Public Safety & Courts

• Protection-order homicide case returns to Mansfield Municipal Court for preliminary hearing

  Five days after a magistrate denied her protection order, Gaberien Clevenger was stabbed to death; Alec Blair's preliminary hearing opens in Mansfield.

• Jury deadlocks, mistrial declared in former Richland County jail guard's trial over Alex Rios's 2019 death

  With no verdict after three days, whether former jail guard Mark Cooper is responsible for Alex Rios's 2019 death remains unanswered, with a retrial possible.

• Mansfield council approves $156K federal grant for fire department staffing, training and equipment

  A third consecutive year of federal funding will help cover the overtime that keeps enough firefighters on Mansfield’s engines and trucks.

• Federal child sexual abuse material sentence puts 51-year-old Mansfield man away for nine years

  The Mansfield man was messaging an undercover agent he believed was a 13-year-old girl, and had a prior child pornography conviction in Canada.

• Richland County prepares for damaging-wind threat as storms move through north-central Ohio

  About 2,400 customers lost power Wednesday night, with roughly 400 still out early Thursday afternoon and no other local damage confirmed.

• What Ohio’s newly posted 2025 inspection report says about Richland Correctional Institution

  Nine state standards were not identified, leaving prison workers, visitors and families without details on what conditions or practices fell short.

• Mansfield Officer Arrested on OVI Charges Hours After Being Sent Home Intoxicated

  Hours after being relieved of duty for showing up intoxicated, the 12-year veteran was arrested by Ontario police for swerving across lanes and refusing sobriety tests.

• When a Police Department Collects Shoes, the Price Tags Tell a Bigger Story

  The drive is one of several August efforts collecting basics for local kids, underscoring how school expenses are outpacing Mansfield's $42,605 median household income.

• Mansfield Residents Get First Public Forum to Press Police, City Leaders on Accountability

  The forum, organized by the local NAACP branch, follows body-camera footage of an officer punching a 68-year-old during a traffic stop.

• Mansfield teen charged with murder after fatal stabbing in Richland County

  Authorities say the stabbing followed a confrontation at a Springfield Township home, and prosecutors are seeking to try the suspect as an adult.

• Two inmates stabbed in altercation at Richland County jail
• METRICH Drug Sweep Nets Guns and Narcotics Across Multiple Richland County Locations — What We Know