MOUNT VERNON — Nine more indictments were handed down in the second April session of the Knox County grand jury.
According to Knox County Prosecutor John Thatcher, John M. Stidham, 46, Walhonding, faces a 26-count indictment containing one count of complicity in the commission of aggravated theft, 20 counts of receiving stolen property, three counts of insurance fraud and complicity in the commission of insurance fraud and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
Thatcher said between March 16, 2007, and Nov. 9, 2010, Stidham allegedly aided and abetted his wife Cami Stidham in the theft of $405,699.03 from his wife’s former employer.
The receiving stolen property charges accuse Stidham of possessing stolen property at his residence, including automobiles, motorcycles, credit cards and firearms, when officers from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office executed several search warrants there last November. Stidham allegedly made or participated in making fraudulent insurance claims on three motorcycles on Aug. 13, 2008, and on March 19, 2010.
Thatcher said the last count in the indictment accuses Stidham of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity while committing all of the other offenses in association with co-defendants Robert A. Hanes, Mandy S. Overton, Jessica Stidham, Cortney Gentry and Ronald Hinkle.
Thatcher said in the related cases Robert A. Hanes, 37, Warsaw, and Mandy S. Overton, 26, Utica, are accused of possessing stolen silver coins and other stolen property on Oct. 15, 2010. Jessica Stidham, 22, Galion, is charged with possessing a stolen automobile on March 9, 2011. Insurance fraud charges were filed against Cortney Gentry, 33, Utica, and Ronald Hinkle, 53, Frazeysburg, for allegedly making fraudulent insurance claims on Aug. 3, 2008, and June 25, 2009.
Detective Sgt. Roger Brown and Detective David Light, KCSO, Detective J.B. McKee, Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office, and Detective Craig Feeney, Mount Vernon Police Department, conducted the investigations.
John A. Brookins, 19, Mount Vernon, was indicted on a charge of rape for allegedly engaging in sexual conduct with a 12-year-old female on March 20. A single count of assault on a peace officer is included in the indictment after Brookins allegedly injured Detective Tom Bumpus, KCSO, while Bumpus was attempting to arrest him on April 13.
Angela M. Doup, 27, Mount Vernon, faces a domestic violence charge for allegedly assaulting a family member on April 4. According to the indictment, Doup was convicted of domestic violence on Nov. 8, 2004, in the Mount Vernon Municipal Court, making the current offense a felony. Sgt. Fred Gerber, MVPD, investigated the case.
During a traffic stop on April 10, Sgt. Cortrell R. McCruter, Ohio State Highway Patrol, allegedly found Johnny L. Humphrey, 30, Mount Vernon, in a vehicle with a woman he was prohibited from having contact with pursuant to a civil protection order filed in Licking County. Thatcher said Humphrey’s charge of violation of a protection order is a felony because he was convicted of the same offense on March 23, 2000, in the Mount Vernon Municipal Court.
Arraignments are scheduled for April 29, before Common Pleas Court Judge Otho Eyster.
