Haller said that in all the years he has worked as a prosecutor, he cannot recall Greene County authorities making a similar error.
The date of birth, Social Security number and New Paris address included on the indictment led authorities to issue an arrest warrant for a Christopher L. Gibbs.
That Christopher L. Gibbs was picked up by New Paris police on July 8 and taken to the Preble County jail, according to Preble County Sheriff Michael Simpson.
He said Gibbs was at the jail for 99 minutes, and jail officials took his mug shot. He was released after they learned that Greene County officials were looking for a Christopher L. Gibbs who is African-American, Simpson said. The Gibbs who was taken into custody is white. Both were born in 1986.
The indictment does not indicate Gibbs’ ethnicity.
“I want to know how the information got into the (court) file,” Haller said, terming Hayes’ probe as an “imminent litigation report.”
“I want to know: Is this a clerical error, is it some sort of negligence, is it a one-shot deal, is it a coincidence, is it a systematic problem? And when we found out about it, how did we react and did we react appropriately?”
Simpson said the mistake was discovered when his jail staff talked to Greene County officials.
“I think Greene County was looking for a black male. This guy was a white male,” he said. “So, once our jail staff figured that out, that Greene County’s entry was incorrect and that this was not a black male, then he was released, based on Greene County advised us to release him.”
Greene County First Assistant Prosecutor Suzanne Schmidt said, “We had wrong information. Multiple Social Security numbers were being used. That’s all I can say.”
Haller said the correct Christopher L. Gibbs, 24, who is from the Springfield area, was actually in the Clark County Jail being held on an unrelated case. He is now being held in the Butler County jail on other unrelated charges.
Timothy Henery, 35, was also arrested in connection with the scam that authorities said involved three men allegedly overcharging elderly people for tree and lawn work. Greene County Jail records indicate Henery left there on July 1 after paying a $100,000 bond.
The third defendant, Jason R. Johnson, 28, who authorities said led the scam, is still at large.
Haller said the scams allegedly happened twice each in Butler, Franklin and Montgomery counties and once in Greene County — a Bellbrook case that started the probe.
The incorrect photo of Gibbs, whose biographical information was identical to information contained in the July 1 indictment, was published July 15 in the Dayton Daily News with a story about the scam. The correct mug shot of Christopher L. Gibbs was published with a correction in the July 16 edition.
Since the case involves several counties, Haller said Jonathan Blanton, a principal assistant with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, has been sworn in as a special prosecutor to help prosecute this case.
Blanton said he was unaware the wrong biographical information on Gibbs was contained in the July 1 indictment but added, “I think the correct person was presented to the grand jury. It’s probably just improperly reflected on the indictment.”
Online court records show Gibbs’ indictment was corrected and the warrant reissued July 11 due to “wrong information on the defendant.”
“When we became aware of it, we corrected it,” said Schmidt. “There are lots of Christopher Gibbs out there.”
Haller said he has not contacted the wrong Christopher L. Gibbs, but would like to do so when the internal investigation is done.
“More than an apology, he’s due an explanation,” Haller said. “I’m still not happy with the fact that the wrong guy got arrested. Even though he’s got the same name.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-6951 or mgokavi@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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