Rick McCrabb
Cox Media Group Ohio reporter covering Middletown City Schools, Madison Local Schools, Carlisle Local School and Middletown non-profits
Latest from Rick McCrabb
A Middletown man was arrested twice on the same night after he was found sleeping in a different vehicle minutes after he was told to leave Mid-Western Auto Sales, 720 S. Verity Parkway. Kenton Ricke, 55, was found sleeping at 11 p.m. Oct. 7 by Middletown police in a car, according to a police report. The car lot owner told police Ricke,...
These are a few of the powerful, yet hateful, words written on tattered pieces of paper that are part of Maura Lisa’s artwork entitled “Bully Me Not.” Her work is one of 42 from Pendleton Art Center artists or invited guests that hangs in the second floor of the downtown center. The exhibit, which runs through Oct. 27, is...
A Monroe woman, found passed out in her running car, was charged with OVI after she told Middletown police she doesn’t drink alcohol and the empty brandy bottle in her car belonged to her mother. Freddrekka Bonds, 22, was charged with OVI, her first offense within six years; driving under suspension, possession of marijuana and open...
A Walmart employee told Middletown police that he stole about $9,000 in cellphones because he was “in need of funds,” according to a police report. Austin Fink, 25, of Middletown, was charged with theft, a fourth-degree felony, and transported to the Middletown City Jail. His preliminary hearing is set for Monday in Middletown...
When David Fant began his law enforcement career 34 years ago in Butler County, his newlywed wife, Cindy, would sit at home, nervously listening to the police scanner. Sometimes, after hearing a potentially dangerous call, she’d call her husband to see if he was safe. After several late-night calls, Fant told his wife the scanner was...
It’s time Middletown renames a city park or street after a “common man,” said David Shortt, an Army veteran and retired Middletown police officer. Shortt is hoping the city renames Flemming Park off Clark Street to Pfc. Patrick L. Kessler Park or renames a portion of Reinartz Boulevard between Clark and Charles Street. Kessler...
A Springboro man was found passed out, with the car running and his foot on the brake recently in the area of Highland Street and Roosevelt Boulevard, according to Middletown police. Charles Flaum, 34, was charged with drug abuse/alprazolam and physical control, according to a police report. Middletown police allegedly found Flaum sitting...
Middletown police are investigating a woman who allegedly paid for items with two “bad checks” at a Middletown pet store and possibly at stores in Englewood and Kettering. Police were called Sept. 28 to the Petco, 3464 Towne Blvd., by the manager who said a woman tried to make four separate purchases and return several items,...
While the unemployment rate continues to fall, the number of people in the region living in poverty remains steady, according to recent studies. Ohio’s unemployment rate is 4.6 percent and Butler County’s is 3.9, but 19 percent of the children and 14 percent of all Butler County residents are living in poverty, according to the...
A Middletown man was charged by police with carrying a concealed weapon, using weapons while intoxicated and discharging a firearm within the city limits, according to a police report. Danny Emerson, 64, was charged with the three misdemeanors Monday night in the 2100 block of South Breiel Boulevard, the report read. When police arrived around...
A Middletown bicyclist was charged with drug abuse and drug possession after he was stopped Monday morning near a downtown business. MORE: Police cracked down on speeding in school zones. The number of tickets issued surprised even them. Police said Thomas Helsley, 48, was riding a bike and pulling an empty bike behind him at 1 a.m. Monday...