Most wanted suspect caught by police
BUCYRUS — Last week, the Bucyrus Police Department began a publicity campaign to help track down its most wanted criminal suspects. So far, so good.
During a traffic stop near the intersection of West Mary and North Spring streets at 7:40 p.m. Monday, police arrested Brooklyn Gilliland, 27, whose last known address is 1001 Reid St. in Bucyrus. Gilliland, the police department's initial most wanted suspect, had been sought on a felony warrant for drug trafficking, and was cited Monday for driving under suspension and suspicion of driving under the influence.
Gilliland is in the Crawford County jail awaiting a court appearance. She served eight months in prison in 2011 for drug trafficking and six months in 2012 for drug possession.
Bucyrus Police on Monday evening also arrested the passenger in the vehicle driven by Gilliland. Police Chief David Koepke said Torin T. Jones, 44, was taken into custody on charges of possessing heroin as well as bulk amounts of two Schedule II narcotics. Jones also is facing a hearing on an earlier OVI case with the Ohio Highway Patrol.
"This arrest now looks more significant than I thought yesterday," Koepke said, noting that Jones' charges were headed to the Crawford County grand jury.
Jones is in the Crawford County jail, where he had already spent several weeks earlier this year on another drug charge, but was found not guilty.
Jones had been arrested during another traffic stop May 31 in Bucyrus for driving without headlights at night. He wound up in jail on suspicion of cocaine possession, a case that ultimately went to a jury in Crawford County Common Pleas Court, where he had been held on $1 million bail, on Sept. 17.
The trial lasted only a day, with the jury taking less than an hour to find Jones not guilty of possessing cocaine after hearing from just one witness, the Ohio Highway Patrol officer who pulled Jones over.
A bag of nearly 10 grams of cocaine was found on the ground next to the patrol cruiser after the officer led Jones into the vehicle, but the prosecution was unable to prove the drug had been in Jones' possession before it was found.
After the jury found Jones not guilty, he was released from the county's custody by Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold. Jones' pending OVI hearing stems from the May 31 traffic stop.
During court proceedings in June, Jones said he hailed from Detroit and was in and out of Bucyrus on a frequent basis. Court documents at that time listed an address for Jones at Heritage Circle in Bucyrus. Bucyrus Police Chief Koepke on Tuesday said Jones was living on North Sandusky Avenue in the city.
After Tuesday's traffic stop, the owner of the vehicle driven by Gilliland, Lisa Abrams, was cited for wrongful entrustment, a misdemeanor, and the vehicle was impounded.
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Twitter: @ToddHillMNJ