HANOVER TOWNSHIP — A Loudonville store owner may soon get the accountability she called for months ago following a break-in at her Route 3 store.
Miranda Taylor, owner of Stake’s Shortstop, created an online petition in March calling on state authorities to have Mohican Young Star Academy “lock their doors” to prevent residents there from “threatening community safety.”
State officials on Nov. 20 suspended admissions to Mohican Young Star Academy following The Marshall Project’s Nov. 6 article that documented violence, staff injuries and fights since an ownership change in November 2024.
“Mohican Young Star Academy … has demonstrated a pattern of serious noncompliance and/or committed violations that pose a substantial risk to the health and safety of residents in its care,” said Eric Wandersleben, a spokesperson for Ohio Department of Behavioral Health.
Ohio DBH personnel have since “performed regular visits to monitor operations and ensure resident safety,” Wandersleben said. The Suspension of Admissions Order will remain in effect “until it has been determined the violations that formed the basis for the order have been corrected.”
Wandersleben did not address the specific violations and did not speak to what will happen to the juveniles already placed there. He also did not say how many juveniles are currently housed at the facility.
Terry Jones, the Mohican Young Star Academy’s CEO and executive director, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Taylor’s petition stemmed from a March 19 incident, when at 3 a.m. she was notified of a security breach at the family-owned store.
Two teens had walked out of the state’s largest youth residential treatment facility hours before, triggering an hours-long manhunt, records from law enforcement show.
Around 3 a.m., one of the teens threw a stone through the glass door and stepped through, triggering an alarm. The rushed, hooded, teens then entered the store and allegedly stole vape cartridges, Taylor said.
The burglary represents one incident out of dozens from the last year stemming from Mohican that have strained local law enforcement agencies and put the community on edge.
Strain on local law enforcement, by the numbers
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources maintains jurisdiction over the facility, which sits on a 143-acre slice of Mohican State Park land.
So when there’s an emergency at the facility, ODNR responds. But so do local law enforcement agencies, such as the Village of Loudonville’s police and fire personnel. And depending on the availability of park rangers and the severity of the call, so does the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office.
ODNR responded to 149 calls to the facility this year. Of those calls, around 60% were related to fire alarms or juveniles walking away from the facility.
This year’s call volume represents a 171-percent increase from the 55 calls the agency responded to in 2024.
The Ashland County Sheriff’s Office has responded to dozens of calls, too. From March 22 to Dec. 11, the ACSO received 70 calls regarding the facility. Several of those calls led to responses from deputies.
Brian McCauley, Loudonville’s chief of police, said his department of seven officers has responded to nearly every one of those calls. Those responses have put a strain on the department.
“Every time we have to leave the village (to respond to a call at Mohican YSA), that leaves our village open. If we have an active incident going on, our officers can’t just go back,” he said. “I mean, I’ve been called from home to help out.”
When that happens, Loudonville police are forced to call on another officer to cover the village. That means paying the officer a minimum of two hours overtime, per department policy.
“(Mohican YSA) isn’t paying the village back for overtime,” McCauley noted.
Local officials want to act
Though the facility sits on state park land, it is technically within Hanover Township. The township currently is under contract with the Village of Loudonville’s police and fire services.
The contract is set to expire at the end of this month. Officials from Loudonville and Hanover have discussed the possibility of passing legislation that would “help mitigate the added expenses” racked up by responding to numerous calls, said Rita Henley, Hanover’s fiscal officer.
Loudonville council members have discussed charging the facility up to $100, $250 or $500 per false alarm call past the three free calls set by state law.
Council has not voted on any ordinances, however. The village’s solicitor, Thomas Gilman, said it would be tough for Loudonville to pass an ordinance like that because Mohican “is not in our jurisdiction,” which explains why officials in Loudonville and Hanover are waiting for the current contract to expire.
In the meantime, McCauley fears more people could get hurt.
“I’m afraid someone is going to get seriously hurt or killed before anything’s done. That’s what it seems like. It seems like everything gets pushed under the rug,” he said.
Details on injuries, violence
Injuries have already occurred, records show. At least nine juveniles housed at Mohican have been treated for injuries since November 2024.
Violence at Mohican Young Star Academy
Numerous public records from law enforcement agencies between Nov. 28, 2024 — when the first of four large fights occurred — and June 23 offer glimpses into the violence that led to injuries of residents and staff.
Reports indicate that teens allegedly fashioned “DIY weapons” from bed posts and pencils during the fights. Some reports reveal property damage at the facility, too, including broken windows.
During a Dec. 1 fight, four juveniles were reported missing for 45 minutes before officers found them.
Injuries have included a fractured hand, a stab wound to the head from a pencil, cuts and bruises, according to Dan Robinson, the former fire chief at Loudonville Fire Department. His unit is one of several that has responded to violent incidents at the facility.
The violence has led to several teens facing felony charges. In 2024, ODNR officers filed charges against nine individuals in four cases.
It got worse this year. So far in 2025, ODNR has recommended charges against 27 individuals in 15 cases, said Karina Cheung, an ODNR spokeswoman.
“ODNR’s Natural Resources Officers are highly trained and well-equipped members of law enforcement who have and will continue to respond to calls at Mohican Young Star Academy with our law enforcement partners,” Cheung said in an emailed statement.
When that happens, cases are tried in the juvenile’s home county. For instance, if a Mohican resident was referred there by a Cuyahoga County social worker, the criminal case would be filed with the Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office — regardless of where the alleged crime occurred.
About Mohican Young Star Academy
Mohican Young Star Academy receives its residents from Cuyahoga, Summit, Hamilton and Lucas counties. The Ashland County Department of Jobs and Family Services has not placed foster children there since 2018, when Peter Stefaniuk took over as the agency’s director.
“Not long after I became director of this agency, I decided that we would not be placing our foster children there,” Stefaniuk said in an email. “This agency has not changed that position since then.”
He did not address questions seeking his reasons behind the decision.
Though it is a private facility, Mohican YSA is licensed by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. The facility’s license, active between September 2024 and September 2027, allows for the housing of up to 110 residents.
According to its website, all youth residents, aged 12 to 18, undergo a treatment program that lasts between six and 12 months. Mohican YSA has three tracts: mental health and residential treatment, a juvenile sex offender program and drug and alcohol treatment.