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Washington County grand jury indicts 26

MARIETTA — Two people accused of stealing from an elderly Waterford woman in February were among 26 people indicted by a Washington County grand jury Monday.

Zachary Mounts, 35, of 100 High Ave. Waterford, and Lorena Smith, 41, no address given, were both charged with felony counts of burglary, tampering with evidence, grand theft, theft from the elderly and possession of criminal tools.

Mounts was also charged with fifth-degree felony possession of methamphetamine, which was found on his person upon his arrest by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. The victim was an elderly woman over the age of 60.

“Around or about Feb. 21 of this year, the two worked together to burglarize a home in Waterford,” said Assistant Washington County Prosecutor Joe Derkin. “They went through a window and used gloves to try to hide the fingerprints while they ransacked the place. But they left the gloves there and the DNA was found in the gloves.”

Among the items the couple stole were collectible coins, guns and Navy medals belonging to the victim’s deceased husband. Prosecutors estimate the amount of the theft to be around $5,000.

Also indicted was Dustin M. Omspach, who had indictments from two separate incidents. Omspach, 36, of 314 Fourth St., Lowell, was indicted on two felony counts of trafficking in heroin in the vicinity of a school. According to Washington County Prosecutor Kevin Rings, the incidents happened on Sept. 2 and 3 near Lowell Elementary.

“They’re both fourth-degree felonies; the first was a sale, the second was an offer to sell. This was a sheriff’s office investigation,” he said.

The second indictment stems from an incident in May 2017 when Omspach was clocked at 120 mph on a motorcycle by an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper.

“She turned and followed him into Lowell where he slowed and laid the bike down in a bank parking lot. There were no injuries reported; however, there was a passenger on the back of the bike,” Rings said, adding Omspach was driving under suspension at the time.

Other indictments:

* Stephanie Wright, 34, no known address, and Nicole J. Dotson, 32, of 6488 Old St. Mary’s Pike, Parkersburg, were each indicted on fourth-degree felony charges of trafficking in methamphetamine. The Major Crimes Task Force conducted an investigation in August resulting in the confiscation of $468 cash, scales and six cell phones. Wright was also separately indicted on a fourth-degree felony charge of trafficking in drugs from May. There is currently a warrant out for her arrest.

* Phillip D. West Jr., 31, homeless, was charged with two count of abusing harmful intoxicants, both fifth-degree felonies. He was charged by Marietta Police with huffing an industrial strength duster on Oct. 18, 2017, and March 4 of this year.

“Someone saw an individual who looked high stumbling around the street and called police,” Derkin said.

West already had two priors for the same offense, which is why these charges are felonies, Derkin explained.

* Eric Swihart, 33, of 118 Victory St., Parkersburg, Kendra Walker, 22, of 60 Railroad St., Whipple, and Austin Wright, 28, of 200 Walnut Drive., Whipple, were each charged out of an incident on Interstate 77 in October 2016. Walker and Wright were together in one car and Swihart and another passenger, Ben Coffman, who is now deceased, were in the other. Coffman’s underage daughter was also in the car.

“The Major Crimes Task Force and the Ohio Highway Patrol saw two cars together that looked like they were exchanging money and drugs and that led to a traffic stop at the Pit Stop gas station,” said Derkin.

Swihart was charged with third-degree felony aggravated trafficking, fifth-degree felony aggravated possession and illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. Walker and Wright were both charged with felony drug possession and illegal use or possession of paraphernalia. Wright was also charged with felony tampering with evidence for trying to shove meth in between the car seats.

* Emfannie S. Williams-Taylor, 34, address unknown, was charged with one count of passing bad checks, a fifth-degree felony, and forgery, also a fifth-degree felony. Williams-Taylor is accused of opening an account at Riverview Credit Union with forged documents. The amount of the payroll check was $1,258.23, listing a fictitious company and address. A warrant has been issued for her arrest.

* Darchaun M. Ewing, 30, of 957 Nathan St., Akron, and Deanna K. Johnson, 24, of 2368 E. Market St., Akron, were both charged with second-degree felony possession of drugs (marijuana and meth) when they were pulled over by the sheriff’s office on I-77 in April. Ewing was also charged with misdemeanor falsification for listing a false name for himself.

“It was discovered he gave a false name when he was booked into the jail because he had a warrant for his arrest from another jurisdiction,” Rings said.

* Erica J. Wall, 39, of 108 Pine Drive, Little Hocking, was charged with possession of meth out of a Marietta Police Department arrest in March 2017.

* Christopher Reneau, 29, of 667 Gates Drive., Rockport, was indicted on a fifth-degree felony charge of passing bad checks at the First Bank of Ohio in Belpre.

* Nicholas J. Patterson, 36, of 1110 Hocking Road, Apt. C, Belpre, was indicted on one count of fifth-degree felony possession of heroin. He was arrested December 2016 by the highway patrol.

* Joseph S. Cupp, 28, of 125 Tennis Center Drive, Apt. 31, Marietta, was charged with one count of receiving stolen property, a fifth-degree felony. The victim was Michael Evans of Portsmouth and Cupp was charged with receiving a motor vehicle identification license plate.

* Jamey J. Friend, 41, last known address 721 Miller Ave., Belpre, was charged with fourth-degree felony failure to appear. He was found guilty of grand theft of a firearm and breaking and entering by a jury on Jan. 22 and was scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 14.

“He failed to appear and a warrant was issued for his arrest,” Rings said.

* Steven A. Siegel, 29, of 1 1/2 Eighth St., Belpre, was indicted from an incident on April 6.

“A search warrant was executed at the residence on or about April 6. He has two convictions out of West Virginia for felony drug offenses,” said Rings. “During the search they found a 40-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol and a maroon Hyundai, which had been reported stolen out of Charleston late last year. We found out the VIN stickers had actually been taken from another vehicle and placed on this vehicle.”

He was indicted on a third-degree felony charge of having weapons under disability and a fourth-degree felony charge of receiving stolen property.

* Daniel R. Ramthun, 25, of 1980 Greenwood Ave., Cambridge, was indicted on one count of handling a firearm while operating a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony. According to Washington County Assistant Prosecutor Amy Graham, Ramthun was pulled over for speeding May 23 by the highway patrol. When asked for his license and registration, he was also asked if he had any weapons.

“He had a holster on his hip but did not have a concealed carry at the time,” Graham said.

* Jennifer R. Forshey, 36, of 2703 Washington Blvd., Belpre, was charged with assaulting a police officer during an incident at her residence when she was highly intoxicated. Graham said the incident happened in January and Forshey became combative and hurt an officer with the Belpre Police Department during a struggle. Another similar incident happened March 9 at the Washington County Jail when Forshey fought with jail employee Jeffrey Young and cut him with her fingernail. The counts included assault of a peace officer, obstructing official business, and assault on an employee of a local correctional facility, one fourth-degree and two fifth-degree felonies. Forshey was also charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest.

* Erick R. Jenkins, 31, of 108 Pine Drive, Little Hocking, was charged with third-degree felony burglary and fifth-degree felony theft from an elderly person.

“This happened in June on Schoolhouse Road in Little Hocking. Mr. Jenkins went into his grandmother’s home and took a television that belonged to her. He was very clever – he called her place of work to make sure she was there. The sheriff made the connection because he used a telephone from the Comfort Inn in Parkersburg and was seen on video surveillance,” Graham said.

* Jeffrey N. Smith, 38, of 166 Valentine Farm Lane, Elizabeth, was charged with aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony. Smith was entering the Marietta Municipal Court in July and as he was searched, he was found to be in possession of meth.

* Jeremy Reeder and John Williams, ages and addresses not given, were both charged with fifth-degree felony possession of drugs and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Special prosecutor Tom Webster will be handling those cases and was not available for comment Monday.

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