Fayette County’s most uncommon, bizarre court and crime stories of 2017

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The following uncommon and bizarre court and crime stories of 2017 were gathered in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas and the Washington Municipal Court.

March 7 — German Posadas-Hermenegildo, 22, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years for the murder of a man near Yatesville in 2016. The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office investigated the 2016 murder at an apartment complex at 11928 State Route 38 where Venancio Garcia-Arquimides was found beaten to death inside his apartment unit. As the investigation unfolded, Posadas-Hermenegildo, and his father, German Posadas-Cruz, 49, were named as suspects. The two were later arrested in Illinois and extradited back to Fayette County. Evidence was presented during a preliminary hearing in the Washington Municipal Court, in which prosecutors said boot prints and cell phone location data linked Hermenegildo and Cruz to the scene of the murder. According to a witness, Hermenegildo was the only person known to have a conflict with Arquimides. Hermenegildo’s father was sentenced Nov. 7, 2016 to life in prison with the chance of parole after 15 years. According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction officials, Cruz apparently committed suicide while imprisoned Jan. 11.

March 16 — A woman called 911 and reported that a man had just overdosed at 8 Railroad St. in Jeffersonville. The man was revived and told officers that he had arranged to purchase a narcotic from Jesse Wilson, 30, of Jeffersonville, online through Facebook messenger. The overdose victim told law enforcement officers that what he thought he was purchasing was a Percocet pill and snorted the entire baggie of powder in Wilson’s garage. The man said Wilson soon messaged him and told him to be careful because the powder contained fentanyl. After reading the message, the man said he freaked out and began to overdose. Wilson, who had no prior criminal convictions, was sentenced to 180 days in jail for drug trafficking.

March 28 — Washington Court House resident Julianne Robinson, 57, was arraigned in court after she was reportedly caught transferring drugs to her incarcerated son during a visitation via an open-mouthed kiss. The kiss reportedly occurred at London Correctional Institution in the fall of 2016 and Robinson was arraigned March 28 in the Madison County Court of Common Pleas. Court records show she plead guilty Oct. 23 to a single count of illegal conveyance of drugs into a detention facility and was conveyed to the Ohio Reformatory for Women Oct. 26 to serve a one-year prison sentence.

April 13 — A hearing was held in the Washington Court House Municipal Court after resident Bryon K. Ely filed a small claims judgment against the Microsoft Corporation for what he said was a deceptive software installation practice. Ely filed for a judgment in the amount of $813.43 for reported repairs to his computer. According to Ely, Mircosoft installed Windows 10 on his computer without his consent. According to Microsoft, Ely did give consent to the installation by clicking the “red X” on a pop-up screen. Ely said the pop-up screen kept appearing and nagging him to install Windows 10, which he said he did not want. Microsoft’s attorney said the Windows 10 operating system was a free upgrade, that Ely agreed to the installation, and that Ely didn’t take any measures to get IT support from Microsoft before he took his computer to a third party to uninstall the program and make repairs. The judge agreed with Microsoft’s attorney and Ely was ordered to pay court costs and fees.

May 8 — A self-described team of “dope boys and prostitutes” admitted to stealing former city council member Trent Dye’s handgun. Kyle R. Johnson, 32, from Columbus, and Mt. Sterling resident Melissa M. Thompson, 36, appeared in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas and admitted in statements to the court to being part of a “team” of “dope boys” and “prostitutes” involved in weapons and drug activity in the region. Johnson and Thompson each received a three-year prison sentence for thefts involved in the loose-knit criminal team.

June 5 — Washington Court House resident Terry R. Merritt, 64, filed a protection order against the Village of Bloomingburg after he said he went to check on his property and found the village had completely razed his garage at 82 West St., and next intended to demolish his house over unsubstantiated nuisance complaints that were neither verified nor proven to be true. Merritt and the village later reached an agreement with the help of Bloomingburg’s solicitor, Sean Abbott, that stopped the village from demolishing Merritt’s house and allocated Merritt four months to complete restoration work on the house to meet building code requirements.

July 6 — Washington Court House resident Christopher W. Lowe, 42, had just robbed “The Point” Flagway gas station and was attempting to make a fast getaway down the street with a t-shirt over his head and $401 in his hand, when he ran past a Washington Court House police officer investigating a separate complaint. The officer caught up with Lowe in an alley and he was arrested. Lowe was sentenced to three years in prison for robbery.

July 3 — Jason Gilmore of Parkison House Catering sued the Fayette County Park District over a contract dispute to open a restaurant at a public golf course in Washington Court House known as The Greens. Gilmore said the park district violated the contract agreement by failing to complete renovation work on the interior of the building and telling him to leave for not opening the restaurant before the renovation work was finished. Gilmore stated that he was unable to open the restaurant due to the continued renovation. The park district awarded Gilmore a contract for all food and beverage services at The Greens, but then hired a different company to cater a July 4 event. The park district reportedly spent $3,650 for the July 4 event and made back $400 in return, according to one park board member. The suit was later dismissed for procedural reasons, court records show.

July 10 — The Washington Court House Police Department was called to Dollar General, 1821 Columbus Ave., after a man attempted to rob the store for a package of underwear and fled, leaving a child behind in the store. Reports said Tyler Adams, 27, was caught by a store employee putting the package of underwear in his waistband. The store employee became confrontational and reports said he snatched the package from his waistband before locking everybody inside the store and calling police. As the store employee blocked the exit, reports said Adams reached around the employee, unlocked the door, and fled on a bicycle, leaving an 8-year-old male child in the store. The shoppers in the store were released without further incident, reports said, and the child was returned to his parents. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Dollar General corporation has an extensive history of violating Occupational Safety and Health Administration laws for blocking store exits. The corporation did not return calls from the Record-Herald to discuss the store policies and procedures for locking customers inside the building during alleged crimes. Adams was later sentenced to nine months in prison for robbery.

Nov. 30 — Jeffersonville man Derek Myers, 25, briefly appeared in the Washington Municipal Court but left the building minutes before hearings began on nine open traffic and misdemeanor cases because he claimed to have a panic attack. According to records in all nine cases, Washington Municipal Court Judge Victor Pontious denied Myers’ requests for continuances in the cases Nov. 22 and the trial appearances were set. But after leaving the court, Myers went to the Fayette County Memorial Hospital, and was arrested by the New Holland Police Department for failing to appear in court on traffic violations that occurred in Madison County. Myers was later charged with inducing panic, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct after reportedly making a scene in the hospital during the arrest. According to officials, Myers now has close to 20 open cases filed against him in Fayette and Madison county courts.

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By Ashley Bunton

[email protected]

Ashley may be contacted at (740) 313-0355 or connect on Twitter by searching Twitter.com for @ashbunton and sending a message.

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