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Nine people were arrested on multiple charges and methamphetamine and suspected fentanyl were recovered by city, county and state law enforcement officers Tuesday in Belpre.
The actions were the result of an investigation by the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission and Washington Monroe Morgan Noble Major Crimes Task Force, whose agents executed a trio of search warrants with the help of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team and the Belpre Police Department.
“Our department’s … been watching all three locations for about six months,” Belpre Police Chief Terry Williams said. “They were all intertwined.”
ebevins@newsandsentinel.com
BELPRE Nine people were arrested on multiple charges and methamphetamine and suspected fentanyl were recovered by city, county and state law enforcement officers Tuesday in Belpre.
The actions were the result of an investigation by the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission and Washington Monroe Morgan Noble Major Crimes Task Force, whose agents executed a trio of search warrants with the help of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team and the Belpre Police Department.
“Our department’s … been watching all three locations for about six months,” Belpre Police Chief Terry Williams said. “They were all intertwined.”
(Photo Illustration)
PARKERSBURG City officials recently allocated more than $20,000 to the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness to support the organization’s efforts in the area.
“They have proven helpful in getting people into safe, suitable, affordable housing,” Mayor Tom Joyce said.
The coalition is a Bridgeport-based nonprofit that leads efforts to prevent and reduce homelessness in 44 of West Virginia’s 55 counties. It’s been doing outreach work in the area for about three years, with an expansion of efforts in the last eight or nine months thanks to funding from a federal State Opiod Response grant, said Ellie Johnson, the coalition’s supervisor for the grant.
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CHARLESTON A Parkersburg man was sentenced to federal prison on charges he was a felon in possession of a firearm, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia said.
John Brady Studenic, 33, a member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, was sentenced to 42 months in prison and upon release will be under supervised release for an additional three years, U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart said. The United States requested, and the Court imposed, a sentence above the range recommended by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines due to Studenic’s history of violence, Stuart said.
Studenic earlier admitted he was riding a motorcycle Aug. 9 on Seventh Street in Parkersburg when an officer with the Parkersburg Police Department attempted to perform a traffic stop on him for running a red light at Seventh and Park Avenue, Stuart said. When the officer activated his overhead lights and siren, Studenic fled east on Seventh Street toward Core Road, Stuart said.
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PARKERSBURG Parkersburg City Council on Tuesday will consider final approval for an ordinance creating intern positions in the Parkersburg Police Department and the donation of a greenhouse to a local youth service organization.
The first regular meeting of February is slated for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in council chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building. Those attending are required to wear masks and observe 6-foot social distancing guidelines.
At its Jan. 26 meeting, council unanimously approved the first reading of the ordinance creating the police internship program. Participants would be paid $10 an hour as they learn about various aspects of police operations. Mayor Tom Joyce has said it’s a way to improve recruitment by maintaining connections with promising candidates who may not be ready to attend the state police academy.