UHRICHSVILLE The number of cases filed in the Southern District of Tuscarawas County Court decreased significantly from 2019 to 2020, according to Judge Brad L. Hillyer.
The total number of cases filed for the year was 2,319, a decrease of 1,933 from the 2019 filings, he wrote in his annual report. The drop represents a 45.4 percent decline. The major factor in this decrease was the COVID-19 pandemic, Hillyer wrote. This led to less travel and significantly less traffic tickets being issued. Also, with people in quarantine more, less criminal activity occurred.
The court saw 73 new cases for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a decrease of 38 from 2019. The 2020 figure represents a 34 percent drop from the number of cases in 2019.
NEW PHILADELPHIA Beginning March 1, there will be a single secure entrance for all visitors to the Tuscarawas County Courthouse and the county office building.
The new plan will require visitors and clients conducting business at either building to enter and exit through the courtyard entrance to the county office building.
There will be a security station with screening at the courtyard entrance, like the current screening at the Ashwood Lane entrance to the courthouse. The Ashwood Lane door will no longer be an entry point. This is all being done in the interest of public safety, said Commissioner Al Landis.
Nancy Molnar Times-Reporter staff writer
Dover
NEW PHILADELPHIA No criminal charge is expected over a racist rant in which a Dundee-area teen said he would shoot all Black people. The video, made in July, also referred to bringing back slavery.
An unknown individual shared the video again on social media this month with the comment, Internet, do what you do best. Make him famous. It was reported to law enforcement on Jan. 8.
The words spoken in the 15-second video do not constitute the crimes of menacing or disorderly conduct, Tuscarawas County Prosecutor Ryan Styer wrote in a letter sent Friday to Sheriff Orvis Campbell.