The Richland County grand jury handed down a number of indictments this week. Included in the indictments were second degree child endangerment charges, rape, sexual imposition, burglary, possession of cocaine, felonious assault and attempted murder.
A 27-year-old Mansfield man plead guilty to two counts of endangering children after being indicted for two counts of endangering children, four counts of domestic violence and two counts of felonious assault during the April session of the Richland County Grand Jury.
Brian King was sentenced to two years of prison for each count of endangering children to be served consecutively for a total of four years in prison, according to Richland County Assistant Prosecutor Cliff Murphy.
“This is a case where Children Services responded to the Little Blessings Day Care, the employees had reported two children had serious bruising on their back and buttocks that were observed by the officers,” said Murphy, noting both victims were under the age of 10. The incident occurred between the days of Jan. 18 and Jan. 22, 2014.
Murphy stated both charges were felonies of the second degree. He said the domestic violence charges were dismissed because of the fact one would be a lesser-included offense of the other due to the relationship of the children to King. King was their stepfather who had been left in control of their care.
“These are awful cases when people do this kind of stuff to kids,” said Murphy.
The Grand Jury indicted 19-year-old Brandon Traicoff of Mansfield with two separate indictments. Murphy stated the first indictment charges him with one count of rape and one count of gross sexual imposition stemming from his alleged conduct at a blood drive on Dec. 23, 2013. Traicoff was trying to earn his Eagle Scout badge by sponsoring the blood drive. The victim involved was less than 10 years of age.
“The generic difference between rape and gross sexual imposition is the legal definition of sexual conduct versus sexual contact,” explained Murphy.
The second indictment is for a burglary that is alleged to have occurred on March 11, 2014. Murphy stated while under the supervision of his caretakers, Traicoff allegedly entered the garage of an elderly woman who lived down the road.
If convicted of rape, because the victim is under the age of 10 it could carry a life term of incarceration, said Murphy. The burglary offense is charged as a second-degree felony, which carries a maximum of eight years. Gross sexual imposition is a felony of the third degree and carries a term of imprisonment upwards of 36 months.
Due to his various health problems, Murphy stated a specific institution outside of the county is looking at housing Traicoff to better serve his medical needs.
A 28-year-old woman from Mansfield was indicted on 16 counts of felonious assault and attempted murder. Kristine Caudill was indicted for an incident alleged to have occurred on Feb. 27, 2014 when she stabbed a male victim eight times in the chest with a knife. The victim survived.
“These are charged in two different ways,” explained Murphy. “Felonious assault has with it a serious physical harm component and it also has within a separate section use of a deadly weapon. They’re charged alternatively, one for the stabbing by use of a deadly weapon and the other the serious physical harm, which is the result of stabbing somebody with a knife. It’s charged alternatively, so it’s not 16 separate stab wounds, it is eight separate stab wounds.”
Felonious assault is a felony of the second degree, which carries with it a term of incarceration between two and eight years in yearly increments. Attempted murder, a felony of the first degree, carries with it a term of incarceration of up to 11 years.
Gregory Keathley, 36, of Mansfield was indicted for possession of cocaine with major drug offender specification, six counts of firearm specification and forfeiture specifications, six counts of possession of heroin with firearm specification and forfeiture specifications, having weapons while under disability, trafficking in cocaine with major drug offender specification, six counts of firearm specification and forfeiture specifications, and six counts of trafficking in heroin with firearm specification and forfeiture specifications. If convicted of all charges, Keathley could serve a total of 24.5 years in prison, according to Murphy.
“It is a significant amount of drugs, so much so for the first-degree felony possession of cocaine he is automatically classified as a major drug offender,” said Murphy. Keathley is alleged to have had 788.2 grams of cocaine and 50.39 grams of heroin, as well as a 380 Smith and Wesson handgun. The alleged offense dates are Jan. 8, 2014 specifically for the possession charges, with the trafficking charge for alleged conduct between Jan. 1 and Jan. 8, 2014.
“We’re all endowed by our creator with free will and unfortunately some people decide to use that free will for purposes other than the public good,” said Murphy. “It’s unfortunate because they do spew a lot of other bad things on other people who are just trying to get by.”
In addition, the following people were indicted by the Richland County Grand Jury:
Donovan Thacker, 24, rape, kidnapping and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor
Joseph Bartram, 30, Lucas, furnishing intoxicating liquor to an underage person (four counts), sexual battery (four counts) and gross sexual imposition (two counts)
Syd Gwin, 25, Galion, burglary (two counts)
Abigail Steiner, 20, Galion, burglary (two counts)
James Currie Jr., 55, aggravated robbery with firearm specification and robbery with firearm specification
Marc Morley, 45, Cleveland, kidnapping, abduction, aggravated possession of drugs (three counts) and tampering with evidence
Lewis S. O’Bryan, 56, domestic violence and felonious assault
Labronchea Emerson, 38, endangering children (two counts)
Dale Smith, 24, illegal manufacture of methamphetamine, illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of methamphetamine and aggravated trafficking in drugs (two counts)
Sherrick Hunter, 25, felonious assault with firearm specification (two counts), aggravated robbery with firearm specification (two counts) and robbery with firearm specification (two counts)
Marvin Ward, 46, domestic violence
Samantha Weaver, 29, receiving stolen property and misuse of credit cards
Rebecca James, 45, possession of cocaine
Nicholas Wilging, 28, Rittman, escape
Brittany Freeman, 24, theft, misuse of credit cards and tampering with evidence
Candice Murray, 27, obstructing justice
Trevor Mansfield, 19, theft and tampering with evidence
Georgejena Clark, 29, Willard, possession of cocaine
Jerry Key, 51, Cleveland, receiving stolen property, failure to comply with order or signal of police officer and grand theft
Timothy Feasel, 25, Tiffin, illegal conveyance of weapons or prohibited items into grounds of specified governmental facility and possession of marijuana
Jeffrey Barker, 44, breaking and entering
Jeannie Blankenship, 42, Bucyrus, possession of cocaine, trafficking in cocaine and tampering with evidence
Lonie Scott Jr., 40, Ashland, receiving stolen property
Steven Snowden, 21, possession of heroin
Mashell Riley, 23, Lewis Center, forgery and receiving stolen property
Mikel Clair, 22, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs (two counts), aggravated vehicular assault (two counts), vehicular assault (two counts) and failure to control
Joshua Kershner, 22, aggravated possession of drugs and forgery
Lonie Scott Jr., 40, Ashland, receiving stolen property
Larry Ellis, 28, c/o Richland Correctional Institution, possession of a deadly weapon while under detention
Jamie Figueroa, 23, Ashtabula, grand theft of a motor vehicle
Romere Mitchell, 24, having weapons while under disability (four counts) with forfeiture specifications (two counts)
Michael Daniels Jr., 26, possession of cocaine with forfeiture specifications (two counts) and aggravated possession of drugs with forfeiture specifications (two counts)
Nathaniel Laser, 30, Shiloh, receiving stolen property (two counts) and theft
Chad Henthorn, 29, Greenwich, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs with OMVI specifications (two counts)
John Parker, 30, Crestline, assault on a peace officer
Samantha Gorman, 37, possession of heroin
Adam Rhodes, 32, domestic violence and felonious assault
Joseph West, 22, theft (three counts) and forgery (two counts)
Carl Becker, 66, Ashland, abduction (two counts)
Zachariah Fretwell, 35, breaking and entering, criminal trespass and vandalism
Martin Deanda, 27, Willard, possession of marijuana and trafficking in marijuana
Jamel Witcher, 25, Detroit, possession of heroin with forfeiture specification
Jamal Witcher, 25, Detroit, possession of heroin with forfeiture specification
Angelo Evans Jr., 19, possession of cocaine with forfeiture specification and trafficking in cocaine with forfeiture specification
Darrius Marshall, 25, possession of cocaine with forfeiture specification, possession of heroin with forfeiture specification, trafficking in cocaine with forfeiture specification and trafficking in heroin with forfeiture specification
Shakiel Snelling, 20, possession of cocaine with forfeiture specification
James McClanahan, 39, Galion, theft (two counts)
James Harris III, 57, c/o Trumbull County Jail, breaking and entering