MasonBuzz.com

Janice Morse reports:

About an hour after officials received a report of an escaped inmate from one of three Warren County state lockups, the report was determined to be unfounded, a dispatcher for the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Lebanon post said.

Apparently, it was a case of mistaken identity. A citizen reported seeing an inmate getting into a vehicle, but head counts at all three facilities revealed no one missing, the dispatcher said. Investigators concluded that the person who got into the vehicle was actually a construction worker.

Warren County is home to three state facilities, all along Ohio 63. Warren Correctional Institution is next door to Lebanon Correctional Institution; across the street from those prisoners is a lower-security facility called Community Correctional Center of Butler, Clermont and Warren Counties.

Posted in: News |

Tags: Tags: escape, inmate, lebanon, lebanon correctional institution, ohio state highway patrol, warren correctional institution

Janice Morse reports:

Authorities are investigating the report of an inmate escape from a Warren County lockup.

An all-county radio broadcast around 2:40 p.m. advised officers to be on the lookout for an escapee, and if found, to hold for the Lebanon Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

A dispatcher at the Lebanon post said the report was unclear as to which facility the prisoner may have escaped from.

Warren County is home to three state facilities, all along Ohio 63. Warren Correctional Institution is next door to Lebanon Correctional Institution; across the street from those prisoners is a lower-security facility called Community Correctional Center of Butler, Clermont and Warren Counties.

No additional information was immediately available, the dispatcher said.

Posted in: News |

Tags: Tags: escape, inmate, lebanon, lebanon correctional institution, ohio state highway patrol, warren correctional institution

The Lebanon post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol has named Trooper James D. Sparkman its 2012 Trooper of the Year.

Fellow officers selected Sparkman, 30, in recognition of his outstanding service, leadership abilities, professional ethics, courteous treatment of others and work ethic, according to a release issued by the post.

Sparkman, who lives in Mason, joined the Highway Patrol in 2004 and has served at the Lebanon post since 2010. The Colerain High School graduate attended Miami University and has completed course work at the University of Cincinnati, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

He’s the recipient of Highway Patrol awards in health and fitness, safe driving and ACE and criminal patrol.

Posted in: Community, News |

Tags: Tags: james d. sparkman, lebanon, mason, ohio state highway patrol, trooper of the year

A routine traffic stop in Mason on Nov. 17 resulted in the seizure of 226 grams of marijuana worth about $375. Troopers arrested the driver, Clifford Justin Abner, 29, of Carlisle. Photo provided/OHSP

A routine traffic stop in Mason this weekend resulted in a drug bust and one man in jail.

Ohio State Highway Patrol says it pulled over a 1997 Ford Thunderbird on Mason-Morrow-Milgrove Road near U.S. 42 around 2:49 p.m. Saturday for a speed violation.

Troopers say they detected a strong odor of marijuana from the vehicle’s passenger compartment.

Upon a search of the vehicle, troopers discovered a Ziploc baggie under the driver’s seat containing three compressed chunks of marijuana weighing about 226 grams. The drug’s street value is estimated at $375, reports the OSHP.

Clifford Justin Abner, 29, of Carlisle, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana, a fifth-degree felony.  If convicted, he faces up to 12 months in prison and a $2,500 fine.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: carlisle, clifford justin abner, crime, drug bust, drugs, marijuana, mason, ohio state highway patrol, traffic stop

The Enquirer

Kilo, a drug-sniffing black Labrador retriever working for the Warren County Sheriff/Warren County Drug Task Force, has lived up to its name. The dog recently helping authorities confiscate five kilograms of heroin with a street value “well over $1 million,” said John Burke, commander of the drug task force.

On April 30, Donna Mae Herriges of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was pulled over by the Ohio State Highway Patrol for a traffic violation on Interstate 71 a couple of miles north of the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge. Then Kilo the dog went to work, finding five kilos of drugs – about 12 pounds – that were initially thought to be cocaine. “It tested at the lab as very high-grade heroin,” Burke said.

He said the bust was the result of a new collaboration between state troopers and the drug task force.

Herriges, 32, has been indicted on charges of trafficking and possession of heroin and possession of criminal tools. She is in the Warren County Jail.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: commander, crime, donna mae herriges, drugs, jeremiah morrow bridge, john burke, kilo, ohio state highway patrol, warren county drug task force

David Holthaus reports:

Posted in: News |

Tags: Tags: car accident, danica mclester, deerfield township, derrek jones, fields ertel road, i-71, matt shuttleworth, ohio state highway patrol, olivia french, seatbelts, teenagers, teens, wilmington, wreck