Ohio State Highway Patrol warns: Crimes occurring at Ohio rest stops
One of the important aspects of the pending amendment to Ohio's Castle Doctrine bill now on hold in the House Criminal Justice Committee is a change that would amend O.R.C. 2923.126(B) in the governmental building category to exempt shelters, restrooms and parking garages from the definition.
As yet another news media story this week proves, this change can come none too soon.
From WBNS 10TV.com:
Even in broad daylight, the Ohio State Highway Patrol warns that anyone could become a target.
"There are typically assaults reported in rest areas," said Sgt. Jeremy Landis of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
...We researched hundreds of reports filed with the Ohio State Highway Patrol from rest stops across the state since January 2007.
The biggest cluster of rest area crimes took place along Interstate 75, between Lima and Toledo, CrimeTracker 10's Angela An reported.
A woman reported being raped in April 2007 at a Wood County rest stop. A man using a restroom in Auglaize County was struck in the head with a metal pipe and robbed at gunpoint.
In January, several men who were acting suspiciously at a Findlay-area rest stop were arrested for possession of crack, cocaine and marijuana possession.
The news report goes on to note that, last July along U.S. Route 30, troopers seized a man's mobile phone and charged him for voyeurism after he was caught hiding in the women's restroom.
Judy Hockman and Linda Davis did not realize rest areas can be places for criminals to hide. But at a rest stop where they stopped along I-70 near London, troopers in January found a man under the influence along with a loaded shotgun under a seat in his car.
At the rest stop located on the other side of the road, a driver was arrested for carrying a concealed 32-caliber revolver that was also loaded, An reported.
"It could be someone who is traveling across the state that they do stop here to get some sleep before they move on," Landis said.
Between Akron and Youngstown, a woman who was walking into the rest area along I-76 was robbed and assaulted. Last June, troopers stopped a 38-year-old registered sexual predator who had a 16-year-old girl in his car.
Troopers said that no matter how high or low the crime numbers are that drivers should always be on high alert.
If you believe it's time to take these dangerous rest stops off the list of state-mandated victim zones...
If you believe it's time to allow law-abiding citizens their right to bear arms for self-defense...
If you're fed up with legislators that appear to be more concerned with the whims of elitist law enforcement labor unions than with We the People, CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS ABOUT AMENDING A FIX INTO SB184 NOW!!
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