BLANCHESTER —A man who had a warrant out for his arrest was spotted and arrested by Blanchester police early Monday morning was also carrying a concealed knife with a 3-inch blade, police said.
According to Police Chief Scott Reinbolt, at around 1 a.m. Monday Blanchester police officers were passing the Blanchester Public Library when they saw Mark Sparks, 24, sitting out front. The officers recognized Sparks and knew the department held a warrant for Sparks’ arrest for failure to appear before the court on a prior trespassing case, Reinbolt said. They stopped and arrested Sparks.
“When searching him, they found that he had used elastic to attach a kitchen knife to the inside of his wrist,” Reinbolt said. “The knife, which had a 3-inch blade, was concealed by his outer clothing.”
Sparks, whose criminal record includes arrests for domestic violence and menacing, was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, Reinbolt said. The chief added that an Ohio statute that prohibits carrying a deadly weapon concealed on a person’s body when that object is intended for use as a weapon.
Sparks was taken to the Clinton County Jail and will answer the new charge in Clinton County Municipal Court.
