-----Original Message-----
From: [Name withheld]
Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2005
To: OFCC

I was robbed today because of one of the biggest [criminal protection zones] of them all - the Ohio State University.

I was at the corner of 4th and Maynard in Columbus after being dropped off
by the OSU bus system CABS. It's normally a 10-15 minute wait before the #4
COTA bus comes by and takes me to my doorstep.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

The Associated Press is reporting today that a total of $18,000 in cash was stolen last week from the state car assigned to Ohio Supreme Court Justice Terrence O’Donnell, prompting immediate questions from the
Columbus Dispatch and others:

Why did a Supreme Court justice have $18,000 sitting in his (state-owned) car?

By all accounts to this point, no one can answer the question, and the justice himself isn't doing much talking.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

Dayton's WHIO-TV (NewsCenter 7) is reporting that a prominent downtown businessman wants the city to take action immediately when it comes to all of the downtown problems that have occurred recently.

Acccording to the report, Sandy Mendelson appeared at the city commission meeting Wednesday morning to talk about his concerns. He said he is concerned about the recent rash of violence and said he wonders how much longer he will remain downtown.

From the story:

His business stretches for five city blocks and is located near the baseball stadium. Mendelson's business has been there for 43 years.

He told city commissioners that they need to clean up the mess downtown and told them it needs to be done now – not a year from now.

NewsCenter 7 has been reporting that there has been crime and violence downtown that has involved young people. The area that has mostly been affected is around Third and Main and Fourth and Main streets.

The most recent incident was a near riot, according to the city manager, and it took more than 20 officers to get control of the situation.

Mendelson said a lot is at stake if the city does not take action immediately. He said people are scared to come downtown, which would affect his business and others.

If Mendelson is so concerned about his customers' well-being, we have to wonder why he denies them their constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense when visiting his store. You see, Mr. Mendelson posts discriminatory "no-guns" signs banning CHL-holders from his property.

Concerned citizens may contact Sandy Mendelson at:

Mendelson's Electronics & Liquidation Outlet
340 East First Street, Dayton
(937) 461-3525

Contact information for other dangerous locations in Dayton and across the state is available in OFCC's Do Not Patronize While Armed database.

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Related Stories:
Senseless violence stirs two Ohio newspapers from pacifist dreamland

WDTN: "Gun Advocates Wish to Carry Weapons on RTA Buses"

''Near riot'' at ''no-guns'' Dayton RTA hub

The Cleveland Plain Dealer, while reporting on the pending release of a man who spent 25 years in jail for a rape he says he didn't commit, quoted the man's victim as saying she'll carry a concealed firearm in case of a future attack.

The newspaper reports the nightmare began in 1979 when Kim Croft told police that he slashed her face, raped her, strangled her, stabbed her multiple times and left her for dead.

From the story:

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After denying parole 16 times, the Ohio Parole Board voted unanimously in December that Reece had served enough time.

[His victim] said Monday the board did not exonerate Reece.

"He is not being released as an innocent man," she said.

Now [she] and Reece worry about each other.

"I need to take precautions," she said, adding that these include carrying a concealed weapon.

When Ohio's concealed handgun licensure law was passed, the legislature's intent was to have replaced Ohio's flawed affirmative defense system (which rendered persons who carried firearms for self-defense guilty until they could prove themselves innocent) with a legal method to bear arms for self-defense that could be exercised almost immediately. As soon as a person realizes they are in danger, the legislature intended to have provided them with a legal method of bearing arms for self-defense - the Temporary Emergency License (TEL).

Almost immediately, several sheriffs throughout the state of Ohio began sharing their personal disdain for the new law by refusing to issue the licenses. One Franklin Co. resident, who had been victimized by a window peeker/ stalker, had to sue that county's sheriff after being told that her reasons were not good enough. The Ohio Supreme Court eventually affirmed OFCC's position on TELs.

The intent of the General Assembly was that victims in Ohio do not have to divulge specific, embarrassing details of their victimization, and do not have to submit to the intimidation of a discretionary process to exercise self defense.

No rape victim should have to sit down in front of a strange man in a sheriff's office to describe her trauma, or have her accusations called into question, in order to be able to obtain a legal means of protecting herself. No victim of assault, upon learning that his attacker has been release from prison, should have to wait up to 45 days for a sheriff to approve his CHL.

Very few people in Ohio have been able to take advantage of the TEL opportunity in the first 180 days. This may be, in part, because the law is new and few people are unaware of it. But it is certainly also due to misapplication of the law by sheriffs previous to our court victory. This is wrong, and if problems continue, we must again petition our legislators to reform the law.

Related Story:
AL: More women packing heat because of serial rapist

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that two armed men took over a North Side bar shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, robbing the bar and its patrons before fleeing.

Columbus police told the Dispatch the two masked gunmen, walked into the Sunrise bar, 967 E. Hudson St., at 12:45 a.m., emptied the cash register and demanded that the patrons hand over their wallets, cash, cell phones and jewelry. The robber then ordered everyone into the bar's bathroom and fled.

Officers told the newspaper both men were wearing hooded jackets. One was wearing a black and white bandana, the other a Halloween mask.

Related Stories:
Columbus nightclub: Disarmed CHL-holder watched helplessly as people died

Cincinnati Post: Jury clears bar 'hero'

WHIO-TV is is reporting that a Dayton police officer who shot his wife last week will not be charged, at least not yet.

From the story:

On Saturday, officers handcuffed Officer Michael Blake and took him into custody for questioning after he called a police dispatch number and said he had shot his wife. According to the call that Blake made, he shot his wife in self-defense.

On Monday, investigators were unable to determine if Blake was the aggressor in the dispute, which prompted police to release him.

On Tuesday, prosecutors denied criminal charges against the officer, at least for now. However, prosecutors said they plan to take a second look at the case. Prosecutors said they want more detailed information about the shooting before they proceed any further.

Investigators have told reporters that Blake is cooperating with the investigation, and that he is on paid administrative leave, while the investigation continues.

Meanwhile, the Dayton Daily News continues to raise questions as to why department policy was not followed in this case:

The following letter was submitted in response to an editorial criticizing gun-rights advocate Reginald Jones, who delivered an address to Ohio University students in Athens that explained how gun control laws were founded in racism.

February 17, 2005
Athens News

Mr. Smith, in response to your editorial last Thursday about the "goober who spoke at OU," I just have a few things to say. In the article you admit to being a "card-carrying member of the liberal media." Well, you'll get no objections from me on that statement.

Whether you realize it or not, you displayed some of the common bias traits associated with the liberal media.

For example, you wrote on a subject that you have no background in and on a presentation that you didn't even attend (I know, I was there).

You chose which parts of the speech you wanted to talk about and conveniently left out all the examples Mr. Jones used to explain his premise that gun control is racist.

Mr. Jones cited some of the world's biggest supporters of gun control -- Hitler, Stalin, Mao Tse-tung, Pol Pot, Kim Jong Il, etc.

These men have led the most oppressive and racist regimes in history, and they couldn't have done it without first disarming the people. That was one of Mr. Jones' main points, that to oppress someone you must first render him incapable of defending himself.

You also used a few tried-and-true tactics that the media always like to use when confronted with a challenging foe. You tried to assassinate Mr. Jones' character in order to make him seem unqualified (he was more than qualified to speak on racism and the Second Amendment), and you made light of the subject because you know the liberal point of view just doesn't work (look at violent crime rates in England or Australia).

Overall Mr. Smith, I found your editorial to be generally lacking in content and more the whining of someone who was mad nobody found anything wrong with a black man talking about guns. I'm afraid that's why I had to "blast the stupid stuff right out of the solar system."

Jordan Carr
Athens

Cincinnati: Man is indicted in slash, rob case
Teodora Meza couldn't understand why Pedro Lopez kept entering and leaving her Mexican store in Norwood that sells food and clothing. Suspicious, Meza asked Lopez what he wanted. He responded he was waiting for his brother. Soon after, though, Meza told police, Lopez pulled out a 14-inch butcher knife, robbed her and slashed her. When her 10-year-old daughter tried to come to her defense, Meza told police he threw her to the floor and knifed her, too. Lopez, 24, of Norwood, was indicted Tuesday by a Hamilton County grand jury on two counts each of aggravated robbery, felonious assault and kidnapping, charges carrying a maximum prison sentence of 56 years in prison.

Dayton: Suspects sought in victim zone abduction case
Police are waiting for the condition of a victim in an abduction to improve in the hope they can get leads on suspects still on the loose. The victim met several acquaintances Monday night at the 8 Ball and Wings bar on Salem Avenue in Trotwood, Capt. Dan Swafford said, and after the group left about 10 p.m., the victim was forced into the back of a car. Dayton homicide Sgt. Gary White said the victim either jumped or was thrown from the moving car at Siebenthaler and Odlin avenues. Police believe the victim was beaten or pistol whipped. He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, where police said he was in critical condition.

Huron Co.: Home invasion - Police say man held child hostage
(From the Sandusky Register:) Police involvement in the incident began with a woman's 911 call reporting someone breaking into a residence on Railroad Street, Hunker said. Steven G. Hood is accused of a failed attempt to kick in a door. When that didn't work, Hood allegedly punched a living room window and cut his right arm on the glass, Hunker said. Hood climbed in the window. "He was intoxicated," Hunker said. "There was blood all over the place." The woman and two boys, ages 3 and 5, were in the residence. Hood made them go upstairs with him. Hood allegedly banged the woman's head against the bed frame. The woman blacked out for a few minutes, Hunker said. Hood also is accused of dragging the woman down the stairs by her hair and punching her in the face, Hunker said. "At one point she swung a golf club at him and he took it away from her," Hunker said. "He asked a kid if he wanted him to kill her. The kid said, 'No. Don't do that,' " Hunker said. When officers arrived, the woman ran down the stairs with the 3-year-old. Hood allegedly said if anyone tried to go upstairs they would be sorry, Hunker said. Hood allegedly grabbed the 5-year-old boy and held the boy in front of him, and told officers, "Shoot me," Hunker said. Hood was taken into custody within minutes, Hunker said.

Sandusky: Georgia men charged in Fulton Street assault
(From the Sandusky Register:) Sandusky police received numerous calls at 8:49 p.m. Friday reporting a fight on the 300 block of Fulton Street. When they arrived, they found that a 22-year-old West Jefferson Street man had been stabbed in his lower back, according to a report, and he was taken for medical treatment at Firelands Regional Medical Center. A 17-year-old Fulton Street boy told officers that he "had a problem" with a man at a nearby convenience store, and that the man and three others had followed him home in a silver Mitsubishi. When they began to assault him, relatives ran outside to help him, he told police. During the confrontation, a man in a red shirt stabbed the West Jefferson Street man, the Fulton Street teen told police, and Dyson held a gun to both men's heads and threatened to shoot them, police said.

Sandusky Co.: Man reports being assaulted in cemetery
A man reported being assaulted at the Oakwood Cemetery in Ballville Township Monday evening. At about 8:23 p.m., the Sandusky County Sheriff's Department received a call of an assault near the cemetery. A deputy drove around the cemetery several times and heard a person yelling from inside. A man was found with minor wounds to the face. He reported that he was hit from behind with what appeared to be a glass bottle. He was not able to provide a description of the assailant. The victim was transported to a friend's residence. The man was told that if he wants to walk around a cemetery, he should do so during daylight hours.

Toledo: 4 stabbed in 5 west-side assaults
Police are investigating five assaults in West Toledo during the last week in which four victims were stabbed, possibly by the same man. Richard Fitzwater, 53, of West Toledo was in fair condition at Toledo Hospital after he was stabbed twice in the abdomen while walking on Auburn Avenue at the I-475 overpass early yesterday. Three of the other four victims were treated at various hospitals. The first assault occurred Wednesday. Two assaults, including Mr. Fitzwater's, occurred in the area of Auburn and the I-475 overpass. A third happened at Auburn and South Cove Boulevard. The others occurred Sunday night at Sylvania and Homewood avenues and Tremainsville Road and Mellwood Avenue. All occurred between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m.