Decades of judicial experience leaving Butler County benches next month
In 2003, two attorneys who served as magistrates in Butler County courtrooms picked up their own gavels and took seats on common pleas beaches.
In January, both will leave office, and that 18 years of experience each with leave with them.
Juvenile Division Common Pleas Judge Ronald Craft and General Division Common Pleas Judge Charles Pater could not run for re-election due to age limitations. This month marks their final permanent weeks wearing the black robe, but both said they are looking forward to the next chapter that will include more time with family.
Trial for man accused in Fairfield woman’s death delayed months by coronavirus
A trial for a man charged in the death of a Fairfield woman in 2019 has again been continued due to coronavirus concerns.
Kirby Cheong, 30, of Summit Point Drive in Miamisburg, was arrested in March in Montgomery County by U.S. Marshals for allegedly killing 23-year-old Katherine Lobono at her Fairfield residence on Oct. 1, 2019. He is charged with murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.
During an August hearing in Butler County Common Pleas Court, Judge Noah Powers III set Cheong’s trial for Jan. 11. Cheong is being held in the county jail in lieu of a $500,000 bond.
Police: Juvenile shot during robbery at West Chester apartment complex
A juvenile was shot in connection with a robbery Monday night at the Lakefront at West Chester apartment complex on Wyndtree Drive.
The shooting happened at about 10 p.m. in the parking lot at about . The victim is a juvenile, who is not a West Chester resident or affiliated with the apartment complex, drove to Mercy Fairfield Hospital for treatment.
The police report indicated the victim’s injury was major, but it was not clear what role the juvenile played in the robbery. No suspects have been identified.
‘I always thought Butler County was pro-business’: Land of Illusion owner responds to expansion denial
Saying the $190 million expansion of the Land of Illusion amusement park does not fit well in rural Madison Twp., the Butler County commissioners denied a request to rezone 206 acres on Monday.
Owner Brett Oakley wanted to rezone eight parcels off Thomas Road to a Business Planned Unit Development from the current agriculture, residential and general business classifications. Oakley wanted to make Land of Illusion a year-round facility with additional family activities, camping sites and a hotel.
Commissioners Cindy Carpenter and T.C. Rogers said the plan doesn’t match with the township’s land use plan and would have a negative impact on neighbors.
Butler County man who killed 11-year-old girl in 1984 denied parole again
Parole has been denied again for a St. Clair Twp. man who killed an 11-year-old girl in 1984 and hid her body in his garage before pretending to search for her with others in his neighborhood.
Bradford Gill, then a trusted member of the community, was searching for the missing Kerri Hintermeister when Butler County Sheriff’s deputies found her body that he concealed in a work bench that March.
Gill, who pleaded guilty to aggravated murder in the fatal stabbing, faced the death penalty but was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 20 years. He was up for parole again in October.
AND, for an extra sixth story of the day ...
Former Danbarry theater on Hamilton’s West Side available for development after recent purchase
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Area native Todd Helton has gutted the former Danbarry Cinemas building on Hamilton’s West Side and is looking for one or more tenants – preferably a restaurant and microbrewery – to occupy the 24,000-square-foot space.
Helton is a real estate agent with Sibcy Cline Realtors who has his office in Kenwood. He purchased the long-unoccupied, 10-screen building recently for $125,000 plus the promise he would honor a contract with the company that had been hired to gut the building.
“We’ve got everything gutted out of the building,” he said. “We’ve got the roof leaks fixed. All the theater stuff’s gone, all the old yucky stuff. You can’t box up a building for 10 years without it having issues, so we’ve been able to get past all those issues at this point, and now that it’s wide-open space, now we’re ready to show it.