Compiled from staff and wire reports

Mental health agencies to merge

Two of the Tristate's largest mental health agencies announced Tuesday that they plan to merge by July 2004.

CRI and Queen City Case Management Inc. will become a single organization with a $16 million budget, 16 locations and more than 300 staff members serving more than 3,500 adults per day.

CRI provides a wide range of residential and vocational services. Queen City Case Management helps arrange care from various agencies for people with severe mental illness.

The proposed merger reflects an effort to reduce administrative costs by reorganizing care, said Patrick Tribbe, president of the Hamilton County Community Mental Health Board.

Computer hunt may take 3-4 days

It could be three or four more days before Cincinnati police finish searching a downtown store where they found at least four stolen computers Tuesday.

A tip last week led officers to the AAA Unison store on Vine Street near the main branch of the Cincinnati public library, Sgt. Michael Savard said. They got a warrant and searched the store Tuesday, finding hundreds of computers and parts.

It takes time, he said, to match serial numbers to those of computers reported stolen. At least 80 to 100 laptops have been reported stolen in the city over the past three months, the sergeant said.

Police likely will charge the store's owner with receiving stolen property, he said.

Group wedding on Valentine's Day

Hamilton County Municipal Judge Heather Stein Russell will perform a group wedding on Valentine's Day at 2:15 p.m.

To participate, couples must have applied for and received a valid marriage license from Probate Court. A Probate Court spokeswoman said marriage licenses can be issued the same day as the marriage, however Russell is encouraging all couples to bring their paperwork at Courtroom 264 by Feb. 7 in order to make sure she can accommodate all requests.

Man killed on Most Wanted list

A 24-year-old man killed Monday night in Northside was on the regional Most Wanted list, accused of shooting someone else.

Damin Terrell Warner, the city's fifth homicide victim this year, died in front of a house on Hanfield Street, a known drug area in the neighborhood. He was wanted for shootings in February and December last year in Avondale.

Crime Stoppers publicized his picture last week as one of its most wanted felons. He also was wanted, according to court records, for fleeing police during a 20-minute pursuit in Walnut Hills in September. In December 2001, Warner was the victim in a shooting. When he drove himself to University Hospital, officers found a 9mm handgun under the seat of his car.

He was acquitted in 2000 of felonious assault after a shooting in Avondale during which police said Warner fired nine shots. Two men were hurt.

Alcohol, addiction panel adds members

Hamilton County Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services has appointed two new members to its board of trustees: retired Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Deidra Hair and Eric Ruffin, a project manager with ABEL Building Systems.

The board plans, funds and evaluates public alcohol and drug treatment, as well as prevention and education services in Hamilton County.

Other board members are Gerardo Torres, a senior management analyst with Cincinnati's office of budget evaluation; Gwendolyn Womack, a Cincinnati Public Schools teacher; and Diana Harris, a registered nurse and an alternative program monitoring agent with the Ohio Board of Nursing.

Clerk creates Web site of portfolio cases

The Hamilton County clerk of court's Web site, www.courtclerk.org, has a new feature that will allow users to create a personal list of cases called "Portfolio of Cases".

When a person logs on to his or her portfolio account they will automatically be shown a list of cases previously entered, according to Jim Cissell, clerk of courts.

Examples of how it may be used include: victims in criminal matters can monitor what is going on in the suspect's prosecution; lawyers can list their cases; and landlords can follow eviction cases.

Police search for bank knife bandit

SYMMES TWP. - Police on Tuesday continued to search for a knife-wielding robber who held up a Provident Bank here Monday afternoon. There were no injuries in the in 4:45 p.m. heist, but the robber escaped the 10600 Loveland-Madeira Road bank with an undisclosed amount of cash, Hamilton County sheriff's deputies said.

The robber fled on foot. He is described as white, in his mid-30s, 6 feet tall, about 210 pounds, with facial hair.

He was wearing a blue denim shirt.

Anyone with information is asked to call sheriff's deputies at 825-1500 or Crime Stoppers at 352-3040, toll-free (888) 352-3040.