A Pressler Road man said his wife grabbed him by the arm and refused to let him go, and then punched him in the eye. He went to the hospital before reporting the incident to police. He also said his wife and her current boyfriend threatened to cut his throat while he was sleeping.

Investigators in three states said the horror began in exactly the same way.
A woman, most times a single mother, would awake in her bedroom to find she was blinded by the glare of a flashlight. The man wore a ski mask. He covered her mouth tightly with a gloved hand.

“I'm just going to take a few things.  I won't hurt you,” the intruder said.  “Get up and come with me… ”

A Thackery Avenue woman told police on April 18 that a man was continually calling and texting her despite her telling him several times to stop. An officer spoke to the man by phone and advised him to stop contacting the woman or he would be charged with telecommunications harassment.

A woman, who told police she was in the process of moving, went to her old apartment on Casper Avenue and found her $700 television was stolen. She believes the incident occurred sometime between 9:30 p.m. April 7 and 1:15 p.m. April 8. A woman in an adjoining apartment reported a burglary during the same timeframe. She said she woke up and found the lock on her sliding glass door broken and the inside wood block removed. A stereo receiver valued at $800 was found missing.

Kenneth Simmons, 18, of Green, was charged April 10 with improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, criminal damaging, criminal trespass and two counts of criminal mischief. Summit County Sheriff’s investigators said the charges stem from incidents in February in which Green High School, Park Honda and several other businesses were shot with paintballs and one vehicle was shot by a .22 caliber rifle. Simmons was booked into the Summit County Jail.  Officers recovered a paintball gun and rifle from Simmons’ car at his home.

A 24-year-old Canton man was jailed in Stark County March 30 on charges of aggravated burglary, assault, disrupting public services and criminal damaging. Police said he broke into a woman’s apartment by opening the garage door and kicking open the side man door. Once inside, he grabbed a phone from the woman as she was calling 911 and slammed it against the refrigerator. He then grabbed the woman by the feet and threw her down, causing her to hit her head on the floor. The woman told police he also pulled a chunk of hair out of her head and poured beer over her.

Alcohol is suspected to be a factor in two traffic crashes in Springfield Township March 31 that injured two and resulted in the death of 26 year-old Jeffrey Y. Spencer, of Canal Fulton. The crashes occurred on the one-year anniversary of an alcohol-related crash that paralyzed Springfield Police Officer Mark Dodez.

A 33-year-old Coventry Township man was arrested March 19 on a warrant charging him with domestic violence. Six days before, police were called to a South Arlington Road hotel after the man’s girlfriend reported that he struck her multiple times in the face and kicked her in the ribs. He also put a cigarette out on her left eyelid, she said. The man was gone before officers arrived. He and the woman have three children together.

On March 22, someone broke into a car at a home in the 5800 block of Woodhill Drive and stole a laptop computer, an iPod and a backpack containing school supplies, total value $2,500. On the same day, a Uniontown woman reported a $600 computer was taken from her car while she was at a mall on Belden Village Street.

A Derling Drive man, 37, was locked up in the Summit County Jail March 9 after being charged with two counts of domestic violence. Deputies said he head-butted his girlfriend, pulled her hair and threw her down in the hallway, and then slapped his 7-year-old son in the face.

Also on March 14, a Portage Street woman told police she received a call from a person claiming to be from her satellite TV supplier. She said the person asked her to send $500 to receive a year of free service. The woman wired the money to a location in California. She then called her satellite TV supplier for verification and learned the person who called her wasn’t associated with the company and that the call was likely a scam.

Deputies charged a 27-year-old man with disorderly conduct March 2 after he was accused of causing a disturbance at a Manchester Road restaurant. According to reports, the man became upset with his drive-thru order and refused to drive forward, causing customers behind him to wait. He then went inside the restaurant and started yelling and swearing at employees.

A 65-year-old Akron woman was charged with theft Feb. 29 after she failed to pay a $253 cab fare. According to reports, she called a taxi from her hotel room on Fortuna Drive to take her to and from Cleveland. On her arrival back home, she got out and walked away from the taxi driver.

A Canton man reported someone slashed a front tire on his car while he was at a Munson Street bar Feb. 29. Surveillance video showed a figure lurking in the shadows in the parking lot.

There was a bomb threat at Springfield High School this morning, March 2. Students have been evacuated and police are currently on the scene.

The threat is from an unknown source.

At this time, police do not know if the threat is credible. Officers are taking all precautions.

Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh announced today that Judge Tom Teodosio sentenced Billy Joe Covington, 23, of Akron, to 12 years in prison for attacking a woman outside an Akron bank. As part of his sentence, Covington must register as a tier two sex offender for 25 years after he is released from prison.

Police responded to two complaints of yard damage on Feb. 16 and 17. A Greencrest Avenue woman said someone has been driving through her yard in the middle of the night, leaving tracks leading to a neighboring property. A Pleasantwood Avenue man reported someone in a white truck drove through his yard, causing about 70 feet of deep ruts.

An Edward Drive man, 22, was arrested on a warrant and charged with drug and paraphernalia possession Feb. 4 during a traffic stop on Krumroy Road. A background check revealed the warrant and a license suspension. During a search of his car, police reportedly found two baggies of suspected marijuana and three packs of rolling papers hidden behind the front cover of the radio and airconditioner controls.

Blake Sexton pleaded guilty Feb. 10 in Summit County Juvenile Court to carrying a concealed weapon, felonious assault and tampering with evidence. He has been deemed a serious youth offender and will serve a minimum of two years at an Ohio DYS Facility before his release. He also has been sentenced to five years of post-release control.