MOUNT VERNON — Fifteen indictments were filed by a Knox County grand jury on Monday. Arraignments are scheduled for Oct. 16 in the Common Pleas Court before Judge Otho Eyster.
According to Knox County Prosecutor John Thatcher, Charles O. Fields, 32, Mount Vernon, is accused of breaking into the business office of a Mount Vernon car lot. At approximately 3 a.m. on Sept. 7, Fields allegedly threw a piece of concrete through a window to gain entry, then stole a portable air compressor. Patrolman Tim Arnold, Mount Vernon Police Department, investigated the case.
Martha M. Grennell, 36, Howard, allegedly wrote a $900 bad check for rent on leased property, on May 21. Detective Sgt. Jeff Jacobs, MVPD, investigated the case.
At approximately 5 a.m. on June 27, Herschel R. Jones III, Mount Vernon, allegedly burglarized a Mount Vernon residence, entering through a bedroom window and then stealing several prescription medications and money. The investigation was started by MVPD officers who responded to the scene, and finished by Jacobs.
Kenneth Neil Moran, 35, Frazeysburg, is charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and marijuana.At approximately 7:50 p.m. on Aug. 17, Moran crashed his Jeep on Earlywine Road, then allegedly failed field sobriety tests administered by Trooper Neil Laughlin of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Thatcher said tests conducted by the patrol’s crime lab revealed Moran allegedly had a 0.225 concentration of alcohol and a concentration of marijuana metabolites in his urine at the time of the crash. According to Moran’s indictment, a felony OVI conviction on April 28, 2000, enhances the current charges to felonies of the third degree.
At approximately 6 p.m. on June 9, Trooper Laughlin stopped a vehicle on Taylor Road for suspected drunk driving; he then arrested the driver for OVI. Thatcher said the passenger in the vehicle, Brandon A. Williams, 32, Mount Vernon, was allegedly found by Laughlin to be in possession of a rock of crack cocaine. Williams is accused of possessing cocaine.
Lorenzo R. Carmichael, 20, Michael U. Gentry, 28, and Jasmine R. Johnson, 19, all of Columbus, face forgery charges for allegedly cashing forged checks at a Coshocton Avenue business the afternoon of Sept. 29. Thatcher said a suspicious store clerk called MVPD; Detective Dave McElroy investigated the cases.
Dalton E. Hammons, 19, and Joshua M. Johnson, 19, both of Danville, are accused of grand theft and receiving stolen property. Deputy Tim Light, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, investigated a report that a large quantity of aluminum cement forms, copper wire and other metal items had been stolen from a Millersburg Road property, between about July 22 and Aug. 26, when Hammons and Johnson were allegedly caught trying to steal additional metal items from the property. Through investigation, Light determined that Hammons and Johnson allegedly sold the allegedly stolen property at a salvage yard.
According to the indictment, Timothy T. Hutchinson, 31, Fredericktown, was convicted of two domestic violence offenses in Ashland County, in 2004 and 2006. At approximately 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 11, Hutchinson allegedly assaulted his live-in girlfriend. Deputy Doug Turpen, KCSO, investigated the case.
Erin E. Novo, 24, Centerburg, allegedly stole two blank checks from a friend’s house on Aug. 24. Novo’s friend discovered the alleged theft when her bank called her to report that someone had attempted to pass the checks in Columbus. Light investigated the case.
Christopher R. O’Hara, 20, Mount Vernon, faces complicity to commit burglary and marijuana trafficking charges. Thatcher said that on Oct. 4, 2008, Patrolman Kyle Theibert, MVPD, responded to a burglary call on Coshocton Avenue. Theibert determined that the residence had been entered through a broken bathroom window, but there were no suspects at that time. Acting on information received on March 5, Jacobs of the MVPD determined that O’Hara allegedly offered two juveniles money to break into the residence, and that he later purchased marijuana from the juveniles.
Rick T. Stidham, 41, Fredericktown, is charged with grand theft and possessing stolen property. Turpen, KCSO, recovered an allegedly stolen Yamaha ATV from Stidham’s residence on July 17. Thatcher said Stidham was charged with tampering with evidence for allegedly grinding off the vehicle identification number and repainting the ATV.
Warren B. Taylor, 32, Mount Vernon, is accused of stealing checks, possessing stolen checks and a stolen credit card, and theft of firearms by deception with a firearm specification. Between July 21 and Aug. 4, Taylor allegedly passed bad checks totaling more than $7,000 and bought two handguns with a bad check. The firearm specification would add a year of prison time to Taylor’s sentence, if he is convicted of the theft of firearms charge, according to Thatcher. Detective Craig Feeney, MVPD, investigated the case.
