WILMINGTON — A Midland-area man who allegedly shot his father was indicted on two counts Monday, and in front of a magistrate Thursday.
A local grand jury indicted Brandon C. Breezley, 23, of Midland, on a charge of attempted murder and a charge of felonious assault, both second-degree level offenses.
A prior $1 million cash or surety bond remained in place, with Clinton County Magistrate Helen Rowlands adding a $10,000 signature bond.
Rowlands set a pretrial hearing for Friday, Jan. 24 when Breezley will appear at the Clinton County Common Pleas Courtroom before Judge John W. “Tim” Rudduck.
Breezley’s charges stem from an incident 1:20 a.m. New Year’s Day.
According to an affidavit from Clinton County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Det. Doug Eastes, 55-year-old David Breezley was found “covered in blood” and lying on the kitchen floor. He had a gunshot wound to the neck but was still alive.
Brandon told authorities he and his father had been arguing, leading to a physical altercation. The affidavit advised the suspect continued behaving in “an angry manner” and eventually went into his parents’ room, opened David’s safe, removed a loaded .22-caliber handgun, and shot at his father through a closed bedroom door.
“Mr. [Brandon] Breezley opened the bedroom door, observed his father lying on the floor and when his father rose to a seated position, he shot at him again and saw his father immediately fall backwards,” the affidavit stated.
While the suspect was being placed into custody when authorities first arrived, he reportedly said to them, “I just killed my dad, he is dead, I shot him in the head.”
David Breezley has survived the incident.
Man charged with rape
Another man indicted on Monday also was in front of the magistrate Thursday afternoon by video from the Clinton County Jail. Jesse W. Stein, 36, of the Sabina area, faces a 14-count indictment, with all the charges sex-related offenses.
The charges include six counts of rape (each an F1), six counts of sexual battery (each an F2), and two counts of gross sexual imposition (each an F3).
The alleged victim is younger than 13, according to the indictment wording.
The suspect had been held on a $100,000 bond. Assistant Clinton County Prosecutor Katie Wilkin asked that bond be set at a higher amount, and the request was granted.
Rowlands raised the bond to $250,000 cash or surety with a $10,000 signature bond. The magistrate explained the increase by noting Stein faces more charges now than he did when he was in municipal court earlier, and furthermore the prospective greater penalties make him a greater flight risk than before.
BPD: Woman stole from Eagles
A Midland woman has been indicted for allegedly stealing several thousand dollars from the Blanchester Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie #2222.
Officers of the organization reported several thousand dollars in cash missing from club funds on Oct. 3, 2019, according to Blanchester Police Chief Scott Reinbolt.
An investigation was opened and assigned to BPD Sgt. Gary Mowen.
“Over the next 30 days Sgt. Mowen interviewed witnesses and gathered other evidence which pointed to a former barmaid at the establishment, Maria Hall, age 38, of Midland.”
Reinbolt said the case was presented to Clinton County Prosecuting Attorney Richard Moyer, and his office presented the case to a recent session of the Clinton County grand jury, which returned an indictment charging Hall with felony theft.
“Hall has a criminal record dating back to 2005 which includes convictions for theft and trafficking in drugs,” said Reinbolt.
Hall will answer the indictment in the Clinton County Common Pleas Court.
“We are appreciative of the spirit of cooperation displayed by the officers of Aerie 2222 during this investigation,” said Reinbolt.
