Thursday, August 16, 2007

Update

Update: the mystery drinker killed himself. I thought that might happen. I'm a jerk.

Me so sorry!!

Traffic stop prompts mystery drink

I'm not sure why this is news. But we'll see how it develops.
Traffic stop prompts mystery drink
ENQUIRER STAFF REPORT
August 16, 2007

A 53-year-old man stopped Wednesday in Lebanon for a suspected traffic violation was flown by helicopter to a regional hospital after police saw the man drink an unknown substance.
Lebanon police report they stopped the man at the intersection of Mound Street and Columbus Avenue. After the vehicle came to a stop, the driver suddenly drank something police did not identify.
Lebanon police say they are still investigating. The Enquirer will update this story as more information becomes available.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Police: Man dove in water after crash

Body recovered from Fairfield pond
Police: Man dove in water after crash
BY SUE KIESEWETTER | ENQUIRER CONTRIBUTOR
August 10, 2007

FAIRFIELD - The body of a Fairfield man who crashed his truck into a tree and bolted into a pond minutes later Wednesday night was recovered Thursday afternoon.
...

The man was identified by Fairfield police as Jason Nudds, 30. His body was recovered shortly after 3:30 p.m.

Witnesses said Nudds was driving erratically down Annandale on Wednesday night and hit a tree, a light pole and a second tree about 9 p.m.

Fairfield police responded to the wreck and found a female passenger in the pickup with minor injuries. She was identified as Nudds' sister, Stephanie Martin.

Police were interviewing Nudds after the accident when he ran into a 1-acre pond nearby and started to swim.
Fairfield Lt. Ken Colburn said Nudds yelled to police: "Come get me, I'm a Marine."

Nudds went under the water three times and then did not resurface. A police officer and two paramedics went into the water but could not locate Nudds. The search was called off at 2 a.m. Thursday. It resumed at 10 a.m.

Lisa Schwarz, who said she was Nudds' girlfriend and that the two became engaged on Monday, said he was an ex-Marine who served in Iraq and was a father of three.

"It's a nightmare," Schwarz said. "I don't understand how a person can drown after hitting a light pole."

Colburn said Nudds had been arrested 12 times in Fairfield on various offenses over the years, including drunken driving.

His most recent arrest was in January, for allegedly making harassing phone calls.

Ice cream truck driver faces DUI charge

Ice cream truck driver faces DUI charge
ENQUIRER STAFF REPORT
August 10, 2007

FLORENCE – An ice cream truck driver has been charged with drunken driving after customers complained he was drinking on the job.
Police spotted a yellow ice cream truck driving erratically Monday evening on Hopeful Church Road, Florence police spokesman Capt. Linny Cloyd said.

The driver, Shelby Dunigan II, smelled of alcohol and failed a field sobriety test, Cloyd said. Dunigan refused to take breathalyzer tests at the scene and at the Boone County jail.

A woman passenger in the ice cream truck told officers Dunigan had eight or nine beers since noon, Cloyd said. There was a cooler of empty beer cans – and one full can – found inside the truck.
Dunigan told officers he worked for Captain Tom’s ice cream in Burlington, but no one could be reached at that business Friday morning.

Dunigan, 37, of Florence was released from jail Tuesday afternoon. The day he is scheduled to appear in Boone District Court was not immediately available.

Additional complaints were made about a man driving a similar looking ice cream truck on Thursday. Officers stopped the truck in Lincoln Woods Park but said the driver was sober.

Man head-butts X-ray machine

Man head-butts X-ray machine
BY KIMBALL PERRY
The Enquirer
August 13, 2007

An East Price Hill man accused of swallowing drugs, stomping a man and then breaking an X-ray machine at the hospital is in jail under a $131,000 bond today.


Tony King, 21, is charged with felonious assault, tampering with evidence, criminal damaging and obstructing official business.

Police accuse King of using his left foot to stomp Thomas Barrett during a Friday incident, leaving Barrett with a concussion, broken nose and trauma to his head and face.

King also was accused of running from police after the stomping and swallowing crack cocaine.
After being taken for treatment at University Hospital, King is accused of using his head to bang an X-ray machine, breaking it.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

'Sleepwalking' biter on trial

It's just amazing...
'Sleepwalking' biter on trial

BY JANICE MORSE
The Enquirer
August 2, 2007

HAMILTON – A man “growled like a dog” and bit a woman repeatedly, causing “horrific injuries” in a wild, unprovoked drunken attack, says Assistant Butler County Prosecutor David Kash.

The man’s defense?

He was sleepwalking, and can’t be held responsible for his actions.


At least that’s what defense lawyer Joseph Sprague argued Friday in Butler County Common Pleas Court.

A jury is considering whether to convict Cristen Comer, 29, of West Chester Township, on a felonious assault charge that could send him to prison for eight years. The charges stem from an incident that happened at his apartment on July 7, 2006.

A woman he had met at a bar early that morning came to his apartment. The pair drank throughout the night and into the next afternoon until both passed out.

The 23-year-old West Chester woman, whose name Kash did not disclose, told police she awoke because Comer was choking her and she couldn’t breathe.

A struggle ensued, where the woman bit Comer and he responded by biting her back – repeatedly – almost ripping off the left side of her upper lip, Kash said. That injury alone required 25 stitches, and left her with scars that disfigured her face.

After police showed up, Comer remained “very aggressive and growling,” and continued trying to bite everyone around him, including police and paramedics, Kash said.

The man also spat at safety crews, causing police to put a “spit hood” over his head to protect themselves, Kash said, explaining that the hood resembles a ski mask.

Comer took the stand in his own defense and testified that he didn’t remember anything. His lawyer argued that Comer’s actions were “involuntary,” and that he was in “some kind of subconscious sleep mental state,” Kash said.

Kash scoffs at Comer’s claims.

“This guy was tanked,”
Kash said.

“My opinion is that he was just intoxicated to the point where he didn’t know what he was doing – and he can’t defend against that.”

A blood-alcohol test at Bethesda North Hospital registered 0.27 – more than triple the legal limit for Ohio drivers – and that was five hours after Comer’s last drink,
Kash said.