#wheelingpolice

[djlori]

🎃 Sweet review received for the Trunk-or-Treat event I DJed at #HarperCollege 🎃 #djreviews #djfeedback #thankyou #djlori #WheelingPolice #djs #femaledjs #girldjs #ladydjs #chickdjs #Halloween #trunkortreat #Halloween2022 #FallEvents #FallGigs #illinois #wheeling #Palatine #PalatinePolice #OutdoorEvents #DJGigs #OutdoorDJGigs #ParkingLotGigs #CollegeEvents https://www.instagram.com/p/ClBmPgOr9uYrIthliFUA-Z88f0EHQxe1orqB380/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[djlori]

🎃 DJing last Friday's #TrunkOrTreat event at #HarpersCollege 🎃 #djlori #WheelingPolice #djs #femaledjs #girldjs #ladydjs #chickdjs #Halloween #Halloween2022 #FallEvents #FallGigs #indianSummer #illinois #wheeling #Palatine #PalatinePolice #OutdoorEvents #DJGigs #OutdoorDJGigs #ParkingLotGigs (at Harper College) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ckd4XwHLr4L_Q9n8yQG6FmUW2soaa14Mjlh4ac0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ledenews]

WPD Arrest Man After Finding Large Amount of Drugs, Illegal Firearms

Wheeling Police arrested and charged a local man with felony gun and drug crimes after an initial overdose call on Wheeling Island last week. Around 1:40 a.m., Friday, Oct. 22, police were called to 300 North Front Street for an unresponsive woman who was suffering from an apparent drug overdose. The victim was taken to Wheeling Hospital for medical treatment, where she later died. After obtaining a search warrant for the house, patrol officers and detectives discovered multiple firearms connected to the occupant of the apartment, identified as Everard Kennith Prude, 49 of Wheeling. Wheeling police also discovered a large amount of drugs in the house, including 256 grams of methamphetamine, 80 grams of fentanyl and roughly 4 grams of MDMA (a.k.a. ecstasy) and drug packaging materials. Police have criminally charged Prude with three counts of possession with intent to deliver and three counts of prohibited person with a firearm. He was taken to the Northern Regional Jail and later arraigned by a magistrate, who set bond at $120,000. An exact cause of death for the woman, identified as Latahsa Collins, 43 of Wheeling is undetermined at this time. No charges have been filed regarding the death as detectives continue their investigation and await autopsy and toxicology reports. Read the full article

[ledenews]

Special Operation Conducted by Wheeling Police Nets Multiple Arrests, Drug Seizures

A total of 13 people have been arrested and are facing criminal charges after the Wheeling Police Department successfully held a special operation aimed at cutting down on drugs, prostitution, and other quality of life complaints in the downtown area. Thanks to data analysis, supported by numerous complaints and observation of suspicious activity over the last several months, police initiated the operation in and around the Knights Inn, located at 949 Main Street. “I am very pleased with the professional work of the WPD, especially our patrol division,” said Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger. “Under the leadership of Sgt. Jason Hupp, our officers were able to make a direct impact in downtown, with the goal in mind to continue the Wheeling Police Department’s core mission of making Wheeling a safer community.” Officers spent a total of 202 hours on the month-long task. In addition to the arrests, 14 citations were issued and various amounts of illegal drugs, and drug-using materials, were confiscated, including: - Cocaine – 1.99 grams - Fentanyl – 2.24 grams - Heroin – 0.97 grams - Marijuana – 512.739 grams - Methamphetamine – 8.49 grams - Assortment of prescription pills - Digital scales, needles, smoking devices The operation also benefitted law enforcement by gathering information on other drug-related crimes and activity through the area. Funding for the special operation, which totaled $7,001.23 was provided mostly by the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the city of Wheeling. Felony Arrests: David Arthur Hess, 58 of Wheeling Possession with Intent to Deliver Misdemeanor Possession Arrests: Eric Lee Hercules, 39 of Wheeling Two counts of Possession of Controlled Substance Bryan L. Broomes, 43 of Wheeling Possession of Controlled Substance Tiffany Nicole Fazio, 32 of Wheeling Two counts of Possession of Controlled Substance Edgar Eugene Hatten, 40 of Wheeling Two counts of Possession of Controlled Substance James Allen Lucious, 62 of Wheeling Possession of Controlled Substance DUI Arrest: Michael Leander Gross 55, of Martins Ferry, Ohio Aggravated DUI Fugitive from Justice Arrests: Beth Ann Davis, 38 of Wheeling Wanted for Failing to Appear for Possession Charge - Belmont County, Ohio Joseph Micah Pepp, 28 of Pittsburgh Wanted for Arson - Allegheny County, Pa. Brandy Lee Plunkett, 40 of Wheeling Wanted for Obstructing - Belmont County, Ohio William Lee Stevens II, 30 of Wheeling Wanted for Obstructing Maintaining/Operating a Drug Premise Arrests Anand Arvind Patel, 37 of Wheeling Arrested for Maintaining/Operating a Drug Premise Daniel Paul Wheeler, 30 of Wheeling Arrested for Maintaining/Operating a Drug Premise The Wheeling Police Department remains committed to fighting criminal drug activity in downtown and in all city neighborhoods. Residents and visitors can report crime in various ways, either by telephone, 304-234-3664, anonymous online crime tips at wheelingwv.gov/crimetip or the regional Crime Stoppers Upper Ohio Valley tip line at 877-TIPS4US. Read the full article

[ledenews]

Location Decision on New Wheeling Fire HQ Forthcoming

It is going to be long and one level with enough bays for all of the engines, ladder trucks, and the equipment currently scattered around the city, and Wheeling Fire Chief Larry Helms is pleased with the location in East Wheeling. The exact location, the chief said, for the $8 million fire department headquarters should be finalized in the near future, and construction should begin this summer. “The location will put us close to W.Va. Route 2 and Interstate 70, and it also will put us right in the middle of the area where this station needs to be,” Helms explained. “Plus, all of our research on the area indicates that it was residential in the past, and that’s it. It’s all moving way too slowly for me, but that’s only because I have been anxious for a while to get this accomplished for the future of the department. “The nuts and bolts of this project at this location are the negotiations for the property because the city does not own it,” he continued. “But we have been making progress, and I am happy for the future of the fire department because we have a great design that will be very productive and functional for many years.”

When 19th Street was the proposed location for a public safety building, this was the released rendering.

A Long-Time Need

Mayor Glenn Elliott joined Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger and Chief Helms to instigate a citywide conversation about the need to replace the locations of both the police department and fire headquarters. The police department has operated out of a small space on the first floor of the Ohio County Courthouse since the late 1950s, and the fire headquarters has been located on the bottom level of the Center Wheeling Parking Garage since 1976. Initially, the mayor proposed a public safety building for both departments on the corner of 10th and Market streets with an increase in property taxes as the funding source, but that option was denied by voters in November 2018. Mayor Elliott and City Council members then developed a $2-per-week User Fee for all employees working within the city limits, and once approved, plans moved forward for a consolidated building along 19th Street in East Wheeling. That idea faded, however, once the city acquired the former Ohio Valley Medical Center Campus because the Valley Professional Center was deemed perfect for the new police headquarters. “We’ve been lucky because the last few councils and mayors have listened to our concerns and have wanted to do something about it,” Helms said. “But anyone who has worked for either department over the last 25 years has known the need for new, larger spaces because both departments have grown through the years.” As for the fire department, Helms recalls conversations with former Chief Cliff Sligar more than 20 years ago. “I know placing the headquarters here in Centre Market was the best solution city officials had at the time it moved here in the mid-1970s,” Helms said. “Chief (Cliff) Sligar was happy to move into here at the time because he was getting a new facility, but he also knew that it was going to become a burden over time. “Cliff made his concerns known, and I know Chief (Steve) Johnson really wanted a new headquarters at the 10th Street location,” he said. “But right now, we are looking at a very good area in East Wheeling that will be a good location to deploy our units and will give us better coverage on the interstates. That location likely will be a topic of conversation very soon so we can move forward.”

This is one parcel in East Wheeling that could be an option for the city of Wheeling for its new fire headquarters.

For the Future

Helms has worked tirelessly on the design and development of the new fire headquarters although he will never work a day as the fire chief inside the structure. Helms is scheduled to retire from the fire department this summer, but he remains hopeful he will be on duty at the time of the official groundbreaking in East Wheeling. “When the conversation really got going about the public safety building on 10th Street, I thought there might be a chance it would be finished in time for me to be the chief for a little longer,” Helms said. “But that’s not how it all worked out, and that’s OK, too. So much has changed as far as being a firefighter since I first started with the department in 1986, so a headquarters like this one is long overdue. “The biggest thing is that our current headquarters is located on the bottom level of a parking garage, and we have experienced a lot of leaks that have caused a lot of issues through the years. During the winter when cars have parked above with a lot of snow and ice on them, that moisture always ended up in our headquarters,” he explained. “So, we are all anxious now, and once everything is put into line and approved by our Council, the actual construction may take just eight months. It’s a pre-fab, concrete design, so once they break ground it should take place very quickly.” Read the full article

[ledenews]

Man Arrested on Felony Fleeing Charges

One person has been arrested and charged after a vehicle pursuit with Wheeling Police. Around 5:40 p.m., Tuesday, police patrolling in the Center Wheeling area observed a vehicle driving recklessly on 24th Street. The officer attempted to make a traffic stop, but the driver of the vehicle proceeded to flee from police, traveling at times on the wrong side of the road through downtown at a high rate of speed. The officer then disengaged the pursuit because of safety concerns, but moments later the driver entered Interstate 70 at the Wheeling Tunnel and proceeded to travel west in the eastbound lanes. The suspected continued driving the wrong way and struck three vehicles before crashing near Exit 1A. The drivers of the three cars hit were not injured. The suspect then briefly ran from police on the Fort Henry Bridge before being arrested by and taken into custody by officers. Desean Lee Moses, 30 of Wheeling was arrested and is charge with Fleeing while DUI and Fleeing Recklessly, both felonies. He was transported to the Northern Regional Jail by WPD. Read the full article

[ledenews]

The Dismantling of Grandview Manor

The Hope VI program was to transform public housing not just in Wheeling but throughout the nation in the late 1990s, and the leaders of the federal Housing and Urban Development worked with local decision makers to plan what was next for the people living at Lincoln Homes and Grandview Manor. No one involved with the decision, however, actually lived there so they didn’t realize what they were destroying. “When I first moved to Grandview Manor, I didn’t know what to expect because of the things that you heard about it,” said former resident April Schrump. “Of course, you heard about drugs and things like that, but you never heard about all of the people who lived there and made it the best that it could be.  You never heard about the grandmothers up there who weren’t just there for their grandkids but for all of the kids on that hill. “I only lived there for a couple of years, but I made so many friends while I lived at Grandview Manor, and I am still friends with them today,” she said. “Grandview Manor was nothing like what I had heard before I moved in, and I missed those people after I moved out. We took care of each other up there.” The city of Wheeling, according the press release distributed by HUD in August 1999, received a $17.1 Million Hope VI grant to make housing available to 150 families and to demolish 328 public housing apartments. Read the full article

[ledenews]

Bridge Street, Triadelphia Welcome New Resource Officers

Bridge Street and Triadelphia middle schools have new prevention resource officers who share similar stories on how they arrived in their roles.  Wheeling Police Department Cpl. Jason Chambers is serving in his first year as Triadelphia’s resource officer, while Wheeling Pfc. Cody Schwertfeger is in his first year as a PRO at Bridge Street. Chambers and Schwertfeger know each other, and they have worked together on patrol. In fact, Chambers was Schwertfeger’s field training officer.  “He (Chambers) taught me a lot,” Schwertfeger said. “He’s also a great guy.”  Chambers has served 12 years as a Wheeling police officer. However, his service at Triadelphia isn’t his first stint as a PRO. He previously served three years as the PRO at Warwood School. In addition to his work as Triadelphia’s PRO, he is also the school’s volleyball and girls’ basketball coach. Chambers also coaches track at Wheeling Park High School.  Schwertfeger has been a Wheeling Police Officer for five years. Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger is his cousin. Schwerfeger said he’s enjoyed his time as a member of the Wheeling Police Department, but a career in law enforcement wasn’t his original plan.  “I went to West Liberty (University) to be a teacher,” he said. “I didn’t lose the desire to become a teacher, I just began to think that a career in law enforcement would be exciting. I’ve always wanted to help young people.”  Pictured Read the full article

[ledenews]

First Responders’ Quick Action Appreciated

It could have been a very large fire that caused damage to neighboring occupied properties on the south end of Wheeling Island, but not only was that catastrophe avoided thanks to the city’s firefighters, but Wheeling police officers also quickly apprehended a suspect now charged with first-degree arson. According to the press release distributed to media outlets, Jason Kincannon, 24, of Wheeling was taken into custody by police and is charged with first degree arson, and then he was transported to the Northern Regional Jail pending arraignment. According to the city’s report, “Neighbors reported to police they saw a man inside the house leaving moments after the fire started. Police were able to identify the suspect on a home video surveillance and make an arrest.” “As always, our Wheeling Fire Department showed their commitment toward saving lives and protecting property. The fire department was on the scene within minutes and was able to put out the fire pretty quickly,” said Ward 2 Councilman Ben Seidler. “I haven’t got the official word as to the extent of the damage yet, but it certainly appears that it could have been much worse. “The men and women with the fire department put it out quickly and safely and protected the neighboring properties to ensure the fire didn’t spread,” he said. Read the full article

[ledenews]

Arrest Made in Connection to Wheeling Island Fire

A Wheeling man has been arrested and charged with arson after a fire Monday night on Wheeling Island. Firefighters were called to 37 S. Penn Street around 10:08 p.m. after flames and smoke were seen coming from the house by neighbors. When the first responding engine company arrived on scene, the fire started to spread rapidly through the upper floors and the roof area. A short time later, neighbors reported to police they saw a man inside the house leaving moments after the fire started. Police were able to identify the suspect on a home video surveillance and make an arrest. Jason Kincannon, 24 of Wheeling was taken into custody by police and is charged with first degree arson. He was taken to the Northern Regional Jail pending arraignment. Firefighters continued to extinguish the fire through the early morning hours. No one was hurt and the investigation into the fire continues. The house does appear a total loss. (Photo by Wheeling's Bravest.) Read the full article