Tornado confirmed in Melrose area, surveys ongoing

Police report details alleged van attack

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

More information has been provided in the case of a former Van Wert woman facing seven charges, including attempted murder.

According to a report released by the Van Wert Police Department, Summer Raye Jones, 34, who’s address is now listed as Defiance, was arrested after an officer was dispatched to the 300 block of N. Race St. shortly after 1 a.m. April 4. The caller said his ex-girlfriend, later identified as Jones, intentionally hit his new girlfriend with a van in an alley near the home.

The lengthy report noted it had been a wet/rainy night and morning and the van apparently left the alley and was stuck in the backyard of the N. Race St. home. The officer and a deputy with the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office saw a “female with blue hair and a pink robe” standing in front of the van while on the phone. She was identified as Jones and she confirmed she was the driver.

The ex-girlfriend suffered a leg injury when she was hit by the van and during a police interview at the scene, it was learned the ex-boyfriend was struck as well. The ex-girlfriend was taken by EMS to OhioHealth Van Wert Hospital, but the ex-boyfriend declined treatment. The VW independent does not identify victims by name.

After speaking with the officer, Jones was also taken to the hospital, then was later transported to the Van Wert County Correctional Facility.

It was later learned that Jones, who was inside the house in the 300 block of N. Race St., became incensed when the new girlfriend came into the home to use the bathroom. The alleged attack occurred just after the victims had left the house.

While speaking with the officer, the ex-boyfriend said Jones had threatened to stab him in his sleep the day before and he accused her of cutting cords to cameras at the house. The ex-girlfriend later said she believed Jones was trying to hit her a second time when the van became stuck in mud in the yard and she claimed Jones had previously made threatening statements to her.

Jones was initially arrested for domestic violence, but a Van Wert County grand jury recently returned an indictment with six additional charges – two counts of attempted murder, first degree felonies; two counts of felonious assault, second degree felonies, and two counts of aggravated assault, fourth degree felonies.

She was arraigned in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday and entered a not guilty to plea to each of the charges. Judge Martin Burchfield set bond at $100,000 cash or commercial surety and scheduled a pretrial conference for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 22. If Jones posts bond, she’ll be subject to electronic house arrest and must have no contact with the victims.

Nearly two dozens court hearings held

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

It was a busy two days in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court, as 23 people made appearances on Tuesday and Wednedsay of this week. Judge Martin Burchfield presided over each of the hearings.

12 defendants were arraigned on various criminal charges. All of the defendants entered pleas of not guilty.

Seth Waggamon, 42, of Delphos, two counts of rape, first degree felonies, and four counts of gross sexual imposition, third degree felonies. Bond was set at $100,000 cash or commercial surety and Waggamon was ordered to no contact with victim. A pre-trial conference was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 29.

Summer Jones, 34, of Defiance, two counts of attempted murder, first degree felonies; two counts of felonious assault, second degree felonies; two counts of aggravated assault, fourth degree felonies, and one count of domestic violence, a first degree misdemeanor. Bond was set at $100,000 cash or commercial surety, with electronically monitored house arrest if released. She was ordered to have no contact with victims, and a pre-trial conference was set for 8:30 a.m. May 22. (see full story above)

Abbey Eutsler, 37, of Van Wert, three counts of violating a protection order, a fifth degree felony. Bond was set at $25,000 cash or commercial surety, along with a no contact order. A pre-trial conference was scheduled for 8 a.m. Wednesday, May 15.

Kayla Gladieux, 33, of Ft. Wayne, breaking and entering, a fifth degree felony, and unauthorized use of a vehicle, a first degree misdemeanor. Bond was set at $10,000 cash or commercial surety and a pre-trial conference was set for 8 a.m. Wednesday, May 29.

Lachrica Patrick, 49, of Rockford, aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth degree felony, and possession of cocaine, a fifth degree felony. She was  released on a surety bond and a pre-trial conference was set for 8 a.m. Wednesday, May 22.

Jeffrey Welker, 57, of Ohio City, OVI, an unclassified misdemeanor, and improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, a fifth degree felony.He was  released on a surety bond and a pre-trial conference was set for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 29.

Joshua Williams, 29, of Van Wert, aggravated possession of drugs, a third degree felony, and theft, a first degree misdemeanor. He was released on a surety bond and was ordered not to be at Walmart. A pre-trial hearing was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 29.

Shawn Thomas, 39, of Van Wert, trespass in a habitation when a person is present or likely to be present, a fourth degree felony. He was released on a surety bond and was ordered to have no contact with the victim. A pre-trial conference was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 29.

City street to close for Freedom Cruise

VW independent staff

The first Van Wert Freedom Cruise of the season will be held from 6-10 p.m. Saturday, May 11. Jefferson St., from Main St. to Central Ave. will be closed.

Sheets, Joseph, CHS seniors honored

VW independent staff/submitted information

CONVOY — Crestview High School recently held its Senior Convocation to recognize seniors for their academic and athletic accomplishments with awards from the teaching staff along with scholarships and recognition from various community and school organizations. High School Principal Dave Bowen began and closed the evening with remarks about the successes of the Class of 2024 and the mark they have left on Crestview High School. The faculty-presented awards of Academic Achievement and Awards of Merit were distributed first along with honors plaques presented to the top student of each department.

The second portion of the evening was reserved for scholarship and athletic award presentations by administrators and various community members. The evening concluded with the presentation of the Tom Nelson Citizen of Distinction Award given to a community member that has gone above and beyond in their dedication and service to Crestview Schools. This award was given to Sammi Joseph and Brian Sheets.

Academic Achievement Awards, Awards of Merit and Department Awards:

Chemistry II Achievement – Evan Walls

Chemistry II Merit – Logan Pugsley

Senior Algebra 2 Achievement – Cameron Sinn

Senior Algebra 2 Merit – Hannah Helt, Beau Eggleston, Skyler Moore

Drawing Achievement – Emily Karcher

Advanced Woodshop Merit – Jayden Nihiser

Painting Achievement – Josephine Williamson

Essential English 12 Achievement – Dakota Parrish

Essential English 12 Merit – Courtney Mefferd

Marketing, Design & Sales  Achievement – Cameron Sinn

Marketing, Design & Sales Merit – Skyler Moore

Honors Calculus Achievement – Trey Skelton

Honors Calculus Merit – Evan Walls

Senior CP English Achievement – Addison Williman

Senior CP English Merit – Levi Grace

Tornadoes touch down in area counties

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

For the most part, Van Wert County was spared severe storms that were forecast for Tuesday afternoon and evening but it was a different story in neighboring Paulding, Mercer, and Auglaize counties.

A tornado watch was issued for most of the area but in Van Wert County, an evening storm system, at approximately 7 p.m., split north and south, leaving most of the county dry, a marked contrast to a forecast that called for showers and thunderstorms, along with heavy rain and possible hail at times on Tuesday.

However, spotters reported a rotating wall cloud near the Van Wert/Paulding County line. It was visible from the Convoy area and just outside the village of Scott and eventually spawned a funnel cloud that touched down just outside of Melrose. Scanner traffic indicated the unconfirmed tornado damaged a house. There were no reports of injuries.

The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for Allen County, Indiana, Paulding County and in Mercer and Auglaize counties, where a separate unconfirmed tornado touched down in the Fort Recovery area and reportedly moved on to the Celina and Coldwater areas, causing unknown damage. If confirmed to be a tornado, it would be the second one in Mercer County in less than a week. An EF-U (unclassified) landspout tornado touched down near Rockford on Saturday.

The National Weather Service is expected to gather information to confirm the tornadoes and to give them a rating on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale.

Paulding County tornado

Severe weather hit Paulding and Mercer counties Tuesday evening. These pictures were taken in the Scott and Haviland areas, with the final photo showing a funnel cloud that eventually touched down outside of Melrose. Scott Truxell/Van Wert independent

Jones pleads not guilty to seven charges

VW independent staff

Bond has been set for a Defiance woman charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, two counts of aggravated assault and a single count of domestic violence.

Summer Raye Jones, 34, was arraigned in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday. She entered a not guilty to plea to all of the charges. Judge Martin Burchfield set bond at $100,000 cash or commercial surety and scheduled a pretrial conference for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 22. If Jones posts bond, she’ll be subject to electronic house arrest and must have no contact with the victims.

Jones was arrested without incident last Friday at the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio in Styker. She was transported to the Van Wert County Correctional Facility.

Court records show the indictment against Jones was filed May 2. The charges stem from an early April incident at home in the 300 block of N. Race St., but no other details have been made available.

The attempted murder charges are first degree felonies and the felonios assault charges are second degree felonies. Both counts of aggravated assault are fourth degree felonies and domestic violence is a first degree misdemeanor.

Riggenbach: beware of PCH scam

VW independent staff/submitted information

Van Wert County Sheriff Thomas M. Riggenbach is reporting his office has received several complaints regarding subjects posing as someone from Publishers Clearing House. The subjects are attempting to obtain personal information, social security account information, and banking information. In the latest incident, a citizen traveled with an individual posing as a Publishers Cleariing House representative to the bank to withdraw cash.

Riggenbach said bank staff alerted law enforcement to the situation and said these incidents are scams, and noted the individuals may be using other names besides Publishers Clearing House.

He also said do not go with anyone or meet anyone that you do not know. Many times the scammers will try to convince you that you must pay a fee or taxes to claim your prize. You should never have to pay to claim your prize. Scammers tend to target the elderly, single, lonely and isolated residents.

Be leery of sharing personal information on social media accounts, through email and text, and be aware of fake checks, bogus offers, fraudulent emails, scam calls, scam texts, etc.

“If you are ever contacted by someone claiming you have won a prize or money and they ask you to send or wire money for any reason whatsoever, including taxes), or send a pre-paid gift card or Green Dot Moneypak card in order to claim a sweepstakes prize – don’t, it’s a scam,” Sheriff Riggenbach said. “If you are sent a check, told it’s a partial prize award, and asked to cash it and send a portion back to claim the full prize award, don’t do it. The check is fake, but the scam is real.”

He added scammers use any means available — mail, telephone, internet, email and even Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

“Whatever the method of contact, their main goal is to deceive you into believing you’ve won a prize and need to send a pre-payment to claim that prize,” Riggenbach said. “Do not follow their instructions, it is a scam.”

Anyone who receives such a call should contact the Sheriff’s Office or Van Wert Police Department. Scams may also be reported to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Yost highlights trends involving opiods

VW independent staff/submitted information

COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has released data from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s laboratory highlighting the ongoing prevalence of the synthetic opioid Fentanyl in Ohio.

“Illegal use of fentanyl continues to wreck Ohioans’ lives, causing addiction and death,” Yost said. “Unless the pills you’re taking were prescribed by your doctor, you can’t be sure what it is – don’t risk it.”

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency said last year alone, more than 70,000 Americans fatally overdosed on illegally made fentanyl. In Ohio in 2023, the total number of fentanyl-related opioid deaths was 3,579, according to Yost’s Scientific Committee on Opioid Overdose and Prevention Education, which monitors such deaths statewide using Ohio Department of Health data.

Those 3,579 deaths represent 98 percent of the 3,651 overall opioid fatalities in Ohio last year — reinforcing the breadth of the state’s challenge with illegal fentanyl. 

“These numbers are frightening if you look at them as numbers,” Yost said. “They are heartbreaking when you realize they were someone’s loved ones.”

Fentanyl update

As the largest criminal drug lab in the state, BCI’s laboratory tests a majority, but not all, of the drug evidence seized by law enforcement agencies in Ohio.

The BCI lab continues to process a high number of cases involving fentanyl, which in the first quarter of 2024 was the second-most-often identified substance in drug-evidence samples (after only methamphetamine). Since 2018, fentanyl has posed an increasingly larger public threat than heroin, whose prevalence has steadily declined in recent years.

Fentanyl is manufactured for doctors to control patients’ pain within a controlled environment. When fentanyl is illicitly manufactured in clandestine laboratories and mixed with other substances by drug traffickers — and/or used recreationally — it can be lethal.   

Houser appears for suppression hearing

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

A decision is pending after a suppression hearing was held in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court on Monday.

The hearing was held at the request of defense attorney Zachary Maisch, who is representing Ryan Houser, 38, of Celina, and formerly of Rockford. Houser is charged with aggravated murder, an unclassified felony; murder, an unclassified felony; possessing a weapon under disability, a third degree felony, and tampering with evidence, a third degree felony. The charges are tied to the September 2023 death of Houser’s girlfriend, Barbara Ganger, of Van Wert.

In paperwork filed with the court, Maisch claims Houser was never given a Miranda warning during interviews with law enforcement officers, including four separate interviews on September 5, 2023, and after Houser was jailed September 8 on an unrelated charge in Mercer County. He’s also seeking to have the court to suppress multiple statements solicited from Houser by law enforcement officers on different occasions during the investigation.

During Monday’s 45-minute hearing, two Van Wert Police Department detectives took the stand and were questioned by Van Wert County Prosecutor Eva Yarger and Maisch. Lt. Rob Black and Sgt. Brock Blackmore testified that Houser was given his Miranda rights, as well as a reminder of his rights, before each interview. In addition, Yarger provided Judge Martin Burchfield an audio file of one of the interviews, and Assistant Prosecutor Dillon Staas noted statements made by Houser are critical to the case. 

Houser was interviewed by detectives at his Rockford home, at the Rockford Police Department and at the Van Wert Police Department. In court documents, Maisch claimed Houser was surrounded by multiple officers while he was seated on the porch of his home, “limiting his movement, or at the very least, intimidating him into the belief that he wasn’t free to leave.” Black and Blackmore both testified that at no time did law enforcement officers attempt to intimidate Houser.

No other testimony was heard and Houser remained silent throughout the hearing. Judge Burchfield advised both sides he’d review the information and issue a decision in writing.