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Updated: 8/7/2008 4:19:41 PM
Breaking News
Bomb threat determined to be a hoax
Lake Metroparks received a bomb threat Thursday morning but it was later determined to be a hoax, according to an agency official.
The call came in on a nonranger department line and warned of a “potential threat” against the agency’s buses, said Lake Metroparks Chief Ranger Mike Burko.
“It was a bomb threat,” he said. “We investigated it and conducted a thorough search and ... we believe the call to be a hoax.”
Lake Metroparks has three buses, Burko said, though he wouldn’t specify how many of those buses were targeted by the threat, citing the nature of the ongoing investigation.
It’s unclear whether the buses were in use at the time the threat was received, however Burko said he believes no one was ever in danger of injury.
Perry man guilty of sex crime
After a two-day trial, a Perry Township man was convicted Thursday of having sex with an underage girl.
Travis Piche, 26, was found guilty of unlawful sexual contact with a minor by a Lake County Common Pleas Court jury.
Judge Richard L. Collins Jr. then immediately sentenced Piche to nine months at the Lorain Correctional Institution in Grafton.
The incident occurred three years ago when the girl was 14 years old, Lake County sheriff’s deputies said.
Piche, who could have received up to 18 months in prison, previously pleaded guilty to the crime but then withdrew the plea and took the case to trial.
Anthrax widow says she's thankful FBI solved case
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The widow of a tabloid photo editor who died in the anthrax attacks says the FBI’s work solving the case will bolster her lawsuit against the government.
In West Palm Beach Thursday, Maureen Stevens said she was thankful for federal investigators’ efforts to close the case. Justice Department prosecutors say they’re confident they could have convicted Army scientist Bruce Ivins for the 2001 attacks. Ivins committed suicide before he was charged.
Stevens’ lawsuit, filed years ago, contends the U.S. government didn’t put enough security in place to prevent the attacks.
Robert Stevens was the first of five people to be killed in the anthrax attacks.

Favre will be in Cleveland tonight
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Brett Favre’s journey from retirement and back has ended in New York.
The Green Bay Packers traded their three-time MVP and Super Bowl-winning quarterback to the Jets on Wednesday, ending an emotionally grinding month of indecision over Favre’s future.
The move ends a remarkably ugly split between Green Bay and one of its most beloved players, allows the Packers to move forward with new starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers and gives Favre a fresh start — although not exactly the one he wanted, as Favre’s first choice was widely believed to be the Minnesota Vikings.
Favre was scheduled to leave Hattiesburg, Miss., Thursday morning and the Jets said he would be at a 6 p.m. EDT news conference in Cleveland, where New York plays the Browns in a preseason game later Thursday.

Sports bookie sentenced to six months in prison for cheating on blackjack
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A sports bookie convicted of cheating at blackjack during a church festival has been dealt six months in jail by a central Ohio judge.
Sixty-eight-year-old Roland Chapa apologized in court on Wednesday and offered to ante up a $5,000 contribution for St. Timothy Catholic Church in Columbus as his punishment. But Franklin County Judge Richard Sheward decided to play the jail card instead, saying he didn’t think the law allowed the alternative sentence.
Chapa was accused of palming cards during the church fundraiser in July 2007. One witness said when Chapa stood to empty his pockets, a two of spades fell from his pants.
In June, a jury found him guilty of possessing criminal tools and cheating — a felony because Chapa had a previous gambling conviction.

Detroit mayor ordered to jail
DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has been ordered to the county jail after a judge found the mayor violated the terms of his bond by going to Canada and not informing the court.
The ruling by Judge Ronald Giles came after the mayor apologized to the court, saying it won’t happen again.
The judge says he would have given the same treatment to any criminal defendant.
Kilpatrick’s attorneys say they immediately will appeal the ruling.
Earlier Thursday, Kilpatrick waived his right to a preliminary hearing and will head to trial on perjury and other criminal charges.
He has denied the charges.

Authorities still looking into deaths of men with ties to woman with five dead husbands
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in two states say they’re still looking into the deaths of men with ties to a 76-year-old Georgia grandmother who has had five dead husbands.
Georgia police this week closed their re-examination of the death of Betty Neumar’s fifth husband without filing any charges. But authorities in Florida and Ohio said Thursday their investigations into the deaths of her third husband and only son are still under way.
Those investigations began after authorities in North Carolina charged Neumar with solicitation to commit first-degree murder in the death of her fourth husband, Harold Gentry.
Neumar’s attorney Charles Parnell says he expected the Georgia case would be closed, and that prosecutors have been using the other deaths to unfairly paint his client as a black widow.
Neumar is a native of Ironton, Ohio.

OU football player a lottery winner
ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — The season doesn’t open for a couple more weeks, but already an Ohio University football player has made a very big score.
The Ohio Lottery says Bobcats offensive lineman Mike Eynon matched five numbers to win $250,000 in Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing.
After taxes, the senior from the Cleveland suburb of Westlake will receive a check for $172,500, which he plans to put toward his schooling.
Eynon bought his ticket from a convenience store in Athens. He says he plays the lottery every now and then, spending $1 to $5 at a time.

Supreme Court reinstates murder conviction
The Ohio Supreme Court today reinstated the convictions of a Painesville Township woman who set up a drug deal that led to a man’s murder.
Jennifer Jeffries, now 30, is serving 22 years to life in prison after a Lake County Common Pleas Court jury found her guilty of being involved in the 2001 slaying of 21-year-old Dustin Spaller, also of Painesville Township.
Spaller bled to death after he was severely beaten and shot in the thigh following a botched robbery attempt at Recreation Park in Painesville.
Eleventh District Court of Appeals judges previously overturned Jeffries’ murder and involuntary manslaughter convictions and sentence and ruled she should have a new trial.

Daughter gets two years for stealing money from mother
AKRON, Ohio (AP) — An Akron area woman sentenced to two years in prison for stealing tens of thousands of dollars from her elderly mother says she deserved the money for all she’s done.
During Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, 60-year-old Jerelyn Sue Estright of Barberton apologized but also told a Summit County judge that her life has revolved around her mother, Leora Harrison.
But 85-year-old Harrison said her daughter was driven by greed and needed to spend some time in prison.
A jury last month found Estright guilty of theft from the elderly. Prosecutors say while her mother was hospitalized, Estright sold the woman’s home without her knowledge, moved $94,000 of the proceeds into a personal account and treated herself to trips and gifts including a $1,000 digital camera.

Two dozen accused in heroin ring
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Two dozen people are accused of participating in a heroin ring that authorities believe stretches from West Virginia and Ohio to Mexico.
Huntington, W.Va., Police Chief Skip Holbrook says the ring is believed to be connected to the deaths of at least 10 Huntington-area residents between last September and January.
Holbrook says 19 of the 24 suspects have been arrested or indicted. Twelve were indicted Wednesday in U.S. District Court on drug trafficking charges.
Federal investigators targeted the sale of heroin that originated in Mexico. Holbrook says the suspected ringleader, who remains at large, ran the operation out of the Columbus, Ohio, area.

Inmate slips through handcuffs, overpowers corrections officer
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say a jail inmate slipped out of his handcuffs, reached over the back seat of a sheriff’s van and overpowered an eastern Ohio corrections officer who was driving on I-70 to the Franklin County Jail.
Police say 27-year-old James Gillman grabbed a gun from Noble County corrections officer Ken Jackson, demanded money and ordered the 68-year-old to drive him to a relative’s house in Columbus on Wednesday afternoon.
When they arrived at the home, Gillman yanked out wires to the van’s radio and ran inside. Jackson flagged down a Columbus police officer, and city SWAT officers soon surrounded the residence.
Gillman surrendered at about 6:50 p.m., almost two hours after he removed the cuffs. Police say Gillman has been charged with aggravated robbery. Other charges are possible.

Judge acquits officer charged in the death of inmate
AKRON, Ohio (AP) — A judge has acquitted a northeast Ohio sheriff’s deputy who was charged in the death of a jail inmate nearly two years ago.
Visiting Judge Herman F. Inderlied Jr. announced his verdict Wednesday afternoon, finding Summit County deputy Stephen Krendick not guilty on one count of murder in the death of Mark McCullaugh Jr.
The judge said he based his decision on evidence and law. He did not give further explanation.
Twenty-eight-year-old McCullaugh died Aug. 20, 2006, after various restraints, pepper spray and a stun gun were used on him during a struggle at the county jail in Akron. His father says he was badly beaten.
Krendick’s family cheered after hearing the verdict. McCullaugh’s mother wept and left the courtroom without comment.

Authorities search for killer of sheriff's deputy
SMOAKS, S.C. (AP) — Authorities have been interviewing people as they search for the killer of a sheriff’s deputy who was shot while responding to a home alarm.
But State Law Enforcement Division spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons said Thursday morning no charges had been filed in the death of Colleton County deputy Dennis Compton.
In neighboring Dorchester County, Sheriff Ray Nash told news outlets they arrested a man who was a person of interest sought in connection with the death. Nash wouldn’t identify the man.
Officials with the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office did not return phone calls seeking comment early Thursday.
Meanwhile, Colleton County Sheriff George Malone told The Post and Courier of Charleston two other people have been brought in for questioning. A Colleton County sheriff’s official reached by The Associated Press would not give any other details.