Local News

A Wooster man, who was convicted earlier this month of raping two young girls last year, refused to appear in court for sentencing. Joseph Mosley refused to attend his sentencing Friday in Wayne County Common Pleas Court, and told officers at the Wayne County Jail they could “Taser him, pepper spray him, and hog tie him” but he was not going to attend the hearing. Mosley was found guilty of raping two young girls at gunpoint in a house on Spink Street, but believes he was wrongly convicted. Judge Mark Weist granted a continuance in the case, with sentencing now scheduled for December 19^th.

An Orrville man was sentenced to 50 years in prison Friday in Wayne County. 34 year-old James “Bubba” Schmidt was convicted of 20 felony counts, including counts of attempted murder, following a manhunt that occurred last year. Schmidt, who had warrants for his arrest, fled from police in Wooster and made it to West Virginia before he was captured. Schmidt will be eligible for judicial release in 25 years.

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a missing 16-year old boy, who is believed to be a runaway.  Jayden Weaver was reportedly last seen walking on the railroad tracks that run along State Route 94.  He is said to be about 5’8 and weigh 160 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.  He was last seen wearing a grey hoodie under a black hoodie with blue jeans and camo muck boots.

Police in Wooster are on the lookout for a man who allegedly stole several items this week from the Discount Drug Mart on Beall Avenue, and in the process, injured one of the store’s employees.  It happened Tuesday morning, shortly before noon.  Store employees told police they confronted the man after they saw him shoplifting.  At that point he reportedly became combative and fled the store on foot.

GOJO industries in Wooster held a ceremony on Thursday to celebrate its new solar panel field.  The field features more than 1,800 solar panels, which according to the company will produce roughly 750,000 kilowatt hours of energy each year.  The solar panel field is GOJO’s latest attempt to become more environmentally-friendly.  Several city leaders, including Mayor Bob Breneman, were on hand for yesterday’s event.

The City of Wooster is looking to expand its limits in the northeast part of the city by adding sewer services near the intersection of Geyers Chapel Road and Smithville Western. The plan would also add in some land north of Smithville Western Road. The village of Smithville, however, opposes Wooster making any such plans to annex that land. The fear for Smithville is that it would mean loss of property tax revenue for the Green Local School District. The issue will be discussed further at the January Wayne County Planning Commission meeting.

Two men from the Columbus area are facing felony drug charges following a traffic stop last week in Ashland County.  20-year old Arthur Worthy and 18-year old Mohammed Jibril were initially pulled over for speeding on I-71, but when troopers searched their vehicle because they smelled pot they uncovered more than $20,000 worth of marijuana and Oxycodone.  Both men remain jailed in Ashland County.  If convicted, each could spend more than 15 years behind bars.

The Donald & Alice Noble Foundation and LuK USA LLC are asking the state’s board of education to transfer the territory of some land that they own so that the tax revenue it generates will go to Wooster City Schools instead of the Green Local District.  If the transfer is approved, Wooster City Schools would see a more than $9,200 increase in its annual tax revenue, while Green Local would lose nearly $6,000 a year.  There has also reportedly been some discussions about the two district’s possibly sharing the tax dollars.

A violent crash near West Salem Tuesday night involving two semis shut down all three southbound lanes of I-71 for more than four hours.  According to the Highway Patrol, the crash occurred at around a quarter till eight, near the exit for State Route 539.  The patrol says the first semi had some kind of a mechanical failure, causing it to lose power and lock its brakes, so that it was stuck sitting in the road with no lights on when the second semi slammed into the back of it at around 70 mph.  The driver of the second semi, who authorities believe simply never saw the first semi, was lifeflighted from the scene, while the other driver escaped with only minor injuries.  Several other vehicles were also forced to swerve off the road to avoid the crash, but none of those drivers were injured.  All three lanes of traffic were reopened shortly after midnight.

Wooster’s new Aldi store is set to open up next week, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for next Thursday morning.  The store, located at the north end of town where Ryan’s Steakhouse used to sit, is Wooster’s second Aldi, joining the one on Akron Road.  The new store will reportedly feature several amenities that the existing one doesn’t have, such as open ceilings and natural lighting, along with additional storage space for a larger selection of fresh produce.