Willoughby News-Herald
10/28/2003

Jury selection under way for man accused of stabbing 84-year-old neighbor

Jury selection began Monday in the case of a Mayfield Heights man accused of
stabbing his elderly female neighbor to death.

Yuriy Khanin, 21, a former resident of the Gates Mills Towers apartment complex, killed 84-year-old Ruth Stanton in April 2002 after a robbery gone bad, police said.
Khanin is charged with aggravated murder and aggravated robbery. If convicted of murder, he is eligible for the death penalty since he committed the murder during a robbery attempt, according to police.

Mayfield Heights Detective Sgt. Chris Sonnhalter said the trial is expected
to last about four weeks, including up to one week to pick a jury.

Stanton was stabbed nine times in the neck and back, then stuffed in the trunk of her white Ford Contour in the Mayfield Road complex's parking garage, according to reports.

On Oct. 19, the City of Lorain recently played host to an open carry Potluck Picnic and 'Defense' Walk, and by all accounts, the event went extremely well. Police officers were professional and, for the most part, 100% supportive. One fire truck even blasted their horn in support as they drove by, and that show of support was seen on the 6 o'clock news in Cleveland.

Lorain made national news for an entirely different reason this week, due to an incident involving a police officer arresting a 9-year-old child for "inducing panic", after a passer-by reported he was "brandishing" what turned out to be a toy gun while playing on a park bench. Some witnesses claimed the officer aimed his own firearm at the child's head in the process of arresting him and cuffing him, but the police department denies those allegations.

The Lorain police department has now recommended that the charges against the boy be dropped, and Lorain County Prosecutor Jeff Manning (2002 OFCC PAC endorsee, and pro-HB12 voter who resigned his seat to accept this job) has done so.

All too frequently, it is often ONLY when a law enforcement group opposes something like concealed carry reform that the media give them the benefit of the doubt. It is quite possible the news accounts about this incident are inaccurate, since is is well known the media is often guilty of convicting officers for abuses on their pages before the facts are in. We would not presume to do so here. Concerns do remain over the continued prosecution of the boy's mother for obstructing official business (her son being arrested) and for resisting arrest.

In the end, it seems that the person who reported this to police as something other than child's play is the only one who should be charged for "inducing panic." Thankfully, the innocent boy was not seriously injured.

Click on the "Read More..." link below to read a pro-Lorain law enforcement/ pro-CCW letter to that city's Mayor, from a first-responder who works there.

Grassroots organizers have announced a 'Defense' Walk for next weekend in Norwood, Ohio. This Walk is being organized by Pat Feely, one of the four original plaintiffs in the Hamilton County concealed carry ban case.

The Norwood Walk will be next Saturday November 8th, 2003.

REMINDER: There are three important Walks (Youngstown, Alliance and Findlay) to support this weekend!

Click here for information on all of this weekend's Walks, for more details about Norwood, and for plans for still other Walks in the planning stages.