MOUNT VERNON — Indictments were returned in 17 cases on Monday by a Knox County grand jury for various felony crimes. Arraignments are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 15, at 9 a.m. in the Knox County Court of Common Pleas before Judge Otho Eyster.
According to Knox County Prosecutor John Thatcher, Deputy Tom Durbin, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, investigated three individuals who face multiple charges of deception to obtain dangerous drugs.
Scott A. Draper, 42, Fredericktown, is accused of eight counts of deception to obtain oxycodone and morphine, between Aug. 31 and Oct. 19, 2007. Draper allegedly filled prescriptions at six pharmacies. The prescriptions were written by 13 doctors.
Patricia A. Geiger, 42, Mount Vernon, is charged with eight counts of deception to obtain alprazolam, between Jan. 22 and Sept. 14, 2007. Geiger allegedly filled prescriptions, written by 19 doctors, at seven pharmacies.
Vicki J. Reed, Galion, was indicted for eight counts of deception to obtain hydrocodone and oxycodone, between Oct. 9, 2006, and June 23, 2007. Reed allegedly filled prescriptions at 12 pharmacies, written by seven doctors.
In other drug cases, Michael Robert Erwin, Columbus, is charged with possessing heroin. Thatcher said that on the night of Jan. 13, Patrolman Jason Payne and Officer Jessica Butler, Mount Vernon Police Department, investigated a suspicious vehicle on North Sandusky Street. During the investigation, Payne allegedly seized a pill bottle containing balloons of heroin.
George M. Walls, 45, Mount Vernon, is accused of selling crack cocaine to a confidential informant working for the Mount Vernon Police. Thatcher said that on the night of Jan. 25, Walls allegedly sold crack to the confidential informant for $100 at a West High Street apartment. Detective Sgt. Jeffrey Jacobs, Detective Cpl. Matt Dailey and Detective Craig Feeney investigated the case.
Larry F. Taylor, 47, Mount Vernon, faces his second felony domestic violence charge. According to the indictment, Taylor was convicted of felony domestic violence in the Knox County Court of Common Pleas, on June 15, 2007. Thatcher said that in the early morning hours of Jan. 12, Taylor allegedly pushed his 14-year-old daughter to the floor and dragged her through her room by her hair. Taylor was allegedly intoxicated at the time. Corporal Roger Monroe and Patrolmen Andrew Burns, Matt Haver and Tim Arnold, MVPD, investigated the case.
Detective Sgt. Gary Rohler, KCSO, investigated two related cases involving Sean Leyden, 19, Newark, and Travis B. Sesser, 19, Thornville. Leyden is accused of breaking and entering and grand theft of a motor vehicle; Sesser is accused of receiving stolen property. Thatcher said that on Oct.19, 2007, Leyden allegedly broke into a garage near Gambier, where he removed a Honda quad-runner, and Sesser allegedly helped Leyden load it into his pickup truck. Detective David Light, KCSO, assisted with the investigation.
Shawn R. Dewitt, 31, Mount Vernon, is accused of stealing $2,968.80 from his employer’s nightly bank deposits, on Nov. 30, 2007. Thatcher said that when Corporal Mark Perkins, MVPD, was contacted by Dewitt’s employer, Dewitt allegedly confessed to taking the money and Perkins recovered $954.00 of the allegedly stolen cash from her purse.
Percella A. Neighbarger, 38, address unknown, is charged with forgery and two counts of theft by deception. Thatcher said that on Aug. 21, 2007, Neighbarger allegedly deposited a counterfeit check in the amount of $24,720 into her account at a Mount Vernon bank, then withdrew $6,000 from the account on Aug. 21 and 22. Neighbarger allegedly confessed that the check was counterfeit when she was confronted by a bank employee upon attempting to withdraw another $4,000. Detective Corporal Matt Dailey, MVPD, investigated the case.
Sex offender registration records maintained by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office show that Thomas J. MacLeod, 29, last registered his address as 123 Quarry St., Mount Vernon, on Aug. 20, 2007. When Detective Roger Brown learned that MacLeod was possibly living in Franklin County, he investigated the Quarry Street address. On Jan. 9, Brown determined that the house there is vacant and, according to a witness, MacLeod allegedly did not live there during the summer of 2007. Thatcher said MacLeod is accused of failure to provide change of address and, according to Logan County court records, MacLeod was convicted of corruption of a minor, in 1999.
In addition, six Lorain County men face charges of having firearms while under a legal disability and improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle as the result of an alleged deer poaching operation investigated by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife. The firearms allegedly involved in all of the offenses were 50 caliber muzzleloaders.
David A. Saltis, 39, is accused of having a firearm while under a legal disability and of discharging the firearm while he was in a motor vehicle on Dec. 30, 2007. According to the indictment, in 1990 Saltis was convicted of a felony offense of violence, aggravated burglary, in Lorain County, and he has not been relieved from the legal disability prohibiting his possession of a firearm.
George Saltis Jr., 40, is accused of discharging a firearm while he was in a motor vehicle on Dec. 16, 2007.
George Saltis Sr., 66, is charged with aiding or abetting George Saltis Jr., in discharging a firearm while in a motor vehicle on Dec. 16, 2007, and of discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle himself, on Dec. 29, 2007.
Johnny Saltis, 37, is accused of discharging a firearm while he was in a motor vehicle, on Dec. 16, 2007.
Joaquin Segarra, 39, is charged with having a firearm while under a legal disability, on Dec. 15, 2007. According to the indictment, in 1991 Segarra was convicted of a felony offense of violence, aggravated assault, in Cuyahoga County, and he has not been relieved from the legal disability prohibiting his possession of a firearm.
James E. Strehle, 68, faces two charges of aiding or abetting David A. Saltis Jr., in discharging a firearm while in a motor vehicle on Dec. 30, 2007.
