CRIME & SAFETY

Early on Wednesday, a car crash occurred at the intersection of McKibben and Jackson. The accident resulted in a child and an adult being taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Earlier today, a car crash on the south side of Lima led to two people being taken to the hospital. The accident took place a little after 10:30 a.m., involving two vehicles at the intersection of Fourth Street and Central Avenue.

DANVILLE — NorthcentralPA.com is reporting… State police arrested an Ohio woman after they found narcotics, paraphernalia, and a weapon during a traffic stop on Interstate 80 eastbound in Liberty Township, Montour County. Troopers say, around 11am, September 22, they stopped a car for a traffic violation. They say the driver then fled the scene on foot, while the passenger, 27-year-old Denisse Martinez, 27, of Lima, Ohio, attempted to walk away.

ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - The Allen County Sheriff's Office getting funds to start an informational campaign surrounding the Recovery Ohio Initiative. Allen County Commissioners entering into an agreement for a grant of just over $38,000 from the Office of Criminal Justice to the West Central Ohio Crime Task Force. The money will be used for billboards, bus wraps, and a tip line to bring awareness, education, and prevention of drug activity in the region. The tip line will help those needing help with addiction to find the services they need and take tips about criminal drug activity.

LIMA — The Lima Police Department is hosting its second annual trunk or treat. The event will be held from noon until 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28. Various businesses will be in the parking lot of Lima Senior High School — the West lot off of Spartan Way. LPD is currently looking for businesses, community members, churches and organizations to participate in the event.

The Lima Police Department is warning residents about a scam taking place in the city. The department has recently received several complaints of telephone scammers attempting to portray themselves as Lima Police Detectives. Police officials stated that they would not have detectives claim to be a part of a fraud...

LIMA — A sentence doled out Tuesday in Allen County Juvenile Court to a 16-year-old Lima girl marked the final chapter in a saga that scarred at least seven local families and left an entire community grasping for answers. For the second time in as many weeks a young...

DANVILLE – Two people from Lima, Ohio are accused of fleeing a traffic stop in Liberty Township, Montour County on Friday. State police say they stopped a car on Interstate 80 eastbound, when the driver of the car fled the scene on foot. The passenger was taken into custody after a search of the vehicle turned up a bulk amount of narcotics, a weapon and drug paraphernalia. The passenger, 27 year old Denisse Martinez was sent to the Columbia County Prison on $50,000 bail. A warrant has been issued for the driver of the vehicle.

LIMA — The Allen County Sheriff’s Office has released additional details regarding the deceased individual found Tuesday evening at a Lima gas station. The individual, identified as Pedro Varrga, 21, of Louisville, Kentucky, was discovered in his parked vehicle unresponsive at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Speedway, 1875 Harding Highway, Lima. With Varrga’s death initially considered suspicious, the Lucas County Coroner conducted an autopsy, with the Allen County Sheriff’s Office conducting an investigation.

AUGLAIZE COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - A federal trial date has been pushed back to January for three people charged in the death of a man in Auglaize County in 2022. The Northern District of Ohio Federal Court has rescheduled the trial for Amanda Hovanec, Anthony Theodorou, and Anita Green to start on January 8, 2024. The three are facing charges for the death of Timothy Hovanec in April 2022. Amanda Hovanec and Theodorou are each facing multiple charges related to Timothy's death. Green has been charged with accessory after the fact.

LIMA — The Lima Police Department has created a recruitment team to hire more officers. The Lima Police Department shared about the team at the City Council meeting Monday evening. ”This was a team that was formed once Chief [Angel] Cortes became chief,” Lima Police Department Lt. Matthew Douglass...

This week in Allen County, Ohio, several incidents occurred that are of concern for public safety. These incidents include a suspicious death of an unidentified male, a community gathering to honor a teenager who was shot and killed, a trial delay due to new evidence in a shooting case, sentencing for two teenagers involved in a shooting death, and a prison sentence for a man who assaulted a woman with a handgun.

An investigation is underway following the discovery of a 21-year-old male found dead in his car at a Speedway convenience store on Harding Highway in Lima, on September 19, 2023.

Lafayette-Jackson emergency services, Ohio State Highway Patrol, and local sheriff's deputies were called to the scene of a two-car accident at the Allen and Hardin County border.

A man was arrested after a pursuit that started in the City of Kenton ended with a crash on State Route 309 at State Route 235 south of Ada Wednesday afternoon. According to a release, Kenton Police Officers had been searching for 35 year old Wayne Tolson for several days after a warrant was issued by the Hardin County Common Pleas Court.

BLUFFTON — Bluffton Police Chief Ryan Burkholder opened the dedication ceremony for the Fallen Officers Memorial in Bluffton on Saturday by reading a familiar Bible passage. The verse from John 3:16 is a reminder of the sacrifice that comes from love and caring; a sacrifice that becomes the ultimate one for some; a sacrifice made by three Bluffton police officers in the past 96 years. Burkholder challenged those present “to remember [and] honor Owen Grandstaff, Frank Herrmann, and Dominic Francis because of their ultimate sacrifice to the Village of Bluffton and its community.”

LIMA — Recently unearthed evidence has pushed the trial for a Lima man back from next month until next year. Jesse Hardy appeared in Allen County Common Pleas Court on Friday to waive his constitutional right to a speedy trial. Megan McLean from the Allen County Public Defenders Office requested Hardy’s scheduled Oct. 10 jury trial be continued in light of new ballistics evidence that reportedly has recently come to light.

A Lima house, due for demolition, was transformed into a mock fire zone by the local Fire Department. As an inventive training exercise, the department enabled its firefighters to grapple with real-life fire scenarios, showcasing a productive use of an otherwise discarded structure.

The Lima Police Department has partnered with the local community to launch a new security camera database system. This web-based, voluntary program encourages residents and business owners to register their security cameras and video doorbells to assist the police with crime investigations.

SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP — A former Shawnee Township detective and school resource officer is facing criminal charges following an external investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation into allegations about the former resource officer’s social media activity. An Allen County grand jury indicted Jeremy Shellenbarger Thursday on two...