Domestic violence case against local police chief ends in mistrial

A two-day trial ended with no verdict this week in the domestic violence case against the police chief of the village of Bowersville.

Timothy Hedges, 53, testified in his defense against a fifth-degree felony charge of domestic violence during proceedings in Greene County Common Pleas Judge Michael Buckwalter’s courtroom.

The accuser, Hedges’ adult daughter, also testified during the trial. Her name and other personal identifying information has been redacted from court records.

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The trial began Monday, and closing arguments happened Tuesday. The jury was unable to reach a verdict after a five-hour deliberation that lasted into Tuesday evening, according to a court official.

The charge stems from an August 2017 incident at Hedges’ apartment in Fairborn. The victim filed a police report after visiting her father, claiming he assaulted her while escorting her out of the apartment, according to court records.

Hedges’ daughter, who was 13 weeks pregnant at the time of the incident, told investigators she went to her father’s apartment to get her birth certificate and high school diploma, according to the Fairborn detective’s statement of facts.

The woman said she entered the apartment and her father was sleeping on the couch. When he awoke he “became enraged and ordered her out of his house,” according to the detective’s statement.

Hedges’ daughter told investigators her father grabbed her by the neck and arm and forcefully lifted her off her feet before pushing her out of the apartment, according to the court record.

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Hedges told investigators he told his daughter he did not have the documents she was seeking and repeatedly asked her to leave with no results before “he grabbed her and removed her from his residence,” according to the court record.

It’s unclear whether the prosecutor’s office will seek a re-trial. Prosecutors and an attorney representing Hedges were not immediately available for comment.

This news organization is working to learn the status of Hedges’ employment with the village of Bowersville. The village has a volunteer police department to serve a population estimated at 333, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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