Medical examiner IDs pilot, co-pilot from small jet crash

Medical examiner IDs pilot, co-pilot from small jet crash

AKRON

An Ohio medical examiner has identified the pilot and co-pilot who were killed along with seven passengers on a small jet that crashed into an Akron apartment building.

The pilot has been identified as 40-year-old Oscar Chavez of North Bay Village, Fla., and the co-pilot was 50-year-old Renato Marchese of Boynton Beach, Fla.

The plane that crashed nearly two weeks ago was carrying seven employees of a Boca Raton, Fla., real-estate company. A preliminary report released this week by the National Transportation Safety Board says an instructor on another plane warned the pilots just before the crash that weather conditions were barely suitable for landing.

Absentee ballots without postmark won’t be counted

AKRON

Officials say nearly 900 voters in Summit County won’t have their absentee ballots counted for the Nov. 3 election because they lacked a postmark.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports ballots without a postmark amounted to 9 percent of the 10,130 absentee ballots mailed in to the Summit County Board of Elections.

Officials say this is the highest number of votes thrown out since 2008. Voters whose ballots weren’t counted will be notified.

Elections board members believe the late ballots without postmarks can be attributed to the earlier closure of Akron’s mail-processing center. Mail sent locally was routed to Cleveland before coming back to Akron.

Bill to let EMTs aid injured animals clears House panel

COLUMBUS

A bill that would allow first responders to aid injured animals at emergency scenes has cleared an Ohio House panel.

Republican state Rep. Steve Huffman, of Tipp City, told the Dayton Daily News that emergency medical technicians haven’t been allowed to treat animals under the scope of their license.

The bill would permit first responders to administer oxygen, stop bleeding and give other aid to animals once people at emergency scenes have been treated as needed. Huffman says language in the bill clarifies that the humans are the priority.

The bill wouldn’t allow Ohio residents to call 911 solely to request treatment for injured animals.

Lawmaker protests over Planned Parenthood debate

COLUMBUS

A Democratic state lawmaker has formally complained that she was not recognized to speak during House debate on defunding Planned Parenthood.

Rep. Kathleen Clyde, of Kent, told House Clerk Brad Young in a protest memo Friday that lawmakers have a constitutional right to express opposition to any bill that comes up for a vote.

Clyde said Speaker Cliff Rosenberger cut off debate before she and several other Democrats who had stood to be recognized were given the floor.

Planned Parenthood in Ohio risks losing over $1 million in public funds under the measure the House passed, which resembles one approved by the Senate.

Rosenberger spokesman Brad Miller said Democrats weren’t improperly silenced. He said Tuesday’s debate lasted more than an hour and included seven Democrats and five Republicans.

Jury clears two deputies who fatally shot suspect

DAYTON

An Ohio grand jury has cleared two sheriff’s deputies who fatally shot a man who they say pointed a gun at them while they were investigating a traffic crash.

The Montgomery County grand jury heard evidence over three days this week and declined to indict the two deputies who fired at 34-year-old Dontae Martin.

Deputies said Martin’s car crashed into a parked car near Dayton on July 23. As the two officers approached the car, they could see Martin pointing a handgun at them through the heavily tinted window.

They say they broke the window and fired at Martin after he disobeyed orders to drop the gun. Martin was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Prosecutors say the grand jury heard from 14 witnesses, including civilians who saw the incident.

Libertarians move to block enforcement of ballot limits

COLUMBUS

The Libertarian Party of Ohio is seeking to block enforcement of Ohio’s new ballot access limits as its constitutional challenge proceeds.

In a court filing Friday, the party sought an immediate injunction from the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals prohibiting enforcement of a 2014 law that set stiffer criteria for minor parties to qualify for Ohio’s ballot and maintain access to it.

On Thursday, the party appealed U.S. District Court Judge Michael Watson’s October decision that the law didn’t violate their constitutional rights. It marked the second time Watson had rejected arguments on some aspect of the law’s constitutionality.

Libertarians and their minor-party allies maintain the law effectively eliminated all minor-party candidates from 2014 primary ballots and unfairly disadvantaged third parties. The state’s elections chief says Ohio’s laws are fair.

Teacher won’t face charges in death of husband

LANCASTER, Ohio

A prosecutor won’t seek charges against a second-grade teacher accused of running over her husband during a domestic dispute with their two children in the car.

Fairfield County Prosecutor Gregg Marx in a statement Friday said he won’t ask grand jurors to return charges against Angela Luke in the Oct. 4 death of Daniel Luke at the couple’s home near Canal Winchester.

Marx said his office’s policy is to not seek charges when sufficient evidence is lacking to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Initial charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and reckless homicide against Angela Luke were dropped last month. The couple’s young daughter called 911 before her father was killed and said he was hurting her mother.

Coroner: Man’s body found in burned car at state park

MINSTER, Ohio

A coroner says the body found in a burned car at a state park in western Ohio on Sunday was an adult male.

Shelby County coroner Dr. A. David McDonald said Thursday that dental records are being analyzed to help determine the identity of the man found Sunday at Lake Loramie State Park.

McDonald said an Ohio license tag was on the car and the person to whom the car is registered is missing.

The Dayton Daily News reports the Montgomery County coroner’s office performed the autopsy but didn’t immediately release a cause of death.

An Ohio Department of Natural Resources spokesman says a park officer found the car at the end of a gravel road during a routine patrol.

Associated Press