4/26/2014 Hostage released - TribToday.

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Manwhoattackedcarrierwor... Casefiles:Standoffsuspect...

Hostagereleased
Fivehourstandoffendsafternegotiation
April24, 2014
ByCOLINHARRIS,TribuneChronicle
Save|
Afterafivehourordeal,authoritieshaveconfirmedthatahostage
standoffattheTrumbullCountyJailinWarrenendedwiththesafe
releaseofacorrectionsofficer.
TrumbullCountySheriffThomasAltieresaidinmatesKevinJohns,
DavidMartinandRichardWarewerearmedwithahomemadeweapon
whentheycapturedamalecorrectionsofficerwhohadwalkedupto
thetopfloorofjail.
"Weweremakingroundsinthejailwhenoneofour(corrections
officers)wastakenhostagebythreeinmates,"Altieresaid."One
prisonercamefrombehindandgrabbedhim.Thenanotherprisoner
camefromthefrontandgrabbedhim...theygothisradioandhis
handcuffs.
ArticleVideo
"Allofasuddenweknewthatwehadahostagesituation."
Theofficer'snamewasnotreleasedbyauthorities,whosaidonlythat
heisamaleinhis30s.
OfficersandtacticalteamsfromaroundtheareaandCleveland
respondedtoAltiere'scallforassistance.Alltold,anestimated100
officerswereonsceneduringthecourseofthestandoff.

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4/26/2014 Hostage released - TribToday.com - News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Tribune Chronicle - Warren, OH
http://tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/604171/Hostage-released.html 2/3
ArticlePhotos
TribuneChronicle/ColinHarris
ACrisisResponseTeamvehiclesitsoutsidetheTrumb
"WecalledintheFBI,SWATteams,U.S.Marshals,OhioStatePatrol
...whenyouhavesomethinglikethis,youneverknowwhereit's
goingtogo,soyouhavetoprepareforeverything,"Altieresaid.
"Whenyou'vegotsomeonewithashankhelduptotheirthroat,you
cantakethat(asaserioussituation)."
Altieresaidtheinmatesheldtheofficeragainsthiswillwiththeknife
likeweapon,whileusinghisphonetocallaClevelandtelevision
stationandmakeademandthattheybetransferredtoanotherjail.
Toprevententrytotheprisonpod,theinmatesusedwoundup
sheetstiedaroundadoorhandletosecurethedoortothepod's
commonarea.
LedbyWarrenLt.JeffCole,whoactedasnegotiator,officialsspent
fivehourswiththeinmatesbeforeresolvingthesituationataround
8:30p.m.Altierenotedthattheinmateshadnodemandsotherthan
askingforcigarettes.
"Ihavenoclue(whatColedid)whenhenegotiatedwiththeinmates
becausehe'sthebossinthatsituation,"Altieresaid."AllIknowishe
gotthemoutsafely."
Altieresaidthattheinmatesweretobetransportedtootherfacilities
overnight,butthatitisunknownwheretheywillbetakenorifthey
willallbetakentothesameplace.
Themotiveisnotyetclear,butAltieresaidthatitisbelievedthatit
wasnotarandomoccurrence.
"Theinmateswereallinthesamepod,"Altieresaid."Theoneguy
(Martin)hasbeenbeenhereforayearahalf.Thewaythisallwent
down...theywereplanningit."
Altieresaidinvestigatorswillinterviewtheinmatestotrytodetermine
whytheofficerwastargeted.Thecasewillthenbehandedovertothe
prosecutortodeterminewhatchargeswillbefiled.
Correctionsofficersarenotarmed,andAltieresaidthatdespite
Wednesday'ssituation,thereisnotasecurityissueatthejail.While
officersmakeroundsaloneinsidethepods,anotherofficeris
monitoringsecurityscreensatacentrallocation.
"Thiswasjustanunfortunateincident,"Altieresaid.
JohnswassentencedonApril18to28yearsbehindbarsforrapinga
localwomanandkidnappinganotherwomanaboutayearago.
Warehasthreedifferentaggravatedrobberycasespendingin
TrumbullCommonPleascourt.
Martinisaccusedofkilling21yearoldJeremyColeandwounding
MelissaPutnamonSept.27,2012,atahomeonOakCircleS.W.His
trialwastobeginthismonthbutwasrescheduledforAug.27sothat
Martincouldundergoacompetencytest.
4/26/2014 Hostage released - TribToday.com - News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Tribune Chronicle - Warren, OH
http://tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/604171/Hostage-released.html 3/3
Martincouldfacethedeathpenaltyifconvictedoftheaggravated
murderchargeandtheaggravatedcircumstances.
Cole'smother,WandaCole,wasamongthoselookingonduring
Wednesday'sevents.Whenaskedforcomment,shesaidthatshedid
notwishformoreviolencefromherson'sallegedkiller.
"Thisain'taprettysceneforanyonetogothrough.Ithinkthisis
crazymyself,"Colesaid."Ihopenooneelsediesbecauseofhis
stupidity."
WandaCole'sdaughter,AmyBiles,wasalsoamongthecrowdoutside
thejailandsaidthatshewashopingforadifferentoutcome.
"Ihope(Martin)diestoday,"Bilessaid."Hesaidheain'tgoingto
prison,solet(thepolice)killhim."
FollowingthestoryfromherhomeinSouthCarolina,anotheroneof
Cole'sdaughters,AmandaFortsch,saidshewasalertedtothe
situationonFacebookandfeltsimilarlytoBilesuponhearingthenews
ofMartin'sinvolvement.
"Iwasjusthopingthatofficerdidn'tgethurtandthat(Martin)didnot
takeanotherlifejusttobestupid,"Fortschsaid."DavidMartinneeds
tomanup...hedidthecrime,nowheneedstodothetime.
"Mybrotherdidn'tgetoutalivelikethatofficer...hepaidwithhis
life."
charris@tribtoday.com
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