Brad Dicken
Chronicle-Telegram
Elyria, OH, United States
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Past articles by Brad:
Security problems lead to delays, lines getting into justice center
ELYRIA – Getting into the Lorain County Justice Center is taking awhile this morning. Probate Judge James Walther, who serves as the county’s presiding judge, said that a problem with the X-ray machines forced deputies responsible for checking those entering the building to search bags by hand, which led to a long line. Walther said the problem was so bad for awhile that he actually went outside… → Read More
County commissioners sign off on full-body scanner for jail
ELYRIA — The Lorain County commissioners Wednesday approved a deal to buy a full-body scanner for Lorain County Jail. Jail Administrator Andy Laubenthal said the cost of the machine will be $118,750, which will come out of a technology grant from Inmate Calling Solutions, the company that took over the facility’s phone and other inmate communications systems this year. The machine itself is… → Read More
HIV-positive man again pleads guilty
ELYRIA – An HIV-positive Vermilion man has pleaded guilty to felonious assault for the second time in a decade to having sexual relations with a woman without disclosing his medical condition beforehand. Brandon Shullick, 33, entered the plea Wednesday to the charges and his defense attorney, JD Tomlinson, said he expects his client to receive about eight years in prison when he is sentenced… → Read More
Charges against Grafton man dropped
Criminal charges have been dropped against a Grafton man who had been accused of exposing himself and other inappropriate behavior while serving as a parent chaperone on a Midview Schools camping trip last year. Charges of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, public indecency and disorderly conduct against Scott Wuensch were dropped by prosecutors during a hearing Monday in Barberton… → Read More
Drug dealer involved in fatal overdose gets nine-year prison sentence
ELYRIA — The Elyria man who sold the fatal dose of heroin that killed Brian Baldwin earlier this year has agreed to serve nine years in prison. Devan Wilkerson Jr., 23, pleaded guilty Monday to charges of involuntary manslaughter, corrupting another with drugs and trafficking in drugs in connection with Baldwin’s death. He also pleaded guilty in two other drug trafficking cases he had been… → Read More
Simko's trial in husband's killing to go on next month as scheduled
Brad Dicken The Chronicle-Telegram ELYRIA — Julene Simko will go on trial next month for allegedly killing her husband nearly eight years ago, despite the objections of her lawyers, who on Monday told Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Mark Betleski they needed more time to prepare for the case. Betleski wrote in his decision that the trial would go forward as scheduled Sept. 12, noting that the… → Read More
Elyria man acquitted in run-in with police
ELYRIA — A Lorain County jury acquitted Cody Jones of assault, resisting arrest and obstructing official business charges Monday that stemmed from his April 23, 2016, arrest. Jones, 28, had been accused of attacking police officers who were responding to a call about a man eating out of a trash bin. Jones had filed an excessive force lawsuit over his treatment, but that case was temporarily… → Read More
Jones acquitted on all charges stemming from scuffle with police
ELYRIA – A Lorain County jury has acquitted Cody Jones of assault, resisting arrest and obstructing official business charges stemming from his April 23, 2016, arrest. Jones, 28, had been accused of attacking police officers who were responding to a call about a man eating out of a trash bin. The officers found Jones in front of an East River Road strip mall and began to frisk him. Jones and… → Read More
As promised, Phillips files suit over sales tax ballot measure
ELYRIA – Avon Lake attorney Gerald Phillips has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to force the Lorain County Board of Elections to place an anti-sales tax ballot measure on the November ballot. In a 2-1 vote last week, the elections board voted against allowing the initiative on the ballot after Assistant County Prosecutor Gerald Innes determined that state law doesn’t allow for a second referendum… → Read More
Commissioners enact rule limiting public comments
ELYRIA – The Lorain County commissioners Wednesday approved new rules limiting public comment at their meetings to three minutes. A few minutes later, the first speaker under the new rules blew past the time limit. After she was done speaking, Rosa Gee apologized for breaking the new rule after giving an update on veterans groups in the community, but Commissioner Lori Kokoski said it wasn’t… → Read More
Matus' award bumped up by court
A federal appeals court has increased the amount of money former Lorain County Coroner Paul Matus will receive from a lawsuit he filed after being fired as medical director of the county’s General Health District in 2013. A jury originally awarded Matus $1 million in non-economic damages and another $365,178 in economic damages in the case, but a federal judge reduced the non-economic damages to… → Read More
Clair Hill award five decades in the making
Lisa Roberson The Chronicle-Telegram WELLINGTON — Beth Hines has spent her entire life working with children and at the Lorain County Fair. Her stats speak for themselves: 10 years as a 4-H member, 50 years as a 4-H adviser, more than 25 years as a Junior Fair adviser and a teacher for 35 years — 10 years with Keystone Schools and 25 years with Elyria Schools. Hines, who was honored Monday… → Read More
Lorain Commissioners will limit public comments
ELYRIA — Lorain County commissioners plan to begin enforcing a three-minute limit on public comments at their weekly meetings after an argument with Avon Lake attorney Gerald Phillips during their meeting Wednesday. Commissioner Lori Kokoski, who serves as president of the board, said Phillips has been abusing the time limit, which the commissioners have never actually enforced despite it being… → Read More
Woman sentenced in Elyria apartment arson
ELYRIA — An Elyria woman who set fire to an apartment complex earlier this year was sentenced Monday to three years in prison after she pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated arson and arson. Trista Mussell, 33, also was ordered to pay $500 in restitution by Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Rothgery. She also must register as an arson offender when she is done serving her prison… → Read More
Lorain County Drug Task Force expanding
ELYRIA — The Lorain County Drug Task Force is growing to better combat the opioid epidemic, county Sheriff Phil Stammitti said. The sheriff said that starting Sunday, Lt. Heath Tester will join the Drug Task Force as a supervisor. Chief Deputy Dennis Cavanaugh will remain commander of the Drug Task Force, but Stammitti said given the scope of the opioid crisis he wanted another supervisor… → Read More
County coroner protests county reform effort
SHEFFIELD TWP. — The lone Republican elected official in Lorain County government has filed a formal protest opposing a plan to reform county government. County Coroner Dr. Stephen Evans’ protest, filed Wednesday with the county Board of Elections, echoes previous arguments raised by Democrats that the petition failed to contain an appendix describing the boundaries of the seven districts that… → Read More
Elyria police chief seeks job in Middleburg Heights
ELYRIA — Elyria Police Chief Duane Whitely has applied for the job leading the Middleburg Heights Police Department. Whitely acknowledged Wednesday he had put in his application for the position and has already had an interview and has a second meeting planned with officials in the Cuyahoga County city. Whitely has been with the Elyria Police Department for 27 years and has been chief since… → Read More
Bids for Pheasant Run project lower than expected
ELYRIA — The cost of the Pheasant Run sewer project will be far less than Lorain County officials originally estimated. Back in April, the county estimated the entire project would cost about $4.8 million, but bids unsealed last week came in just under $3.3 million to cover the cost of a lift station and forced main as well as sanitary sewer repairs and water meter replacement in the LaGrange… → Read More
Jordan: Trump is backing conservative causes (VIDEO)
CAMDEN TWP. — U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan considers President Donald Trump a conservative, despite complaints from some in the Republican Party that Trump hasn’t advanced conservative values during his time in the White House. “I disagree with the idea that the president’s not conservative,” Jordan, R-Urbana, said Tuesday after a tour of Green Circle Growers with members of AgCredit, which lends money… → Read More
Driver sentenced for chase, multi-vehicle crash
ELYRIA — An Elyria man was sentenced Monday to 4½ years in prison for causing a car crash that injured six people. Robert P. Campbell, 35, apologized for his actions July 18, 2016, when he sped away from North Ridgeville police who had received calls that his 1998 Honda was all over the road. Campbell crashed the car on Cleveland Street in Elyria, hitting an electric pole before crashing into a… → Read More