In case you missed it: 5 crimes from Springfield area this week

Here are five crimes stories which appeared in The Springfield News-Sun from the week of March 17 to March 23.

Springfield man accused of punching, robbing man

Albert Castello, 38, was charged with robbery in Clark County Municipal Court. He pleaded not guilty and his bond was set at $30,000.

Springfield police were dispatched to a home on East Street on Sunday, where they found a victim covered in blood and injuries on his face, according to an affidavit.

The victim told police that he and another man went to see Castello at his home on Rutland Avenue and while there, he said he was jumped by Castello and two other man. The victim said that all three men punched him several times in the face and took his wallet and debit cards.

»PREVIOUS: Springfield man accused of hitting, robbing man

The victim said he then ran from the house and got back into the vehicle and fled the area, before calling the police, according to the affidavit.

He was transported to Springfield Regional Medical Center.

Police investigated the address on Rutland Avenue, where they found a broken lamp and blood in the living room.

Castello was arrested on previous warrants and a charge of robbery. He told police that the men had been drinking and a fight broke out, the affidavit says.

Springfield Police: Woman charged with child endangering  after leaving children under care of mentally ill person

A Springfield woman was charged with two counts of child endangering after allegedly leaving two children in poor living conditions under the supervision of someone who is mentally ill.

Officers arrived to a house on Lagonda Avenue. The woman who answered the door, Angela Ballenger, told officers she was babysitting for her sister who was in the hospital, according to a police report.

Officers noticed the smell of mold and saw trash and other miscellaneous items throughout the house, the report says.

»PREVIOUS: Springfield Police: Woman charged after leaving kids under watch of mentally ill person

Later that day, representatives from Children’s Services went back to check to the home and found that a 2-year-old and 4-year-old had been left alone. The representatives told officers that a woman came to the house shortly after they got there.

The report says she told officers that she was mentally ill.

Ballenger and a family friend also eventually showed up to the house, according to the report. Police say the family friend informed them that the woman should not have been watching the children because of her condition.

Ballenger was taken into custody for allowing the children to be under the supervision of the woman was mentally ill, the report says.

She was charged with two counts of child endangering and taken to the Clark County Jail, the report says.

Springfield man accused of stabbing girlfriend with box cutter

Miguel Martinez II, 53, is accused of stabbing his girlfriend on Wednesday. He was charged with felonious assault, to which he pleaded not guilty. Martinez’s bond was set at $25,000.

Dispatchers received a frantic call from Martinez’s girlfriend around 2 a.m., saying that he had cut her with a knife.

Springfield police found the woman with deep cuts to her head and upper body and Martinez with a cut on his arm.

»PREVIOUS: Springfield man charged with stabbing girlfriend at Ludlow Avenue apartment

Martinez told officers that he and his girlfriend had been arguing and drinking all night, and that she stabbed him in the arm while he was in bed.

He told officers that he then grabbed a box cutter from under his pillow. He said he tried to calm the woman down and must have cut her with the knife in the process.

Springfield man found guilty of charges stemming from firing shots in gas station lot

Antoine Green, 33, was found guilty in connection to a shooting at a Sunoco gas station in September.

Police said he fired several shots after a dispute at a gas station on Selma Road and struck a victim multiple times.

Springfield police spoke with the mother of Green’s child who said the shooting took place after they got in an argument over visitation time with their son, according to an affidavit.

»PREVIOUS: Springfield man accused in Sunoco shooting found guilty

A surveillance video shows an argument taking place in the parking lot of the gas station before shots were fired in the direction of a person who got out of a car. Law enforcement said an 8-year-old child was in the car while the gunfire took place.

Donnelsville man pleads guilty to rape of child younger than 13 years old

Douglas Lovelock, 62, pleaded guilty to rape of a child under the age of 13 and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

He pleaded guilty Wednesday in Clark County Common Pleas Court on two counts of rape. As a result of the plea, two counts of gross sexual imposition were dismissed.

»PREVIOUS: Clark County man pleads guilty to rape of child under 13

Clark County Assistant Prosecutor Aaron Heskett said Lovelock was sentenced immediately following his plea.

“The child victim was elementary school aged and known to the defendant,” Heskett said. “There was one child victim in this case and the offenses occurred on separate occasions at different places.”

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