IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU

Cincinnati: Man is indicted in slash, rob case
Teodora Meza couldn't understand why Pedro Lopez kept entering and leaving her Mexican store in Norwood that sells food and clothing. Suspicious, Meza asked Lopez what he wanted. He responded he was waiting for his brother. Soon after, though, Meza told police, Lopez pulled out a 14-inch butcher knife, robbed her and slashed her. When her 10-year-old daughter tried to come to her defense, Meza told police he threw her to the floor and knifed her, too. Lopez, 24, of Norwood, was indicted Tuesday by a Hamilton County grand jury on two counts each of aggravated robbery, felonious assault and kidnapping, charges carrying a maximum prison sentence of 56 years in prison.

Dayton: Suspects sought in victim zone abduction case
Police are waiting for the condition of a victim in an abduction to improve in the hope they can get leads on suspects still on the loose. The victim met several acquaintances Monday night at the 8 Ball and Wings bar on Salem Avenue in Trotwood, Capt. Dan Swafford said, and after the group left about 10 p.m., the victim was forced into the back of a car. Dayton homicide Sgt. Gary White said the victim either jumped or was thrown from the moving car at Siebenthaler and Odlin avenues. Police believe the victim was beaten or pistol whipped. He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, where police said he was in critical condition.

Huron Co.: Home invasion - Police say man held child hostage
(From the Sandusky Register:) Police involvement in the incident began with a woman's 911 call reporting someone breaking into a residence on Railroad Street, Hunker said. Steven G. Hood is accused of a failed attempt to kick in a door. When that didn't work, Hood allegedly punched a living room window and cut his right arm on the glass, Hunker said. Hood climbed in the window. "He was intoxicated," Hunker said. "There was blood all over the place." The woman and two boys, ages 3 and 5, were in the residence. Hood made them go upstairs with him. Hood allegedly banged the woman's head against the bed frame. The woman blacked out for a few minutes, Hunker said. Hood also is accused of dragging the woman down the stairs by her hair and punching her in the face, Hunker said. "At one point she swung a golf club at him and he took it away from her," Hunker said. "He asked a kid if he wanted him to kill her. The kid said, 'No. Don't do that,' " Hunker said. When officers arrived, the woman ran down the stairs with the 3-year-old. Hood allegedly said if anyone tried to go upstairs they would be sorry, Hunker said. Hood allegedly grabbed the 5-year-old boy and held the boy in front of him, and told officers, "Shoot me," Hunker said. Hood was taken into custody within minutes, Hunker said.

Sandusky: Georgia men charged in Fulton Street assault
(From the Sandusky Register:) Sandusky police received numerous calls at 8:49 p.m. Friday reporting a fight on the 300 block of Fulton Street. When they arrived, they found that a 22-year-old West Jefferson Street man had been stabbed in his lower back, according to a report, and he was taken for medical treatment at Firelands Regional Medical Center. A 17-year-old Fulton Street boy told officers that he "had a problem" with a man at a nearby convenience store, and that the man and three others had followed him home in a silver Mitsubishi. When they began to assault him, relatives ran outside to help him, he told police. During the confrontation, a man in a red shirt stabbed the West Jefferson Street man, the Fulton Street teen told police, and Dyson held a gun to both men's heads and threatened to shoot them, police said.

Sandusky Co.: Man reports being assaulted in cemetery
A man reported being assaulted at the Oakwood Cemetery in Ballville Township Monday evening. At about 8:23 p.m., the Sandusky County Sheriff's Department received a call of an assault near the cemetery. A deputy drove around the cemetery several times and heard a person yelling from inside. A man was found with minor wounds to the face. He reported that he was hit from behind with what appeared to be a glass bottle. He was not able to provide a description of the assailant. The victim was transported to a friend's residence. The man was told that if he wants to walk around a cemetery, he should do so during daylight hours.

Toledo: 4 stabbed in 5 west-side assaults
Police are investigating five assaults in West Toledo during the last week in which four victims were stabbed, possibly by the same man. Richard Fitzwater, 53, of West Toledo was in fair condition at Toledo Hospital after he was stabbed twice in the abdomen while walking on Auburn Avenue at the I-475 overpass early yesterday. Three of the other four victims were treated at various hospitals. The first assault occurred Wednesday. Two assaults, including Mr. Fitzwater's, occurred in the area of Auburn and the I-475 overpass. A third happened at Auburn and South Cove Boulevard. The others occurred Sunday night at Sylvania and Homewood avenues and Tremainsville Road and Mellwood Avenue. All occurred between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m.