ELYRIA

State returns over $3.4M in unclaimed funds to city

Ohio has returned more than $3.4 million in unclaimed funds to a northeast Ohio city in what it says is the largest such payment in state history.

The state’s Department of Commerce director presented the check Monday to Elyria’s mayor.

State officials say the money resulted from a policy the city had with Anthem Insurance Co. for employee life insurance coverage. The insurance company converted to a stock company in 2001, providing policy holders such as Elyria with shares of company stock.

Unclaimed funds are reported to the state for safekeeping until the rightful owners can be found.

Elyria Mayor Holly Brinda says the money will help the city repay debt and cover one-time expenses it otherwise couldn’t address.

COLUMBUS

US judge to hold hearing on Somali torture claim

A judge in Ohio will hear claims for damages brought by a human rights advocate who says he was tortured by a former Somali military colonel.

The hearing was scheduled Monday for late May. It will mark the first time allegations brought by Abukar Hassan Ahmed will be heard in court. Ahmed is a lawyer and human rights advocate who divides his time between London and Mogadishu.

A federal court last year found former Somali military colonel Abdi Aden Magan, who lived for several years in Ohio, was responsible for torturing Ahmed in the 1980s.

Ahmed alleged in a 2010 lawsuit that the torture he endured makes it painful for him to sit and injured his bladder to the point that he’s incontinent.

TOLEDO

Mayor says he’ll seek 2nd term in election

Toledo Mayor Mike Bell says he’ll run for a second term this year.

Bell made the announcement Monday while delivering his state of the city address.

He won the office in 2009. He was a registered Democrat but ran as an independent.

Bell took a political gamble two years ago by backing Republican Gov. John Kasich’s push to limit collective bargaining for public workers. Bell’s decision didn’t sit well with labor leaders in Toledo, a town heavily influenced by unions.

Bell was a fire chief there for 17 years before becoming state fire marshal in 2007.

He grew up in the state’s fourth-largest city and played football at the University of Toledo.

Several Toledo Democrats are considering a run for mayor but have not made a final decision.

AKRON

Candlelight vigil for child draws dozens

An Akron street corner was the scene of a candlelight vigil for a 4-year-old boy who was fatally shot in his father’s car last week.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports that about 40 people came together Sunday night to remember Jamarcus Allen near the spot where he was killed.

Authorities say Jamarcus was riding in a car driven by his father Wednesday when he apparently found a gun and shot himself in the head.

The child’s father, Terrence Allen, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, child endangering and illegal weapons possession because a previous felony conviction prohibited him from carrying a firearm.

The 48-year-old Allen is being held in the Summit County Jail.

Some people attending the vigil said they hoped people would get rid of their guns.

CHILLICOTHE

Trial begins in case over body in septic tank

A trial has begun for an Ohio man charged with aggravated murder and other crimes in the slaying of his daughter-in-law, who was strangled with a zip tie and dumped in a septic tank.

The prosecutor told jurors Monday in Chillicothe it’s reasonable to infer 48-year-old William Inman murdered his 25-year-old daughter-in-law, Summer. The prosecutor says Inman ruled the family and wanted to help his son, who was in a child custody dispute with the woman.

Inman’s attorney says it was his son, William Inman II, who killed her. The defense says the elder Inman and his wife helped kidnap their daughter-in-law in Logan to talk about concerns about the grandchildren and then tried to cover up their son’s crime. Inman’s son and wife were convicted in the slaying.

CHARDON

Judge details rules for school shooting trial

A judge in Ohio has outlined arrangements for the aggravated murder trial of an 18-year-old charged in the high school shooting deaths of three students.

Judge David Fuhry in Chardon says jurors must be sequestered during deliberations in the trial of T.J. Lane.

In an order filed last week, the judge also says jurors will be told Lane isn’t subject to the death penalty. Lane was 17 at the time of the shootings.

Jurors won’t be questioned about the issue of punishment.

The judge and attorneys plan to meet Wednesday to discuss a trial date.

Prosecutors say Lane fired 10 shots at a group of students in the Chardon High School cafeteria last February. He was at the school waiting for a bus to his alternative school.