GARFIELD HEIGHTS - A judge has suspended a 10-day jail sentence for a 79-year-old Garfield Heights woman.

Nancy Segula was previously sentenced for contempt of court charges for continuing to feed stray cats outside of her home.

A suspended sentence is a legal term for a judge's delaying of a defendant's serving of a sentence after they have been found guilty, in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation.

Animal advocates and the Garfield Heights Animal Warden have visited the property the past several days to remove stray cats and kittens.

Debra Bartowick with the animal rescue Forever Friends, told FOX 8 she hopes by removing the cats it will help spare Segula time behind bars.

Segula has been cited several times since 2015 for animal violations, including feeding stray cats, following neighbor complaints.

At a review hearing in July, a magistrate sentenced Segula to 10 days in jail for contempt of court after she repeatedly violated terms of her probation by illegally feeding stray cats at her home.

“The concern's been all the cat feces, the urine smell, dead cats that have been found,” said Garfield Heights Animal Warden Bonnie Hackett, who said she has been to the house to trap cats multiple times in the past.

The judgment requires Segula to remove items in her yard that provide shelter for animals and stop feeding animals.

Continuing coverage here.

EUCLID, Ohio -- A police officer caught on video in 2017 punching a suspect is now facing three misdemeanor charges in connection with that case.

A special prosecutor, attorney Dominic Vitantonio, was appointed in June to review the case of Euclid Officer Michael Amiott and filed the charges Tuesday.

The charges state Amiott used "unreasonable and/or excessive force" against Richard Hubbard during the August 2017 arrest.

Amiott faces two counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of interfering with civil rights. It is not known when he will appear in court.

The officer was fired after the incident, but in October an arbitrator ruled that he should be reinstated.

Police said since Amiott has returned to the force he has done a good job and has not had any disciplinary issues. The department released the following statement:

"We are aware the Special Prosecutor initiated misdemeanor criminal charges against Patrolman Amiott for the incident that occurred with Richard Hubbard in August of 2017.

"In light of the charges, Patrolman Amiott is being assigned to administrative duties during the pendency of the matter.

"We have no additional comment on the pending case."

Read more here. 

CLEVELAND - The FOX 8 I-TEAM is giving you the first look at what led up to the deadly shooting of an unarmed man by an off-duty Cleveland police officer.

It happened last year outside the Corner Alley on the city's east side.

The I-TEAM obtained security video, police body camera video and witness statements through a public records request.  A special prosecutor released the recordings since a grand jury recently reviewed the case and cleared the officer.

The incident left 21-year-old Thomas Yatsko dead.

He had been thrown out of the bar for fighting and security video shows what then happened just outside.

You see Yatsko squaring off with Cleveland Police Sgt. Dean Graziolli. He had been working security there off-duty.

Police said Yatsko turned aggressive, pushing and punching the officer and leaving his face bruised and bloodied. The video shows a little of the confrontation and you can see Graziolli had pulled his gun. Then Yatsko appeared to take another step toward the officer throwing another punch. Graziolli then fired two shots.

Police video also captured the stunned reaction of the man who’d been involved in a fight with Yatsko earlier.

Weeks ago, a grand jury reviewed the shooting. A special prosecutor said, over two days, he showed the video and presented statements from witnesses and even the officer. The grand jury decided on no charges, essentially ruling the shooting was justified.

Meantime, we’ve learned Graziolli is still on restricted duty while an internal investigation is ongoing to determine if any violations of police department rules took place during the shooting.

While the special prosecutor’s office released dozens of recordings, we did not receive the statement from officer Graziolli. We have asked why, but so far no one at the Franklin County prosecutors office has responded.

We’ve confirmed the officer did make a statement to sheriff’s deputies which was recorded on video.

Continuing coverage, here.

CLEVELAND - The FOX 8 I-Team has now obtained recordings of a Cleveland police officer explaining to Cuyahoga County sheriff deputies why he fired his gun at a 21-year-old, who had repeatedly punched him.

“First time he spit at me, he verbalized I would have to kill him,” Cleveland Sgt. Dean Graziolli told investigators earlier this year.

Graziolli gave a statement to detectives who were investigating the January 2018 police-involved shooting that left 21-year-old Thomas Yatsko dead.

The shooting happened outside the Corner Alley on the city's east side.

“I had my weapon out and he hit me a couple more times," Graziolli said.

The I-Team obtained security video, police body camera video and witness statements through a public records request filed with the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Pffice.

Prosecutors in Franklin County served as special prosecutors on the case. The case was presented to a Cuyahoga County grand jury in June. That grand jury chose not to indict the officer.

Graziolli explained to detectives that Yatsko had been thrown out of the bar for fighting.

The officer said Yatsko turned aggressive, pushing and punching him and leaving his face bruised and bloodied. The video shows a little of the confrontation and you can see Graziolli pulled his gun. Then Yatsko appeared to take another step toward the officer throwing another punch. Graziolli then fired two shots.

Graziolli, who was working off-duty, said as soon as the shots were fired he shouted for someone to call 911.

Graziolli remains on restricted duty. The family of Thomas Yatsko filed a federal lawsuit. That lawsuit is still pending.

Read more, here.

AURORA, Ohio — A disciplinary hearing is scheduled for next week for the Aurora police officer who pleaded guilty in Florida to a misdemeanor charge in connection with a road rage incident.

Aurora Police Chief Brian Byard told FOX 8 that Officer Joseph LaPerna had been placed on unpaid administrative in March, immediately after the incident.

Byard said the disciplinary hearing could not be held until the criminal case was completed.  LaPerna pleaded guilty to the charge in a Florida courtroom Thursday and was placed on probation.

According to a press release from authorities, troopers responded to a highway violence incident on southbound I-75 March 2.

“Through the course of the resulting investigation, troopers determined that LaPerna was driving a 2018 Chevrolet near a 2018 Toyota Corolla on southbound I-75. LaPerna and the occupants of the Toyota became involved in a road rage incident,” the release states. “During the incident, LaPerna brandished a firearm (Glock 43) at the occupants of the Toyota. Laperna was stopped by responding troopers and Collier County Deputies on Pine Ridge Road near Seagate Drive in Naples. LaPerna was placed under arrest for aggravated assault and improper exhibit of a firearm and transported to the Lee County Jail.”

LaPerna has been an officer in Aurora for more than 20 years.

According to his personnel file, he was disciplined several times in the past, including being fired in May 2006 after an off duty road rage incident involving himself and a resident. The police union fought the termination and he was reinstated.

In the other incident, occurring in December 2017, LaPerna was disciplined and required to forfeit holiday pay as a result of poor decision making involving a traffic stop with an elderly resident.

Continuing coverage, here.

CLEVELAND - A 7-year-old girl is home recovering after being shot in the back during a neighborhood back-to-school party Saturday night.

Her mother, who asked not to be identified, said the shooting happened shortly after 10 p.m. on Miles Avenue.

"We weren't going to go, but the kids saw it on the way home from the grocery store," the mother told the FOX 8 I-Team Monday. "There were games for kids and free food. There were lots of kids there. I thought we were safe."

Just as they were getting ready to go the shooting happened.

The young girl told her mother she saw two or three men walking by and heard gunshots. She started running and got pushed down by others that were also running away.

"I could hear the shooting and I started looking for my children, I saw their shoes but they weren't in them," the mother said. "I then heard her screaming to help her."

The mother said people were calling for an ambulance but she didn't want to wait. She and a relative drove the girl to the hospital. After they got to the emergency room it was discovered one bullet was near her lung.

"Because where it is located they don't want to take it out," the mother said.

Cleveland Police Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia says no arrests have been made yet, and police are asking anyone with information to call.

"This is a young child that got hurt," Ciaccia said. "This is a great opportunity for 'See Something, Say Something.' We know that in neighborhoods people talk about these incidents occur and sometimes you think you don't have information that is 100 percent concrete but we are asking if you have any information to call our Fourth District detective bureau 216-623-5418."

Those with information can also call Crimestoppers of Cuyahoga County at 216-252-7463.

BOARDMAN, Ohio-- An 18-year-old Boardman man is facing federal charges of making threats against law enforcement. An investigation showed he made online statements supporting mass shootings and lived in a house with more than two dozen guns and thousand of rounds of ammunition.

Justin Olsen was arrested by Boardman police last week and is being held in the Mahoning County Jail.

He is due back in U.S. District Court in Youngstown Friday for a detention hearing.

According to a Boardman Police Department Report, FBI agents told officers last week that Olsen had posted online that he “supported mass shootings and attacks on Planned Parenthood.”

Federal agents started investigating the teen in February. A prosecutor last week stated he felt it was necessary to arrest Olsen because of recent mass shootings.

Agents raided his father’s home, where he lived, and confiscated 25 guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition.

FOX 8 stopped at the house Tuesday, but no one appeared to be home.

Neighbors said Olsen’s car remained in the driveway. A few expressed concern over the incident and fear he will return to the neighborhood if released on bond.

One neighbor said Olsen was expected to leave for college soon and had said he got a scholarship to a university in Texas.

Olsen’s attorney did not return calls to discuss the case.

According to the Boardman police report, Olsen admitted to making some of the comments about violence online, but said he was joking.

SANDUSKY, Ohio-- A retired Sandusky police officer thought  crime-fighting was in his past, but on Wednesday morning he realized he was wrong.

"It was 5:45 and I was walking to my car, with a coffee in my hand, and not really paying attention," said Mike  Schock. "All of a sudden I saw someone sitting in the driver's seat of my car."

Schock didn't reach for a weapon; instead, he grabbed his key fob.

He locked all the doors and called 911, letting dispatchers know the  suspect was locked inside.

Schock said the man was going through his glove compartment when he saw him inside the car.

"I asked him what he was doing and he didn't have a whole lot to say," Schock said. "So I just kept locking the door and he kind of reached around for a minute to try and open the door but I think in the dark, and that my daughter had been in there and the seat was all the way forward, he couldn't really move around. So he just gave up."

When police pulled up, Schock got the suspect, Tony Harper, out of the car.

Harper was arrested on misdemeanor charges and taken to the Erie County jail.

Sandusky Detective Kevin Youskievicz says this is the first time he heard of an arrest like this one.

"Very unusual," Youskievicz said. "I can't think in my entire career here  that someone got arrested because they were locked and kept in the car."

EUCLID, Ohio– A woman is facing a felony cruelty to animal charge after police say she threw a cat over a balcony during a domestic dispute.

Euclid Lt. Mitch Houser said police responded to the dispute between roommates at an apartment complex off of Lake Shore Boulevard Sunday around 11 p.m.

Melissa Thornton, 24, was arrested for a felony charge of cruelty to animals.

“Thornton was arguing with her roommate and it turned into a physical scuffle,” Houser told FOX 8. “Thornton picked up a bicycle and threw it off of the balcony. Then she picked up their cat and threw it off of the balcony. Police found the cat and bicycle in the parking lot, 17 floors below. The cat was critically injured and police were forced to euthanize it to stop its obvious suffering. The bicycle did not strike anyone or anything.”

Thornton appeared before Euclid Municipal Court Judge Patrick Gallagher who set her bond at $5,000.

She is due back in court soon.

FAIRLAWN - Wallaby seems to smile as she uses her back paws to get her wheelchair device to roll down the driveway and follow her owner.

"She does pretty good with it," said Brian Hollingsworth.

Hollingsworth adopted Wallaby and Roo from a shelter about two years ago.

"They were puppy mill dogs so they were born with severe front leg deformities due to inbreeding," Holligsworth said.
The two are sisters, and they can get around pretty good but have trouble going for walks and playing. They are extremely loving and Hollingsworth wants to bring them to nursing homes and pediatric wards but needs to get them more mobile.

"We are trying to find them prosthetic devices but the costs are around $1,500 a limb," Hollingsworth said.

He works two jobs and is saving money for the devices. He has also started a Go Fund Me Account for his two best friends.

"They are my babies, and I have a soft spot in my heart for dogs that no one else is going to adopt," Hollingsworth said. "As soon as I sat down with them, I knew I just had to take them home."

For more on how you can help click here.

AURORA, Ohio -- An Aurora police officer, who pleaded guilty last week in Florida to a misdemeanor charge in connection with a road rage incident, has been fired.

According to a disciplinary letter, Officer Joseph La Perna was fired Thursday.

Aurora Law Director Dean DePiero said LaPerna was fired following a disciplinary hearing held earlier this week.

Aurora Police Chief Brian Byard told FOX 8 that LaPerna had been placed on an unpaid administrative leave immediately after the March incident.

Officer Joe LaPerna, Aurora Police Department

Byard said the disciplinary hearing could not be held until the criminal case was completed. LaPerna pleaded guilty to the charge in a Florida courtroom last week and placed on probation.

According to a release from the Florida State Patrol, troopers responded to a highway violence incident on southbound I-75 March 2.

Video obtained by the FOX 8 I-Team through a public records request shows LaPerna being detained by troopers. He can also be heard telling an officer that he showed his gun but did not point it at anyone.

LaPerna has been an officer in Aurora for more than 20 years.

According to his personnel file, he was disciplined several times in the past, including being fired in May 2006 after an off-duty road rage incident involving himself and a resident. The police union fought the termination and he was reinstated.

In the other incident, occurring in December 2017, LaPerna was disciplined and required to forfeit holiday pay as a result of poor decision-making involving a traffic stop with an elderly resident.

“If you stain the badge like that you don’t deserve to wear the uniform,” DePiero said.

It’s not known if LaPerna plans to appeal the termination.

Read more, here.

HUDSON, Ohio – The FOX 8 I-TEAM has uncovered a mystery in the Summit County town of Hudson that could go back decades after work crews found bones.

Friday, crews digging a sanitary sewer line discovered the bones.  The work was being done on private property off of Boston Mills Road.

Hudson police were called and they are now working to determine if the bones are human or from an animal.

Detectives will be back in the area Saturday with medical officials. It could take weeks before they can determine if the bones are human.

Sources say it appears the bones had been buried for years.

STRUTHERS - A 20-year-old New Middletown man accused of pretending to be involved in a shooting at an area Jewish community center entered a not guilty plea in court Monday afternoon.

James Reardon was arrested by New Middletown police Friday and is facing charges of local telecommunications harassment and aggravated menacing.

“This is a small wonderful community and this made my heart sink when I saw the video,” New Middletown Police Chief Vincent D'Egidio told Fox 8.

He said on Friday a concerned citizen told an officer about a video posted to Reardon’s Instagram account on July 11. According to the chief, it showed a man shooting a semi-automatic rifle with sirens and screams in the background, with a caption and tag that indicated a threat to the Jewish Community Center in Youngstown.

The chief said they raided the home where Reardon lives and confiscated several weapons and ammunition.

The chief said Reardon was wearing a jacket with IRA patches on it when he was arrested.

Neighbors say Reardon was always very open about his politics.

“ He would get in screaming matches with his grandfather about politics,” said Tim McCoy , who knew Reardon for years. He said he is not surprised by the arrest. “I basically hoped it wouldn’t happen but I knew down the line of it continued down the road there was going to be an issue with the police.”

Andy Lipkin, the executive vice-president of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation stated in a press release that officials arranged for extra uniformed security personnel to be stationed at the JCC and at all the Synagogues.

“ I want to stress that we know of no other threat to the Jewish Community or to any of our agencies at this point it time,” Lipkin stayed in the release. “Nonetheless, I have directed that we maintain the additional level of security for the near future. While we have no comment about Mr. Reardon and the criminal justice process that will determine what charges might be brought against him, I want to stress today that this is a clear example of everything going right. The system worked. We take very seriously the need to be vigilant to ensure the safety of all members of the local Jewish community, as well as all members and guests of our Jewish Community Center and our other agencies. Security has become a vital part of the mission of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, a mission from which we will never waver.”

Bond was set at $250,000.  If the bond is posted, James Reardon will be under house arrest without work privileges.

He is due back in court, September 13, at 10 a.m.

Reardon's family appeared in court Monday for his hearing but declined to comment.

**Continuing coverage here**

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Former Cuyahoga County Judge Lance Mason plead guilty in the murder of his ex-wife Aisha Fraser Tuesday.

Mason, fighting back tears, said he wants to take responsibility for what he did and not put his family through any more pain.

“I want to admit my guilt and take responsibility,” Mason said during a plea hearing In Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

He appeared to get emotional as the visiting judge questioned him about pleading guilty instead of going to trial.

“There was no way I was going to go to trial and have my daughter testify against me,” Mason told the visiting judge.

Mason, 51, plead guilty to aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, violating a protection order and grand theft.

Police were called to a home in Shaker Heights on Nov. 17 and found Fraser, 45, dead in the driveway.

Investigators said while fleeing the scene, Mason rammed a police cruiser, injuring an officer.

Both attorneys told the judge they believe their client is making the plea “knowingly and voluntarily.”

He will be sentenced at a later date.

Prosecutor Mike O'Malley told FOX 8's Peggy Gallek he wants Mason to get life in prison with no parole.

Prosecutors said Mason will also have to register as a violent offender.

In 2014, Mason pleaded guilty to domestic violence and attempted felonious assault after investigators said he punched and choked Fraser in front of their two young children.

He was sentenced to two years in prison and released after serving nine months. He was removed from the bench and suspended by the Ohio Supreme Court.

Fraser was a beloved sixth-grade teacher at Woodbury Elementary School.

Continuing coverage here.

NEWBURGH HEIGHTS - The Fox 8 I-Team has learned a possible cause of a fire that damaged several houses Monday in Newburgh Heights.

Crews were called to Pearse Avenue around 3:45 p.m. where two houses were engulfed in flames. The blaze spread to another home on McGregor Avenue.

Police say the matter is still under investigation but they are looking into the possibility a homeowner started the fire when he used a butane torch to kill weeds.

“Fortunately no injuries,” said Police Chief John Majoy.

Police and fire officials are investigating. Majoy added that he does not know how long the investigation will take.

EUCLID, Ohio– A Cleveland officer was arrested on several charges, including attempted kidnapping. He has now been indicted.

Patrol Officer Solomon Nhiwatiwa was arrested Tuesday by the Euclid Police Department on the felony charge, as well as the following charges, the FOX 8 I-Team has learned: criminal child enticement, disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, pandering obscenity, public indecency, endangering children, assault and attempted interference with custody.

The arrest came following an investigation by Euclid police.

Internal affairs is also conducting an investigation on Nhiwatiwa, 34. He was relieved from duty and will remain suspended without pay while the case is pending.

Nhiwatiwa was hired in 2014 and worked in the Third District, Basic Patrol Section.

Cleveland Police Union President Jeff Follmer, who is still finding out more about the details of this case, said, “He deserves his day in court like everyone else.”

NEWBURGH HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Police have taken a student at Washington Park High School into custody Wednesday morning for a having a gun.

The gun was confiscated and not loaded.

The gun was spotted on school grounds and not taken into the building.

Newburgh Heights Police Chief John Majoy says they are investigating the matter.

The school was placed on a brief lockdown. No one was injured.

FOX 8 reached out to the district for a statement. Here's what Dr. Roseann Canfora, Deputy Chief of Communications told us:

"A Washington Park student is facing charges this morning after a teacher spotted him hiding a weapon outside on the school grounds. The principal put the school on lockdown while the grounds were searched, the weapon was located, Newburgh Heights police were notified and the student was taken into custody by our Safety & Security team."

EUCLID, Ohio-- The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office released new details about an off-duty Cleveland police officer accused of trying to kidnap a 12-year-old girl.

Solomon Nhiwatiwa, 34, turned himself into Euclid police on Tuesday and remains in the city jail.

Prosecutors said Nhiwatiwa approached the victim while she was waiting for the school bus on Euclid Avenue in Euclid on Aug. 16. The off-duty officer asked if the 12-year-old needed a ride to school, but she refused.

He drove away, only to return about a minute later. Nhiwatiwa parked his car, walked up to the girl and exposed himself, according to the prosecutor's office.

Then Nhiwatiwa urinated on the victim's head, upper body and legs while holding a phone, the police report said. Investigators said they believe he was recording the incident. Nhiwatiwa left and that's when the girl called her mother at work.

“These actions are impossible to comprehend,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley. “My office will hold him accountable and ensure that he never holds the position of police officer again.”

Nhiwatiwa is charged with attempted kidnapping, pandering obscenity involving a minor, disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, endangering children, criminal child enticement, assault and attempted interference with custody.

The FOX 8 I-Team was the first to report the arrest, and the indictment against the officer.

Euclid police were able to identify Nhiwatiwa as the suspect, in part, because a woman reported a suspicious man in an SUV earlier that day, according to the police report.

The Cleveland Division of Police said Nhiwatiwa, a patrol officer in the Third District, was relieved from duty and will remain suspended without pay, pending the completion of the criminal investigation. He was hired in March 2014.

SANDUSKY, Ohio-- Police arrested a registered sex offender on several charges in connection with the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl, who knocked on his door while collecting money for an organization.

Darius Knight, 30, is charged with gross sexual imposition, unlawful restraint and resisting arrest.

The incident happened this weekend.

"This young girl was out fundraising when she knocked on the door of his home," said Sandusky Police Sgt. Kevin Youskievicz.

Police reports stated Knight told the girl to come inside and then he locked the door. He is accused of improperly touching her.

Knight was arrested Wednesday. Knight denied the allegations and insisted he did nothing wrong.

He is being held in the Erie County jail.

This is not the first time Knight has been arrested. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2011 on an attempted rape charge. He is still on parole for that case.

Police want to remind parents if children are going to go door to door for fundraising, make sure they don't go alone.

"What I tell parents is go with your child or make sure they go with a buddy," Youskievicz said.

Parents can also go online to check if any sex offenders live in their area.

"It's always a good idea to check," said Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth.

Knight is expected in court soon to face the charges.