Witness who detailed double homicide found shot days later

Witness who detailed double homicide found shot days later

TOLEDO

A witness who shared the details of double homicide in a video posted to Facebook was found shot three days later.

The Toledo Blade reported 29-year-old Jeray Saunders was found lying on the sidewalk on Wednesday with at least one gunshot wound. He was taken to a central Toledo hospital and remains in critical condition.

Police say they don’t know why Saunders was shot or whether it was related to the homicides he witnessed.

Saunders says in the video he was in the backseat of a car stopped at a red light when people opened fire and killed the driver and a woman in the passenger seat.

Historic Cincinnati train terminal reopens after restoration

CINCINNATI

Cincinnati’s historic Union Terminal reopemed Saturday after a $224 million restoration.

WCPO-TV reported the reopening is being celebrated with the release of a documentary produced by local filmmaker Billy Miossi called, “Saving Union Terminal.”

The documentary chronicles the history of the landmark, which opened as a railroad station in 1933.

The Art Deco style terminal now houses museums, exhibits, a movie theater and a Cincinnati history library and archives.

Miossi says the building has an underdog legacy that has made it something to root for among Cincinnatians.

Jury awards $5M each to men wrongfully imprisoned for murder

EAST CLEVELAND

A jury has awarded $5 million each to three Ohio men who spent almost 20 years in jail after being wrongfully imprisoned for murder.

Cleveland.com reports that jurors decided East Cleveland police officers violated the rights of Laurese Glover, Eugene Johnson and Derrick Wheatt throughout an investigation into a 1995 murder.

A judge in March declared the men wrongfully imprisoned. The three have long denied killing 19-year-old Clifton Hudson, and the case against them unraveled when attorneys learned a prosecutor hid reports raising doubt about their guilt.

A judge freed them and ordered a new trial in 2015. Charges were dropped when prosecutors decided not to pursue another trial.

The city and police officers have denied wrongdoing. Their lawyer said after the verdict there are “a lot of appealable issues.”

Police identify woman hit and killed with her own vehicle

CLEVELAND

Authorities have identified a 33-year-old Cleveland mother as the woman killed when two men entered her family’s vehicle and struck her with it.

Cleveland police say Lesley Dejesus Gonzalez was painting at a church last week with her two children and their father when she saw two men enter the family’s car. She was struck by the vehicle after she and her husband attempted to intervene.

Dejesus Gonzalez was declared dead at the scene. No one else was hurt.

Authorities say the suspected carjackers sped off in the vehicle, which police later found abandoned on a road.

Police statements say two men were taken into custody but were later released when investigators found they were not involved. Authorities have made no arrests in the ongoing investigation.

Lawmakers pass ‘stand your ground’ bill, abortion limits

COLUMBUS

Lawmakers in the Ohio House have continued a lame-duck session by approving a so-called anti-abortion “heartbeat bill.”

The stringent proposal would ban abortions in Ohio after the first fetal heartbeat is detected, as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

The GOP-controlled House voted 58-35 in favor of the legislation, which does not include exceptions for rape or incest. The legislation goes next to the Senate.

Republican Gov. John Kasich vetoed a similar bill in December 2016, siding with opponents who contend it is unconstitutional.

Last week, the House also approved gun legislation eliminating a requirement to retreat in confrontations before using deadly force.

Man accused of shooting police officer pleads not guilty

CLEVELAND

A man accused of shooting and injuring a Cleveland police officer with an assault-type rifle while the officer was responding to a call about a shooting has pleaded not guilty to charges including attempted murder.

Thirty-year-old Jonathan Chambers’ attorney entered the not-guilty plea on Chambers behalf in a Cuyahoga County courtroom via video Thursday.

A message seeking comment was left for Chambers’ attorney.

Authorities say Chambers shot a man in the neck while the man was sitting in a car Nov. 3 and then shot 28-year-old police officer Shane McNea in both legs when McNea and another officer arrived to investigate.

McNea was in stable condition. The other officer wasn’t injured.

Police say the man shot in the neck was hospitalized for treatment of his wound.

Officials: Man caught trying to enter courthouse with gun

PITTSBURGH

A western Pennsylvania man is facing additional weapons counts after authorities say he was caught trying to enter the county courthouse for a hearing with a gun.

The Allegheny County sheriff’s office says 40-year-old Birch Foley of Butler was scheduled to appear in the Pittsburgh courthouse Friday on retail theft and prohibited offensive weapons counts.

Officials say a magnetometer alerted when Foley tried to enter and a “fully loaded” .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol was found on his leg.

Officials said Foley appeared to be under the influence of something and eventually acknowledged using methadone and Oxycontin. Authorities say he had a license to carry firearms.

Foley was charged with possession of a firearm in a court facility and disorderly conduct. His attorney didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment Saturday.

Associated Press