Area officers, METRICH conduct search, arrest 3
Several area law enforcement agencies conducted multiple search warrants Wednesday throughout Seneca County in connection with recent overdoses.
Search warrants that led to multiple arrests.
According to officials, Lamar Lovelle Cartlidge, 37, of New Riegel and formerly of Toledo, was driving a Ford Explorer into Fostoria on Columbus Avenue near Dillon Road when officers with Fostoria Police Department attempted to pull him over around 12:45 p.m.
Cartlidge refused to comply and led officers on a short pursuit onto Nichols Street, according to radio traffic. He turned down an alley toward Fall Street before fleeing the vehicle, leaving it to crash into a nearby telephone pole at the rear of 125 Fall St. He led officers on a short foot pursuit, but was soon apprehended.
According to a news release, Cartlidge was in possession of heroin, marijuana, U.S. currency and a criminal tool at the time of his arrest. He was arrested for trafficking a controlled substance, a felony of the 5th degree; failure to comply to a lawful order of a police officer, a felony of the 3rd degree; multiple traffic offenses; and tampering with evidence, a felony of the 3rd degree.
Officers with Seneca County Drug Task Force METRICH Unit and Fostoria Police Department then conducted a search warrant at 125½ Fall St., the residence of Hannah M. Bicknell, 24; while METRICH agents and members of the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office conducted a search warrant at 31 N. Perry St. in New Riegel, the residence of Cartlidge and Amanda Jenkins, 28. Execution of the search warrants unveiled marijuana, drug paraphernalia and criminal tools from the New Riegel residence and U.S. currency, drug paraphernalia, drug abuse instruments and criminal tools from the Fall Street residence.
Leonard J. Williams Jr., 26, of Toledo, and Todd M. Rumschlag Jr., 34, of Fostoria, were arrested at the Fall Street residence on outstanding warrants.
Additional charges of permitting drug abuse, possession of heroin, possession of criminal tools, possession of marijuana and trafficking heroin are all pending on the suspects upon the conclusion of the ongoing drug investigation and the return of the lab analysis of the substance discovered on the person of Cartlidge at the time of the execution of the arrest warrant.
“The collaboration between all the law enforcement agencies involved was instrumental to the success of this investigation,” Seneca County Sheriff Bill Eckelberry said. “Having another heroin dealer in jail just means this county is a little safer tonight.”
A third search warrant was conducted at Highland Trailer Park, lot 109, in Tiffin, the residence of Andrew Foy, 26. While officers, along with METRICH agents, did not locate any drug-related items at the residence, they did find items possibly related to the ongoing investigations.
“Overdoses continue to keep our guys busy with tracking down the source of the ‘hot’ heroin to attempt to prevent any further deaths or overdoses,” Tiffin Police Chief Fred Stevens said. “These ongoing investigations are time consuming but when a person of interest is apprehended with his poison in hand and is removed off the streets, that makes it well worth it.”
“Heroin overdoses and deaths are plaguing all of our communities. I am pleased to see our guys were able to safely put the person, who is not from our area, but distributing this poison in our neighborhoods, behind bars tonight,” Fostoria Police Chief Keith Loreno added.
Originally published in the Review Times on September 6, 2017.