Ohio's criminal justice system mishandled 15-year-old Alexis Martin’s case. Now the sex trafficking victim championed by Kim Kardashian is living with the consequences.
COLUMBUS – Ohio has a severe backlog of drug evidence at its state crime labs leading to longer wait times for charges to be filed and cases to be presented to grand juries.
The problem is so bad, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation sent a letter to prosecutors statewide this month notifying them of the delays and explaining how Attorney General Dave Yost plans to fix the issue.
In the letter, Yost and BCI Superintendent Joseph Morbitzer blame the problem on Senate Bill 57 which requires the state to test for levels of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC in hemp and COVID-19.
Drug evidence that would normally be processed in about 36 days is now averaging 120 days, said Bethany McCorkle, communications director for Yost.
By Steve Bailey
Ricardo Marshall
Cleveland, OH – Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh announced today that Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Kelly McLaughlin sentenced Ricardo Marshall to 15 years to life in prison for the murder of 40-year-old Kathy Landino.
Prior to sentencing, Marshall pled guilty to the following charge one count of murder – a Special Felony
On November 21, 2019, Akron Police Officers responded to a home on Chittenden Street after Ricardo Marshall called 9-1-1 stating that he found his live-in girlfriend Kathy Landino not breathing. Marshall later admitted to killing Landino. Investigators determined Marshall beat and strangled Landino and waited 12 hours before contacting police. Marshall’s four children were at the home at the time of the murder.
Akron man abandons dogs in former home, 1 dies, prosecutors say cleveland.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cleveland.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Judge dismisses charges against former Summit County sheriff’s deputy, cites racial bias for prosecution Robin Goist, cleveland.com
AKRON, Ohio – A judge on Wednesday dismissed charges against a former Summit County Sheriff’s deputy who was accused of misusing a police database, agreeing with the deputy’s claims that he was selectively prosecuted because he is Black.
Antonio Williamson, 50, had faced 10 counts of improperly using a law enforcement database by engaging in behaviors which his attorneys argued – and Common Pleas Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands agreed – were exhibited by white deputies who were not prosecuted.
“The Summit County Sheriff’s deliberate choice not to exercise any discretion in (Williamson’s) prosecution for the same violations committed by white Summit County Sheriff Office deputies, who were not referred for prosecution, is invidious conduct based on defendant’s race,” Rowlands wrote in an order Wednesday dismissing t