A woman convicted of posing as a veterinarian will spend an additional six months in prison related to two felony stolen property charges.

NewsChannel 5 reports Brandi Tomko was sentenced in Medina County Common Pleas Court Monday morning.

A court official said Tomko admitted to receiving money from two stolen checks.

Tomko was first sentenced to 18 months in prison on March 15 in Summit County Court. She was convicted of eight charges, including fraud and identity theft.

Akron police said she injured and killed pets while posing as a veterinarian at C&D Animal Hospital in Akron.

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Akron Police Detectives are investigating the death of 21-year old Anthony R. Smith, of Whitney Avenue in Akron. Around 12:30 Saturday afternoon, Smith was shot in the chest outside a home in the 1300 block of 8th Avenue. He was transported to Akron City Hospital where he later died.

A suspect has been identified and a warrant for aggravated murder has been issued for 21-year old Randy A. Thomas,with a last known address on 7th Avenue in Akron. Police say Randy Thomas should be considered armed and dangerous.
Anyone with information on Randy Thomas’ whereabouts is asked to contact the Akron Police Department, Detective Bureau at 330-375-2490; the U.S. Marshals Service at 1-866-4-WANTED; or the Summit County Crimestoppers Inc. at (330) 434-COPS. Callers can remain anonymous.

Detectives are also investigating a shooting that occurred around 2:00pm last Friday afternoon in the 700 block of East Avenue. The victim, Darshaun D. Richerson, 30, of Eastland Avenue in Akron, was shot in the face while at the house on East Avenue. Richerson was transported to Akron General Medical Center where his injuries are not life threatening.

A suspect has been identified and a warrant for felonious assault has been signed on Davon M. Irvine, 19, of Copley Road. Irvine is a light complexioned black male, bald with a light moustache, 6’02”, and 165 lbs. He should be considered armed and dangerous.

Copley fire investigators still totalling up the damage from a large barn fire Thursday afternoon that closed down Medina Line Road for several hours. Copley fire chief Michael Benson tells AkronNewsNow  a total of 9 fire departments and 40 firefighters battled the blaze. He says the barn is a total loss. There were no injuries to firefighters, but a number of chickens and pigeons were killed. Several donkeys though managed to escape the flames and are being cared for by a neighbor. Benson says no one was home at an adjacent house when the fire began  The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

A committee formed by Stow Mayor Sara Drew to study school safety issues is recommending increasing the Stow city income tax from 2% to 2.25% to fund putting police officers in the schools. The recommendation now goes to Stow City Council which would have to approve the request to be placed on the November ballot. 

Drew tells AkronNewsNow " What we're proposing is that the most effective use of those resources with the most benefit to both the schools and to the community at-large are school resource officers."

Drew tells AkronNewsNow the tax increase would fund the placement of the officers in Stow-Munroe Falls schools on a permanent basis and also assist the Stow Police Department when events call for extra police coverage across the city, especially during the summer months.

'We can really impact the safety in the schools, but then have more interaction with the community and affect criminal activity that bleeds through from the community to the schools and vice versa," says Drew.

She says the placement of more officers in the schools on a temporary basis after the Newtown Connecticut school shootings resulted in children being removed fro meth houses and two high school students being  charged with shooting two men in an Osage Street home.Sara Drew says the presence of more school resource officers could detect and prevent future crime from affecting students.

One of two teens charged in the brutal beating deaths of New Franklin attorney Jeff Schobert and his wife Margaret in their Rex Lake Drive home last week has seen his case bound over to the Summit County grand jury. 18-year old Shawn Ford is facing two counts of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery and other charges for allegedly using a sledgehammer to bludgeon the couple..

Summit County Juvenile Court Judge Linda Tucci Teodosio must still decide if a 14-year old Akron boy will be tried as a juvenile or adult after facing the same charges in the Schoberts' murder. The Summit County Prosecutor is seeking to have the teen tried as an adult on aggravated murder charges.

Prosecutors speculate that Ford's anger over the Schoberts trying to keep him from dating their 18-year old daughter Chelsea may have been a motive for the murders. Shawn Ford is also charged with felonious assault for allegedly attacking Chelsea Schobert, stabbing her at a home on Andrus Street on March 23rd.

A program to alert Akron area residents about the growing problem of human trafficking in Ohio was held today at the Akron General Health and Wellness Center, sponsored by Summit County Children's Services. One of the participants was Melinda Sykes of the Ohio Attorney General's office. She tells AkronNews Now that a recent study by the Attorney General's Office revealed there are an average of more than a thousand children a year who are used for sex trafficking in Ohio.

" This is a very underground activity. It's very difficult to get actual statistics, but I think as the awareness grows, as law enforcement becomes more aware of how to identify these cases, we are seeing some new prosecutions," says Sykes.

" It's crucial that we train everyone, and that everyone has awareness on what to look for. This is something that the general public didn't know anything about a couple of years ago. I think we're doing a much better job of getting the word out now."

Sykes says Attorney general Mike Dewine has made attacking human trafficking a priority and has set up a task force and other means to work with law enforcement to crack down on human traffickers.

State Representative Teresa Fedor, a Toledo Democrat, said Monday she expects to introduce legislation in the coming days to toughen the penalties for those who purchase sex with a minor. Solicitors would also be required to register as a sex offender.                    

Among other changes, her proposal would increase the statute of limitations for human trafficking from six years to 20. It would ban people from knowingly purchasing advertising space for sexual activity for hire that includes a depiction of a minor.

The 14-year-old Akron charged in the slaying of New Franklin attorney Jeff Schobert and his wife Margaret last week in their Rex Lake Drive home has entered pleas of  not guilty to aggrav ated murder and other charges in Summit County Juvenile Court this morning..

Prosecutors indicated they want the suspect tried as an adult,

The boyfriend of the couple's daughter Chelsea Schobert, 18-year old Shawn Ford, is also  charged with two counts of aggravated murder, and other charges in the incident.

He's accused of using a sledgehammer to murder the couple.

Akron Police are looking for a gunman who shot a woman in the shoulder following what appeared to be a road rage incident. The victim, a 20-year old women, was a passenger in a vehicle traveling on Kenmore Boulevard, when the driver apparently crossed paths with the suspects in another vehicle.

Both vehicles pulled into a parking lot on West Waterloo Road near Cory Avenue when the occupants of both began arguing. The suspect then fired several shots into the victim’s vehicle. The suspect fled before police arrived.

Armstrong was transported to Akron General Medical Center where her injuries do not appear to be life threatening.

The suspect is a black male with braided hair. He was last seen in a silver four door car.

A 19-year old Akron man has been sentenced to a long stay in prison for raping a child.

 Dearco D. Whisenant, of Lakeshore Boulevard pleaded guilty to Rape, and Gross Sexual Imposition, for sexually assaulting a five-year-old acquaintance.

Judge Lynne Callahan immediately sentenced Whisenant to 15 years in prison.