The top news stories of 2016 showed that people you should be able to trust deserve your skepticism too.
A well-respected sheriff is under a cloud of suspicion following an FBI raid, numerous lawsuits and an admission of a gambling problem. A former police officer will spend 14 years in prison for raping a 16-year-old girl. Several people who worked with children face charges of sexually abusing children. A longtime Lima businessman faced charges of avoiding paying sales taxes and decided to close his business.
The region dealt with a deadly heroin epidemic, the highest number of Lima homicides in a decade and a Mercer County child’s death after Children Services was already aware of the case.
Not all the news was bad, though, as Lima Central Catholic won its second state basketball championship in three seasons, and Lima Senior’s Xavier Simpson was named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball.
Here are the top 10 stories of the year, as voted on by the newsroom of The Lima News:
1. SHERIFF SAM CRISH
Sam Crish had been heralded as a no-nonsense, affable lawman since being elected Allen County’s sheriff in 2008. Most people maintained that image of him until a raid on his office by the FBI in September. The FBI investigation continues, with the agency tight-lipped on why it raided his office.
After the raid, crish checked himself into an inpatient program for a gambling addiction, he acknowledged once he returned to work in October.
He now faces several civil lawsuits, claiming he borrowed money without paying it back. A drug dealer serving a 25-year prison sentence said he was friends with Crish and let him borrow $20,000, then Crish’s office later arrested him.
Crish was unopposed in the November election, so he earned a third term despite the cloud of suspicion. He was sworn in for his third term this month.
Read past coverage about Crish.
2. HEROIN CRISIS
The region acknowledged it has a heroin crisis in 2016. Church groups gathered to combat it. Area police agencies carried Narcan antidote kits to fight it. People opened their eyes to the highly addictive drug.
On Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, Allen County saw eight overdoses in two days, nearly killing each of the people involved.
Authorities also went after people providing the drug. Marvis Thomas, 45, got a 23-year prison sentence in June, and Anthony Duvernay, of Lima, received an 18-year prison sentence in December after the two were caught in October 2015 with 4.4 pounds of heroin, the largest-ever heroin operation busted in Allen County with an estimated street value of $300,000.
Read past coverage about heroin, including our series, “Heroin: A different kind of drug problem.”
3. EIGHT HOMICIDES IN LIMA
The year proved to be the deadliest in a decade in Lima, with eight homicides, the most since hitting seven in 2009. There were just two in 2015.
Lima police said the increase in homicides was tied to an increase in shootings, and more of the shootings are being done by young people between the ages of 16 and their early 20s.
Those killed in Lima this year included Da’veon Petaway (19, March 7), Eric Staup (46, May 19), Rameal Ingram (26, July 5), Edward Henry (29, Aug. 18), Amari Gooding (20, Oct. 8), Ryan VanBuskirk (35, Nov. 21), Orlando Lawrence (26, Dec. 3) and Kimberly Clark (40, Dec. 20).
Police have someone in custody in each of the cases except the Lawrence homicide.
4. DeHAVEN’S TROUBLES
DeHaven Home and Garden Showplace announced it would close soon in December, ending its 62 years as a fixture in the community and wrapping up a bad year for its owner, Tim HeHaven.
The 70-year-old DeHaven lost a medical malpractice suit in February involving his amputated lower left leg, pleaded guilty to seven felony counts connected to unpaid taxes in September and watched his wife, JoAnn’s, ongoing battle with ovarian cancer.
He entered a prosecution diversion program to repay nearly $4,000 in back taxes and complete 100 hours of community service.
5. OFFICER SENTENCED IN RAPE
Former Lima Police Department officer Justin Bentz, 28, learned in April he would spend the next 14 years in prison for raping a 16-year-old girl.
During Bentz’s trial, the defense blamed the girl for trying to initiate a sexual relationship.
Judge David Cheney wasn’t swayed. He expressed concerns that the girl in question “looked like she was 12 years old” and was troubled that just hours before Bentz raped the girl, he attended a law enforcement class about sexual assault, the effects of alcohol in those cases and the pitfalls of prosecuting such cases.
6. IN TROUBLE WITH TEENS
Several educators and role models were part of the court system over sexual allegations involving teens in 2016.
Brian Anders, 36, a former Lima schools teacher and Elida school board member, received a 10-year prison sentence in August. The federal judge said Anders targeted male minors, while Anders maintained they were consensual relationships. Read about the Anders case.
In September, former Lima schools’ Closing the Achievment Gap mentor and volleyball and basketball referee David Turner, 59, got a three-year prison for abduction and gross sexual imposition involving a young boy. Read about the Turner case.
Jessica Storer, 28, a substitute teacher, faces a sexual battery charge and six counts of furnishing alcohol to an underage person involving a male student from Pandora-Gilboa High School at her Pandora home. Read about the Storer case.
Broc Hottle, 27, a former percussion instructor with the Wapakoneta band, was charged with 34 counts of sexual battery in December involving incidents in 2012 and 2013. He pleaded not guilty, and his case continues. Read about the Hottle case.
Former Continental foreign language teacher Nicole Baringer, 24, avoided criminal charges about allegations of inappropriate behavior with a 16-year-old male student, saying there was “no provable sexual contact.” Read about the Baringer case.
7. Child beaten to death
Cory Eischen of Fort Recovery faces charges of beating 4-year-old Jaxxen Baker to death in his home on Sept. 25.
Eischen wasn’t new to law enforcement in the county. They’d also investigated an incident on Aug. 5 but found no evidence, passing the information on to Mercer County Children Services. That incident got complicated when officials realized the child was a resident of Montgomery County, turning the issue over to its children services.
In October, prosecutors announced they’ll pursue the death penalty against Eischen if they found him guilty. A judge set his bond at $5 million. The case continues in the court system.
8. TEEN CRASH
Two Elida football players, Drew Duhlebohn, 15, and Jakob Sexton, 15, died when the 2002 black Dodge Ram they were riding in went off the right side of the road, struck a ditch and went airborne. The vehicle then struck a fence and tree before overturning.
The incident also injured three other students, Jaxson Swickrath, Jaden Boroff and Alana Rankin. All but Rankin were on the football team’s roster, leading to support from other teams and the term “Elida Strong” following the incident.
9. GOOD YEAR FOR LIMA BASKETBALL
Lima-area schools had a fantastic year in boys’ basketball. Lima Central Catholic won its second state title in two years, and Lima Senior and Lincolnview each finished as state runner-up. Ottawa-Glandorf’s girls basketball team also finished as state runner-up.
Lima Senior’s Xavier Simpson was selected as Mr. Basketball by the Associated Press, an honor reserved for the state’s best high school player. Simpson is now playing collegiately at the University of Michigan.
Read about Simpson as Mr. Basketball. Read about LCC’s state championship. Read about Lima Senior’s runner-up performance. Read about Lincolnview’s runner-up performance. Read about Ottawa-Glandorf’s runner-up finish.
10. SCHOOL SUICIDES
Several area districts, including Elida, Shawnee and Wapakoneta, coped with suicides or suicide attempts among students or recent graduates.
The issue gained more attention, with more people calling for heightened awareness of young people’s problems before they attempted to kill themselves.
Read about suicides in the Lima area.
THE NEXT 10
11. Delphos infant’s death: Christopher M. Peters, of Delphos, faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted in the death of his girlfriend’s 15-month-old child. Read the story.
12. Trump election: The region overwhelmingly voted for Republican Donald Trump for president. The only campaign visit by either party was a stop by GOP vice presidential candidate Mike Pence. Read about Pence’s visit. Read about Trump’s local vote.
13. Sergeant suicide: Popular LPD Sgt. David Gillispie kills himself in front of Auglaize County deputies at a cemetery near Kossuth. Read the story.
14. Allen East protest: Students at Allen East stage a sit-in in March, protesting the superintendent and school board over the school’s direction, including the resignation of the longtime band director. Read the story.
15. Shawnee superintendent dies: Shawnee superintendent Michael Lamb dies of natural causes while sitting at his desk at the school in July. Read the story.
16. Baby Maddy adoption: “Baby Maddy” adopted by Celina couple Brian and Kelly Anderson in December following a yearlong fight that involved the Ohio Supreme Court between Allen and Mercer children services agencies. Read the story.
17. Waynesfield fire: Two children, 10-year-old Trinity Lhamon and 7-year-old Keelin Doty, die inside a Waynesfield house where they were left alone and a fire broke out in March. Read the story.
18 Putnam confession: Travis Soto confesses in July to Putnam County deputies that he murdered his 2-year-old son, Julio Baldazo, during an all-terrain vehicle incident in 2006, a charge for which he’d already served prison time. Read the story.
19. Thanksgiving death: Doris Fricke, 87, dies while trying to cross Allentown Road on the night of Thanksgiving. Read the story.
20. Putnam sheriff dies: Putnam County Sheriff Michael Chandler dies after surgery complications in January, with two interim sheriffs serving before voters selected Brian Siefker as the next elected sheriff. Read the story.
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