify him from store surveillance video, said Faine.

“At the time we didn’t know who it was, but now we do,” he said.

Faine said the suspects remain under investigation for a rash of similar crimes at eight other area Target stores.

Posted in: Crime, Deerfield Twp., News |

Tags: Tags: arrest, crime, deerfield township, deputies, drugs, erin teal, gregory kalejs, joel blust, led, michellia harp, target, theft, tv, warren county sheriff's office

Marcie Denney. Photo/Warren County Jail

A West Chester woman has been ordered to repay $14,000 to the former Mason employer she stole from.

A Warren County judge Friday sentenced Marcie “Allison” Denney, 37, to 60 days in jail and three years community control.

Denney pleaded guilty April 12 to one count of theft, a fourth-degree felony, and four fifth-degree felony counts of forgery. She originally faced one count of theft and nine counts of forgery.

Between August and November last year, Denney forged 25 company checks from her employer, JKrete, a Mason company specializing in traditional and decorative concrete installation, totaling more than $23,000.

Denney started at the company as a temporary worker in January and was hired on in April as an office receptionist. In that role, she handled incoming checks and outgoing bills, said JKrete owner Bruce Mills.

Denney cashed company checks and wrote checks out to a friend, Christine Inman, of West Chester.

Inman, 30, faced one count of receiving stolen property and one count of forgery, both fifth-degree felonies, but last month was granted intervention in lieu of conviction, which allows her to receive drug treatment instead of a felony conviction.

If she completes her sentence of three years community control and a court-ordered substance abuse treatment program, the charges against her will be dismissed.

(more…)

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: allison denney, bruce mills, checks, christine inman, crime, forgery, jkrete, marcie denney, mason, theft, warren county common pleas court, west chester

Janice Morse reports:

Men from Mason, Monroe and Covington were sent to federal prison for a foreclosure-rescue scheme that left victims facing foreclosure, bankruptcy and ruined credit, authorities say.

On Thursday, a U.S. District judge in Cincinnati sentenced Adam P. Moellers, 35, of Mason, to three years in prison and sentenced Gary P. Dailey, also known as Gary Klump, 33, of Covington, to a 21-month prison term. A third defendant, Perry Bensick, 37, of Monroe, was previously sentenced to a year in prison.

Moellers and Besnick each had pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy; Dailey pleaded guilty to a count of wire fraud, a news release said.

The men were involved with a company called American Equity Group.

Here’s how their scheme worked, authorities said: The company approached homeowners facing foreclosure and pledged to find buyers who would allow them to remain in their homes as renters and later repurchase their homes. The company promised investors that they could buy a property with no money down, collect rent for a year or two then sell it back to the renter at a profit.

But “AEG inflated the sale price, put together fraudulent loan applications, and took out extra cash at closing,” the release said. “The renters never purchased the properties back and the investors couldn’t afford to keep them.”

“As a result, the properties went into foreclosure with even larger loan balances and with investors/borrowers who did not appreciate the risk that they had undertaken,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Mangan wrote in a court filing.

The FBI calculated that in 2006 and 2007, the scheme caused losses of $6,849,460 to lenders; the court will decide how much restitution the defendants must pay.

“The lenders were not the only victims,” Mangan told the court. “For the investors, they typically ended in bankruptcy or with ruined credit in exchange for a rescue plan by AEG that was doomed to fail.”

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: adam moellers, adam p. moellers, aeg, american equity group, bankruptcy, conspiracy, crime, foreclosure, fraud, gary klump, gary p. dailey, homeowners, mason, monroe, perry bensick

Ryan Widmer looks at his family after he was found guilty of murdering his wife Sarah Widmer in 2008. This photo was taken Tuesday, February 15, 2011. / The Enquirer/Cara Owsley

The Enquirer

The state’s top court won’t give Ryan Widmer a new trial.

In a 4-3 vote, the Ohio Supreme Court declined today to accept his case for review.

Widmer is serving 15 years to life for killing his wife, Sarah, in their Hamilton Township home in 2008.

Widmer’s attorney, Michele Berry, had argued that a Middletown-based appeals court “misinterpreted” existing case law surrounding DNA testing in Ohio when it agreed with Judge Neal Bronson’s refusal to order genetic testing on blood from Widmer’s wife, Sarah.

Widmer and his supporters say his young wife showed possible signs of a genetic heart-rhythm disorder that could have caused her to drown. But she was never tested for that condition, “Long QT Syndrome,” or a similar problem.

The 32-year-old Colerain Township native who last lived in Mason has maintained his innocence.

Widmer’s lawyers have said they plan to appeal to federal courts if the Ohio Supreme Court turned them down.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: appeal, bathtub murder, long qt, mason, michele berry, ohio supreme court, ryan widmer, sarah widmer