Father and son sentenced to illegally shipping deer for hunt

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A father and son have been sentenced for illegally shipping white-tailed deer from Ohio to a hunting preserve in Florida.

Federal prosecutors in Columbus say 49-year-old Donald Wainwright Sr. of Live Oak, Florida, was sentenced last week to 21 months in prison and fined $125,000. He had pleaded guilty to charges including wildlife trafficking and conspiracy.

His son, 29-year-old Donald Wainwright Jr., was sentenced to four months of house arrest and three years of probation on related convictions.

Court documents said Wainwright Sr. was the owner of hunting preserves in western Ohio and in north Florida. Prosecutors say he illegally shipped deer to Florida from Ohio, and attempted to ship deer to Georgia from Ohio.

The herds involved were not certified to be free from disease as the law requires.

Head-on crash in southwest Ohio hurts 7; 4 flown to hospital

TRENTON, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say a head-on collision between two vehicles in southwest Ohio injured seven people, including four that were flown to hospitals for emergency care.

The Butler County Sheriff’s Office says the collision Monday evening near an intersection in Wayne Township injured two adults and five children and temporarily trapped some of them in their vehicles. A statement from the sheriff’s office says four people were flown to Dayton-area hospitals, and three were taken by ambulance.

The office shared no information about the conditions of those patients, and no other details were immediately released. A message seeking an update was left Tuesday with the office.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Ohio agency investigates day-camp drowning of girl, 5

BATAVIA, Ohio (AP) — A state agency is investigating the drowning death of a girl at a southern Ohio day camp for children with special needs.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the Department of Developmental Disabilities will look into the death last week of the girl found submerged in a pond near Batavia (buh-TAY’-vee-uh), about 25 miles east of Cincinnati. Camp workers had said the girl wandered away from a playground to the fenced pond area.

The Clermont County sheriff’s office identified the girl as 5-year-old Kylie Griffin. Other details about her weren’t released.

Chris Adams, the executive director of the nonprofit Stepping Stones camp, says it has been in operation more than five decades without such a tragedy.

A sheriff’s official says he doesn’t recall any previous problems at the camp.

Police: Fake officer tried to pull over off-duty Ohio cop

NORTH KINGSVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Authorities in far northeast Ohio say a man pretending to be a police officer was caught and charged because the driver targeted by his bogus traffic stop was a real officer.

Police in North Kingsville say an off-duty Youngstown officer was stopped Sunday night by the alleged impersonator, who was driving a black sport utility vehicle with red and blue emergency-style lights. Village police Chief Hugh Flanigan tells The Star-Beacon in nearby Ashtabula (ash-tuh-BYOO’-luh) that the unarmed man in civilian clothes repeatedly tried to convince the Youngstown officer that he was a real lawman but eventually drove away.

Flanigan says the officer contacted village police, who found the suspect within minutes. A prosecutor says the 42-year-old North Kingsville man faces a misdemeanor charge of impersonating an officer.

Body of water skier hit by boat found in Ohio reservoir

DELAWARE, Ohio (AP) — Officials have recovered the body of an Australian woman who was hit by a boat and killed while water-skiing in central Ohio.

The Columbus Dispatch reports 19-year-old Morgan Montgomery was found dead in Alum Creek Reservoir Monday evening.

The Adelaide, Australia, native was water skiing Sunday afternoon when she fell, dropped the tow rope and waited for her boat to come back around. She was fatally struck by another boat reportedly racing on the water.

Officials from Ohio’s Division of Watercraft say the violent collision happened quickly, and Montgomery’s life vest was shredded. Her body was pulled from about 46 feet of water north of the beach and south of the marina.

Montgomery had traveled from Australia to work as a counselor for a church summer camp.

Lighting blamed for fuel tank explosion at Ohio gas station

FAIRFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Investigators say lightning sparked a fuel tank explosion that left a crater 40 feet wide at a southwest Ohio gas station.

The blast and fire Monday evening prompted temporary evacuation of people near the Gas Depot in Fairfield, about 15 miles north of Cincinnati. People nearby described seeing a flash of lightning and then a fireball higher than the trees.

The explosion occurred in one of three underground tanks at the property. WLWT-TV reports two customers were at the station, but no injuries were reported.

Lingering vapors and the possibility that they could ignite caused concern. WCPO-TV reports that workers were expected Tuesday to assess the environmental effects and start cleanup work.

Authorities indicated the remaining tanks might be dug up to determine whether they are compromised.

Ohio judge denies lower bond for man in park crime spree

PAINESVILLE, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio judge has refused to lower a $10 million bond for a man suspected in a crime spree that included the fatal shooting of one woman and the wounding of another.

Thirty-five-year-old Juan Emmanuel Razo appeared in Painesville Municipal Court on Monday. He’s charged with attempted murder for shooting a 40-year-old woman in the arm last week at a park about 30 miles east of Cleveland.

Authorities say a grand jury will hear evidence to obtain charges against Razo in the fatal shooting June 27 of 60-year-old Margaret Kostelnik at her home near the park and for the attempted rape of a 14-year-old girl earlier that day.

An attorney told the judge that Razo has mental health issues. Razo is a Mexican citizen in the U.S. illegally.

Ohio jury orders $1.3m verdict in diesel spill lawsuit

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A jury has awarded than $1.3 million in damages to a couple whose southern Ohio farmhouse was made inhabitable when a fuel deliverer mistakenly pumped 600 gallons of diesel into their basement.

The Ross County jury awarded the money last week to Charles and Tammy Immell, who have a 200-acre farm near Chillicothe. The oil company, Petron Inc., hasn’t said if it will appeal.

The company had blamed the Immells for the Oct. 8, 2012 mishap. The couple ordered the fuel to be delivered to their farm tanks for their equipment. Instead, it was pumped into the basement via pipes that were once connected to a diesel-fueled furnace.

The Columbus Dispatch reports the health side effects lingered as the fumes spread up through the house and made it uninhabitable.