Deb Sheamer and other friends of Charmaine Bassett protest her arrest and detention outside of the Lucas County Courthouse on June 21. Friends of Charmaine Bassett protest her arrest and detention outside of the Lucas County Courthouse on June 21. Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Michael Goulding on Friday found a Toledo woman charged with selling marijuana and illegal mushrooms for "spiritual purposes" competent to stand trial on felony drug charges. Charmaine Rose Bassett, 56, of the 3400 block of Secor Road entered not guilty pleas to aggravated possession of drugs, aggravated trafficking in drugs, and trafficking in marijuana. She is the founder and "medicine woman" at Anyana-Kai, a member of the Oklevueha Native American Church. [continues 298 words]
Members of a West Toledo church that describes itself as "an alternative medicine and naturopathic healing center" demonstrated outside the Lucas County Courthouse today in support of the woman they call their head medicine woman. Charmaine Rose Bassett, 56, is held in the Lucas County jail on felony charges of aggravated possession of drugs, aggravated trafficking in drugs, and trafficking in marijuana. Bassett, who founded Anyana-Kai at 3344 Secor Rd., was indicted by a Lucas County grand jury after Toledo police raided the church and seized marijuana and illegal mushrooms. The indictment alleges she sold the marijuana and mushrooms to members who paid a fee to join the church. [continues 188 words]
Girl Brought Mixture in for Class Assignment An Anthony Wayne Junior High School student who said she mixed flour and sugar to simulate drugs for a classroom assignment has been accused of bringing the real thing to school. The eighth grader's parents, Kristine and Joseph Urenovitch of Whitehouse, went to court seeking an order that would prevent the school from suspending their daughter until the powdery mixture is tested in a lab by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Mr. Urenovitch, a lawyer who filed the complaint, said the rush to judgment -- and a proposed 10-day suspension -- was based on a preliminary field test conducted by Whitehouse police. [continues 605 words]
Jury Determines His Actions Weren't Negligent LIMA, Ohio - Police officers filling the cramped courtroom breathed a sigh of relief, and family members of Sgt. Joseph Chavalia gasped and whispered, "Thank God." And those who loved Tarika Wilson cried out in anger and frustration as a judge read the two "not guilty" verdicts for Sergeant Chavalia yesterday. "We're supposed to take this with a smile? We're supposed to believe in justice?" asked an incredulous Ivory Austin II, whose half-sister was shot to death by the veteran police officer during a Jan. 4 drug raid at her home. [continues 1381 words]
Defense Says Sergeant Did 'Everything Right' LIMA, Ohio - No onedisputes the fact that Sgt. Joe Chavalia couldn't see who he was aiming at when he shot Tarika Wilson with her 1-year-old son in her arms. The question before jurors hearing evidence in the case against the veteran Lima police officer is whether he was justified in pulling the trigger. Special Prosecutor Jeff Strausbaugh told the jury yesterday that what Sergeant Chavalia did was criminally negligent -- that he should have had a clear target before pulling the trigger. [continues 919 words]
Panel of 8 Whites to Weigh Case With Racial Overtones LIMA, Ohio -- After a full day of questioning, a jury of four white men and four white women was seated yesterday to decide the fate of a Lima police sergeant charged with shooting a biracial woman and her young son during a drug raid. Joseph Chavalia, 52, is charged with negligent homicide stemming from the Jan. 4 death of Tarika Wilson, 26, and negligent assault for the wounding of 1-year-old Sincere Wilson. Both charges are misdemeanors. [continues 775 words]
Ohio Grants $1.5m to 9 Wood County School Districts for Drug Prevention BOWLING GREEN - When money got tight in North Baltimore Local Schools two years ago, a student drug-testing program was among the first things to be cut. With the help of two federal grants that could bring more than $1.5 million to Wood County over the next three years, the drug-testing program is to be reinstated in North Baltimore, introduced at Perrysburg, Northwood, and Elmwood, and expanded at Rossford and Otsego high schools. [continues 757 words]
Citizen Reviews Sought In Wake Of Fatal Shooting LIMA, Ohio - Jason Upthegrove had just left the Lima Mall on Christmas Eve when he came upon a police officer arresting a young man. The officer raised his left hand for Mr. Upthegrove to stop, and he pulled into a nearby parking lot. Within minutes, Mr. Upthegrove said, there were more officers on the scene, one of whom spotted his idling car, ran toward him with his gun drawn, and ordered him to put his hands on the steering wheel. [continues 1946 words]
LIMA, Ohio -- Despite skepticism from some community members, Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann vowed Wednesday morning to conduct a "thorough, fair, complete and meticulous" investigation into the shooting of a Lima woman by a city police officer. "I want to express clearly that our commitment is to do the right thing. Give us a chance," Mr. Dann said. Tarika Wilson, 26, was shot to death and her 14-month-old son, Sincere Wilson, wounded Jan. 4 when members of the Lima Police Department's SWAT team raided Wilson's East Third Street home and arrested her boyfriend, Anthony Terry, 31, on drug charges. [continues 108 words]
Dann, FBI Try To Soothe Vocal Critics LIMA, Ohio -- Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann came to town yesterday to assure Lima residents that his office would do a thorough and unbiased investigation into the fatal shooting of a local woman by a Lima police officer. Instead, he got an earful. For more than two hours, Mr. Dann and representatives of the FBI and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation listened as black and white residents expressed their distrust of the Lima police department, told stories of how they allegedly had been harassed by officers, and demanded to know how they could expect the state law enforcement agency to impartially investigate the actions of another law enforcement agency. [continues 888 words]
LIMA, Ohio -- Darla Jennings held each of her young grandchildren up to the pink casket where their mother lay so they could give her a final kiss good-bye. Tarika Wilson, 26, who was shot to death by police during a drug raid at her home Jan. 4, was laid to rest yesterday after a two-hour memorial service at Grace Church Worldwide Ministries where more than 300 people filled the pews. [continues 785 words]
LIMA, Ohio -- A mother of six children who was shot to death by police during a drug raid Jan. 4 was laid to rest today after a two-hour memorial service that focused on the need for the community to come together and address its problems. Tarika Wilson, 26, of Lima, was shot twice in the upper torso when officers raided her East Third Street home. Her 14-month-old son, Sincere Wilson, also was wounded in the gunfire. Ronald Fails, pastor at Grace Church Worldwide Ministries, told a church packed with more than 300 people that Wilson's family needed prayers but so did the Lima community. [continues 124 words]
Veteran Officer Identified As Shooter LIMA, Ohio - The FBI has joined state investigators in a probe of the fatal shooting of a Lima woman and a veteran police sergeant was identified as the shooter yesterday. Jennifer Brindisi, a spokesman for the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, said federal agents are working with the agency to determine how Tarika Wilson, 26, was shot to death and her 14-month-old son, Sincere Wilson, wounded during the Friday night raid at their East Third Street home. She said the FBI likely will examine the case for possible civil-rights violations as well. [continues 599 words]
Participants Say Effort Called On Broadest Array Of Agencies And Institutions LIMA, Ohio - Mary Williamson watched news reports of the riot in North Toledo two weeks ago and wished she could share with Toledo a little bit of what her city has learned about confronting gang violence. "I think Lima has come up out of the ashes," said Mrs. Williamson, a lifetime Lima resident who stood by her city even when gangs were terrorizing neighborhoods in the 1990s. Lima officials say the key to their success at reducing gang problems is the fact that no one expected one agency to solve the difficulties. [continues 964 words]
FINDLAY - The signs that some Liberty-Benton High School students were using drugs were textbook: Their grades were dropping, their behavior changing. Principal Brenda Frankart said she could not ignore those warning signs or the persistent rumors she'd heard about marijuana use among her students. She called in the Hancock County sheriff's office and worked with officers on a lengthy investigation that culminated Wednesday in the arrest of two seniors and a search of the school by drug-sniffing dogs. A similar search was done in October. [continues 593 words]
FINDLAY - Hancock County officials want to warn local farmers that illegal drug manufacturers could be after the anhydrous ammonia they use as corn fertilizer. There hasn't been a rash of thefts yet from Hancock County farm fields, but local police and agriculture officials want the public to be aware and ready. "We want to be ahead of it, and we want to make people aware of it because it's coming this way. It's coming from the west and the south," Hancock County Sheriff Mike Heldman said yesterday. [continues 563 words]
BOWLING GREEN - Because an inmate doing community service work at the Wood County dog shelter overdosed on drugs he stole from an animal control van, Dog Warden Paula Hamman said her agency no longer will allow inmates to work at the shelter. "I am ceasing the program, and it will never happen again," Ms. Hamman said yesterday. "I've had too many problems. This was the most serious one we've had thus far, but not the only problem we've had." [continues 530 words]
BOWLING GREEN - Drug traffickers awaiting sentencing in Wood County Common Pleas Court may feel the hot seat getting a little hotter if Judge Charles Kurfess is behind the bench. Much to the displeasure of the county prosecutor, Judge Kurfess has been asking some drug defendants whether police or prosecutors asked them who they bought their drugs from and, if so, whether they revealed their source. "I'm not sure under what theory or why the judge is asking that question," said Prosecutor Alan Mayberry. "If the question is going to be asked, it shouldn't be a function of the court. It should be someone in an investigative area. I'm not sure what the rationale or underpinnings are of this question." [continues 443 words]
