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 Wapakoneta Elementary School fourth grade teacher Jason Brandt, above, teaches his class on the first day of school. Staff photo/ William Laney By KAREN CAMPBELL
Assistant Managing Editor
With a few technology and communication glitches and parents learning along with students where they need to go, Wapakoneta City Schools students’ first day of class went without any major problems, administrators say.
“The school day is going fine,” Superintendent Keith Horner said Tuesday afternoon.
He said one of the biggest hurdles to overcome was a new pick-up and drop-off system at Wapakoneta Elementary School.
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Juveniles arrested after trying to rob man |
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Wednesday, 19 August 2009 |
By KAREN CAMPBELL
Assistant Managing Editor
Two Wapakoneta juveniles were arrested after attempting to rob a 55-year-old man at gunpoint.
On the way home from dropping off a bill at TSC headquarters in downtown Wapakoneta at 1:35 a.m. Saturday, Jeff Brown, 110 W. Main St. said a male with a blue bandana put a gun in his face and demanded his wallet, according to a Wapakoneta Police Department report.
The man, who was not carrying anything other than the bill which he already dropped off, was allowed to leave the northwest corner of Perry and Main streets, where the attempted robbery occurred, without incident.
When he arrived home, he called the police.
Officers already in the downtown area were able to locate four young males matching the victim’s descriptions rather quickly, Police Chief Dave Webb said.
As they were patted down against a wall near an alley by the Ohio Bar, the weapon threatened in the robbery was located but found to not be a real gun.
The mostly plastic air soft gun resembled a real weapon, Webb said.
After the weapon was confiscated but before he was handcuffed, the 17-year-old, who had been carrying it, escaped police custody.
The first attempt to use a taser on him by officers on the scene during the struggle was unsuccessful. After repeated warnings, a taser was used again by a second officer and fell to the ground and was taken into custody.
The other three suspects were handcuffed and taken into custody without incident.
Wendell Neblett, 17, 302 1/2 E. Auglaize St., Apt. 4, was charged with four counts — robbery, second-degree felony, tampering with evidence, third-degree felony, and resisting arrest and obstructing official business, second-degree misdemeanors.
Another juvenile, Cody Nordhaus, 16, 155 Winterhaven Dr., was charged with two counts — robbery, second-degree felony, and possession of criminal tools, fifth-degree felony, as he was the one holding the gun at the time of the attempted robbery.
Neblett and Nordhause were taken to the Juvenile Detention Center in Troy.
Neither of the other males, including a 17-year-old from Botkins and an 18-year-old from Wapakoneta, were charged in connection with the attempted robbery, Webb said.
They were released to their parents.
“The investigation revealed they didn’t know about it until it happened,” Webb said. “They were found not to be directly involved and were very cooperative.”
“Quite frankly, I’m very glad the air soft gun was located and taken before he ran,” the police chief said of the incident. “If officers had not known it was a toy gun and it was still on his person, it could have been a whole different situation.
“The main thing is everyone was safe and the officers did a fine job,” he said.
Webb said there have not been any similar reports of toy weapons being used in attempted thefts in the area.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 20 August 2009 )
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