2nd suspect sought in robbery attempt

        Cincinnati police are still searching for the second suspect in Tuesday's botched robbery of the CinFed Credit Union in Roselawn.

        The unidentified man is described as black, with a light to medium complexion, age unknown. He was wearing a dark-colored, thigh-length denim or heavy canvas coat, with large pockets near the front waist area. The stitching of the coat is visible and a lighter color than the coat itself, police said.

TRAINING WHEELS: The second set of wheels that will support an L&N hopper car is guided onto rails behind the Cincinnati State Workforce Development Center Thursday on Reading Road in Evendale. A 47-foot coal hopper was then moved across Reading Road on trucks and mounted on the track. SK Rigging Co. handled the big job. The school has begun a program to train rail conductors. The car will be used to train students in rail safety, coupling and uncoupling, and brake inspections. (Michael Snyder photo) | ZOOM |

        The man was also wearing a hooded sweat shirt underneath the coat, with the hood draped over the shoulders of the coat, a knit cap and light-colored denim pants. He was armed with a semiautomatic pistol.

        He is thought to have fled in a late-model, four-door, General Motors vehicle, described as green or blue and in good condition. It was last seen heading south on Brookcrest Drive.

        The first suspect, Christian Johnson, 48, remained in critical condition Thursday at University Hospital.

        He was shot by Cincinnati police three times about a block from CinFed, 7364 Reading Road, after he refused to surrender and pointed a gun at officers chasing him.

        Anyone with information about the second suspect is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 352-3040 or the homicide unit at 352-3542.
       

Slain woman's car checked for clues

        Cincinnati homicide investigators hope their recovery of a dead woman's car leads them to her killer.

        Police spent hours Thursday checking the 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme for fingerprints, fibers and anything else that might help them figure out who killed Florence Everett, 75.

        Her body was found Tuesday morning in her Bates Avenue home in Camp Washington. There had been a fire in the house sometime previously. Police went to check on her after friends said they had not seen her in some time.

        Sgt. Anthony Carter said Thursday that he could not yet reveal the cause of Mrs. Everett's death. Police have not said exactly when they think she died.

        The car was found shortly after midnight in the parking lot outside the Holiday Park office building on Linn Street in Queensgate.

        Investigators want anyone with information on the case to call them at 352-3542 or Crime Stoppers at 352-3040. Crime Stoppers callers can remain anonymous and be paid for their tips.
       

Video doesn't back resisting-arrest charge

NORTHSIDE HOME BURNS: Cincinnati firefighter Chris Kieffer with Engine 21 trains a hose on a hot spot as he leans out the third-floor window of a burning house in the 4300 block of Badgeley Street in Northside on Thursday afternoon. The home's location — on a hillside at the end of a long, muddy driveway — made the effort more difficult. No cause had been determined. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        A Hamilton County Municipal Court judge has thrown out a charge of resisting arrest against an 18-year-old man, saying that a police videotape of the fight between Lockland police and the man did not support the case.

        A defense lawyer said Thursday the police overreacted by throwing Steve McGee to the pavement and punching him, even after he had been handcuffed.

        “They beat him up. They didn't have any justification for it,” Kenneth Wegner said. “Then they charged him with resisting arrest.”

        Police pulled over Mr. McGee's car the night of May 11 for going the wrong way on a one-way street.

        Judge Dennis Helmick on Wednesday dismissed the misdemeanor charge against Mr. McGee after a jury had been selected and had begun hearing evidence. Judge Helmick concluded that the videotape of the struggle recorded by a camera on a cruiser did not support the charge.

        Mr. McGee pleaded no contest to two other misdemeanor charges in the case, possession of marijuana and driving the wrong way on a one-way street.

Boy, 12, admits shooting cousin to death

        COSHOCTON, Ohio — A 12-year-old boy pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter Thursday for shooting his 7-year-old cousin.

        Billy J. Mounts of Willis Creek was charged with a delinquency count of aggravated murder in the death July 7 of Homer Austin III of Frankfort.

        Under the plea agreement, Billy will be sentenced to a juvenile detention center until he turns 21. It is the same sentence as the maximum penalty for aggravated murder, according to a prosecutor's statement.

        Homer had been visiting his cousin's home. Coshocton County sheriff's officials said the boys argued and Billy shot Homer in the back of the head with his father's .38-caliber pistol.
       

39 rescued in Lake Erie ice mishap

        OAK HARBOR, Ohio — The Coast Guard said Thursday that it rescued 39 fishermen who were stranded at least a mile from shore after an ice bridge they had used for walking onto Lake Erie disintegrated.

        Nineteen of the fishermen were rescued by helicopter, boat or hovercraft while another 20 got off the ice before it broke completely, said Petty Officer Paul Lentini.
       

Report finds jobs for poor lacking

        COLUMBUS — Ohio's job growth rate has been below the national average for five straight years, a major reason the poor are not moving out of poverty, a report released Thursday found.

        “There aren't enough jobs,” said George Zeller, a senior researcher with the Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland and the report's author. “We urgently need some growth here.”

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