Joshua Morrison/Mount Vernon News
MOUNT VERNON — A high-speed chase on Mount Vernon’s east end Aug. 20 started with a failed attempt to illegally procure prescription drugs, according to a grand jury indictment.
Najiib A. Yusuf, 19, Columbus, was indicted by the Aug. 26 grand jury on charges of deception to obtain a dangerous drug, a fourth-degree felony, and failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, a third-degree felony.
According to Knox County Prosecuting Attorney Chip McConville, Yusuf and three passengers stayed in the car while another passenger went in to fill a prescription for Phenergan, which contains codeine. The pharmacy determined the prescription was suspicious and contacted Mount Vernon Police.
Upon arrival, the man who went in after the prescription was detained. Yusuf fled in the car and was pursued by police. The chase hit speeds of 80 miles per hour on New Gambier Road before Yusuf left the roadway and ended up in a grassy area of Lawn Avenue, where the chase ended.
The prescription appears to have been made using authentic information held by a physician, McConville said, which may have been obtained through illegal means.
Some aspects of the case remain under investigation, McConville said.
The grand jury further indicted Edwin J. Hall, 53, Mount Vernon, on a superseding indictment that added the charge of felonious assault, a second-degree felony, to charges of assault on a police officer and trespass in a habitation, both fourth-degree felonies, which were previously brought in an October 2018 grand jury indictment.
Hall has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the original charges and is currently at Twin Valley Behavioral Health to determine whether he can be restored to competency to stand trial.
McConville said the felonious assault charge was filed due to the unknown length of time Hall will be at Twin Valley. According to McConville, the court has a period of supervision over an inmate in Hall’s position equal to the maximum time they are facing in prison on the charges filed against them. Under the old indictment, that time frame is 18 months.
The second-degree felony, which carries up to 8 years in prison, is a bid to extend the time the court has supervision over Hall. McConville said the basis for the more serious charge was that the assaulted police officer suffered a serious injury, receiving a concussion. The officer was placed on light duty and missed work as a result of her injuries.
The charges against Hall stem from Oct. 5, 2018, when Hall allegedly entered an occupied residence and stood inside, “speaking incoherently,” McConville said. The owners of the home were able to remove Hall and called the police. Hall allegedly assaulted the police officer, knocking her into a fence.
A Mount Vernon woman who was previously sentenced in 2017 for charges of stealing from a local non-profit entity was indicted on charges alleging she stole from her employer. Stephanie N. Turner, 37, was indicted on one charge of theft, a fifth-degree felony, and four charges of forgery, fifth-degree felonies.
The charges stem from July 2 - 19. According to McConville, Turner wrote out checks from her employer’s account to herself. The checks totaled $2,400, according to the indictment.
The employer is a Mount Vernon business.
Turner previously pleaded guilty to theft and forgery charges in 2017 for writing out checks from an account held by the Knox/Licking National Allegiance on Mental Illness while she was a volunteer with the agency. She was sentenced to jail time and restitution.
Turner, in a phone call to the News, said she plans to plea not guilty to the new charges and take the case to trial if need be.
“I’m going to fight this every step of the way if I have to take it through (to trial),” Turner, who contacted the News, said.
The grand jury also handed down an indictment charging Cigar Werks, Inc., and owner Joey Bastone, 57, St. Charles, Illinois, with distribution of tobacco products with intent to avoid payment of tax, a fourth-degree felony, distribution of tobacco products without a license, a fourth-degree misdemeanor, and failure to file a monthly return payment, a fourth-degree misdemeanor.
The indictment follows charges filed a year ago when Cigar Werks only was indicted. Then, as now, the charges alleged that Cigar Werks engaged in sales of tobacco products in Mount Vernon without a license and was further not paying taxes on the sales.
The charges in the new indictment are essentially the same, McConville said. However, after failing to get a response to the charges from Cigar Werks as a corporation, McConville said his office decided to file the charges against Bastone. Since the indictment was filed, McConville said an attorney representing Bastone has been in touch with the prosecutor’s office and is working on a resolution of the case.
Also indicted by the Aug. 26 grand jury were:
Kyle K. Lybarger, 25, rape, a first-degree felony, the charge involving a minor under the age of 13; Shanna D. Taylor, 39, Zanesville, aggravated possession of drugs, a third-degree felony; Dean L. Barnett, Jr., 59, Mount Vernon, aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, possessing drug abuse instruments, a second-degree misdemeanor; Amanda N. Shafer, 33, Fredericktown, receiving stolen property, a fourth-degree felony; James L. Darby, 52, Mount Vernon, aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony; Jason M. Tucker, 40, homeless, aggravated possession of drugs, a third-degree felony.
