Top stories:
The Missouri man accused of holding captive a 15-year-old Brooklyn girl used a fake social media account to contact her friends as they searched for the teen, investigators said today. (cleveland.com)(WEWS Channel 5)
A more than 12-hour standoff at a South Euclid clothing store ended in the arrest of two burglary suspects who were holed up in a ceiling crawl space, police said. (cleveland.com)(WKYC Channel 3)
A Cleveland police officer was treated for a concussion after a truck slammed into the back of his cruiser and sped from the scene. (cleveland.com)(WJW Channel 8)
Area crime news:
Cleveland police and deputies from the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department raided an Old Brooklyn home today that investigators say was used as a meth lab. (cleveland.com)(WEWS Channel 5)
James E. Brooks, formerly of Warren, who was indicted last month on federal weapons and drug charges, was indicted Thursday in Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court of abuse of a corpse involving Alesha Bell, 18, of Warren, and four other charges. (Youngstown Vindicator)
The Lorain County Sheriffs Office Detective Bureau has been able to link two suspects arrested for a Wednesday burglary to several burglaries in the county. (WKYC Channel 3)
An Amherst Township man accused of holding South Amherst firefighters hostage when they responded to an October brush fire has been indicted. (Elyria Chronicle-Telegram)
It's possible the two men charged for a Port Clinton woman's death in October could get indicted in the near future. (Sandusky Register)
An Ashtabula County man convicted of drunk driving and vehicular assault for a 2013 crash has been arrested for violating his probation after he was spotted drinking alcohol at Monday night's Cleveland Browns game. (Ashtabula Star Beacon)
Local news - east:
Scott Weiland, the former frontman for the Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver who grew up in Bainbridge, has died. He was 48. (cleveland.com)(Associated Press)
Kevin Knoefel's own trial defense team has come forward to say the former Willoughby Hills man is not innocent in his wife's murder, according to legal documents filed this week in Lake County Common Pleas Court. (News-Herald)
Mahoning Valley's state legislators abruptly split from the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber after they had been teamed up to prioritize local projects for a piece of Ohio's multi-million dollar 2016 capital spending. (Youngstown Vindicator)
Local news - west:
The suspect in the fatal shooting of a Parma gas station owner was tackled and subdued by two customers who are deaf. (WEWS Channel 5)
Elyria defense attorney J.D. Tomlinson will run for Lorain County prosecutor, challenging county Prosecutor Dennis Will in the March 2016 Democratic primary. (Lorain Morning Journal)
Felony charges against Lorain contractor Don E. Buchs were dropped Thursday after he repaid $7,200 he was given to demolish a home that wasn't torn down until after police became involved. (Elyria Chronicle-Telegram)
Akron-Canton area news
Ohio Auditor Dave Yost is expected today to downgrade Coventry Local Schools' financial status to fiscal emergency following nearly two decades in fiscal watch. The district will join four others with the unsavory designation. (Akron Beacon Journal)
Akron attorney Christy B. Bishop died at her home in the Portage Lakes area of Coventry Township following the most hard-fought court victory of her career. (Akron Beacon Journal)
Medina City Council asked Nancy Abbott, clerk of Medina Municipal Court, to give back $39,000 in each of the next five years from "carryforward" funds, surplus money from different departments rolled into the next budget period, in order to approve the city's 2016 budget. (Medina Gazette)