First responders, nurses and emergency room doctors at the Cleveland Clinic Brunswick Family Health Center took part in 11 different mock training day scenarios throughout Thursday. The 23,000-square-foot facility houses 18 treatment spaces including two fully equipped critical care rooms, imaging and laboratory technology and a rooftop helipad. The emergency room is scheduled to open July 9.

First responders from the Brunswick Hills Fire Department participate in a mock training day at the Cleveland Clinic Brunswick Family Health Center’s new emergency department at 3574 Center Road. (ANDREW DAVIS / GAZETTE)

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MEDINA — A man police say barricaded himself in his home and threatened to kill himself two weeks after he was released from prison will be admitted to a mental health facility while he awaits trial.

Luke Pfeiler, 22, of the 3300 block of Valley Forge Drive in Brunswick, is charged with resisting arrest, inducing panic and domestic violence. Police say Pfeiler locked himself in his bedroom March 21 with a large knife and threatened to kill himself with prescription pills.

Luke Pfeiler

If convicted, Pfeiler could face 1½ years or more in prison.

Medina County Common Pleas Judge James L. Kimbler on Thursday approved a bond amendment for Pfeiler that will allow him to await trial at the Akron General Hospital Psych Facility. Pfeiler likely will be transported next week, Kimbler said.

Pfeiler’s attorney, Ronald Spears, requested the move earlier this month.

“As grounds, counsel states the defendant has a growing history of mental health issues and is in need of mental health assessment and treatment,” Spears wrote. “The facts underlying this case suggest mental health issues. Further, he has a history of chronic depression and paranoia that leads to thoughts and acts of suicide.”

Pfeiler’s family will pay for the mental health treatment, Spears said.

March 21 wasn’t the first time Pfeiler threatened to kill himself involving police. Last year, he pleaded guilty to leading Montville Township police on a May 23 car chase that ended when he crashed his car into another vehicle.

According to reports, he told his then-girlfriend he intended to commit “suicide by cop.”

He also was convicted of expelling a “bodily substance” at an officer at the county jail while awaiting trial.

For those convictions, Pfeiler was sentenced to nine months in prison — but was credit with 7½ months of jail time. He was released from the Lorain Correctional Institution on March 12.

At the March 21 standoff, police were called to Pfeiler’s residence in response to a call about domestic violence. They broke down Pfeiler’s bedroom door and struck him with nonlethal “beanbag” bullets and a stun gun, which gave him a seizure.

He spent about a week at Southwest General Hospital and Laurel Hospital mental health facility before police arrested him.

Contact reporter Nick Glunt at (330) 721-4048 or nglunt@medina-gazette.com. Follow him on Twitter @ngfalcon.

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An “open carry” firearm advocacy group is planning a demonstration Saturday on North Court Street in Medina’s retail business district.

Brett Pucillo, president of Ohio Carry, said he expects 20 to 30 people to advocate their Second Amendment rights during a walk at 1 p.m. that will begin outside of Dickey’s Barbeque Pit.

Pucillo said the demonstration is a follow-up to a May 7 open carry demonstration on Medina’s Public Square by two men who are members of the group but were acting alone.

Medina police officers responding to numerous 911 calls stopped the men, who were carrying a semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun and a handgun, and asked for identification.

After initially refusing, the men handed over their driver’s licenses after an officer demanded they drop their weapons if they failed to provide IDs.

The men were allowed to continue their walk after it was determined they were not felons prohibited from having firearms.

Pucillo said Ohio law does not require the men to produce IDs and called for the larger walk in Medina to make that point.

“The purpose will be to spread education to the residents of Medina,” he said, “and to tell police that we are not breaking the laws by refusing to identify ourselves.

“If someone would say no and the officer still demanded identification that would a Fourth Amendment violation.”

Pucillo said that walking openly with a firearm does not give a police officer the reasonable suspicion needed to ask for identification.

Medina Police Chief Patrick Berarducci told The Gazette last month the Police Department will not get involved with the group’s Saturday demonstration.

“If you feel in this day and age that you need to carry a firearm day in and day out, go ahead and do it, but do it responsibly,” he said. “It is when you do it irresponsibly that you cause problems.”

Several legal experts from area universities interviewed by Gazette reporters said the topic of open carry is getting increasingly hard to define.

Jonathan Witmer-Rich, a law professor at Cleveland State University, said police are allowed to ask for IDs if they have reasonable suspicion a law may have been broken.

Witmer Rich said the numerous 911 calls from people who saw the two men on Public Square could justify demanding IDs.

One of the men was carrying a shotgun while the other had a holstered semi-automatic pistol and an AR-15 slung across his back.

When officers Calvin Undercoffer and David McGurk confronted the men, they initially refused to turn over their driver’s licenses or other identification to the officers.

“I asked the males for ID and they stated they did not really wish to show me their ID, that it was their right not to do so,” Undercoffer wrote in his report.

The men complied only after Undercoffer told them they would be disarmed if they didn’t.

It was only when one of the men slipped up on his age that officers said they had reasonable suspicion to demand their identification.

The report identified the men as James Purdy, 25, of Brunswick, and Micah Butcher, 25, of Grafton. Both men were sent on their way and can be seen shaking Undercoffer’s hand in a video.

Pucillo said the open carry group does not have a problem with Undercoffer demanding Purdy’s and Butcher’s IDs because Purdy gave the officer reasonable suspicion once he fumbled on his age.

But the group does have a problem with remarks Berarducci made over the phone to the group’s secretary, Mike Potting.

The group released a video on YouTube of the conversation between Potting and Berarducci.

In the recording, Potting asks Berarducci what his obligation is to provide an ID when an officer demands it.

“The officer has the authority to inquire of your identification to determine whether or not you are a prohibited person,” Berarducci told Potting.

“And do I have the right to refuse providing my ID when I am not suspected of committing a crime?” Potting asked.

“No, no, no,” Berarducci interjected, “because the alternative of that is that he can take you into custody until he can determine that you’re not a prohibited person.”

Michael Benza, a Case Western Reserve University law professor, told The Gazette that open carry advocates should always tell officers what they are doing.

“There’s a dilemma that the officers are facing,” Benza said. “Ohio is an open carry state, but just because we’re open carry doesn’t negate the ability of police to ask, ‘Hey, you have a gun. What are you doing?’

“Police have the ability to ask (the activists) if they’re exercising their Second Amendment rights or if they’re planning to shoot up a school.”

Contact reporter Andrew Davis at (330) 721-4050 or adavis@medina-gazette.com.

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BATH TWP. — A recent Highland High graduate was killed and a classmate severely injured Wednesday evening when their pickup ran off state Route 18 just east of Interstate 77.

Andrew J. Hayes, 19, of Medina, was westbound on Route 18, just west of Springside Drive, shortly before 6 p.m. when he lost control of his 1998 Dodge Ram pickup, according to the Canton post of the Ohio Highway Patrol.

The pickup went off the right side of the road, hit the curb and slammed into a utility pole, the report said.

Hayes was taken to Akron General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

His passenger, Sean M. Kolcun, 19, of Hinckley Township, also was taken to Akron General, where he was in serious condition Thursday evening, according to a hospital spokesperson.

The report said neither Hayes nor Kolcun were wearing seat belts.

The investigation into the crash is not complete, but the report the noted that alcohol is not believed to be a factor.

Hayes and Kolcun graduated last month from Highland High School. They attended the Medina County Career Center.

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MEDINA — A woman suspected of stabbing a man in the 500 block of Baxter Street was being held in the Medina County Jail on $150,000 bond Thursday.

Lisa Schrier, 41, of the 500 block of South Broadway Street, is charged with felonious assault, a second-degree felony.

Medina police Sgt. Ed Kinney said the 31-year-old man told police he was walking on the sidewalk when he was attacked shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday. He went to a nearby home on Baxter Street and asked the residents to call 911.

Officers arrested Schrier a block away on Prospect Street, a police report said.

Kinney said she admitted using a pocket-sized folding knife to stab the man in the back.

Police have not yet located the knife.

Kinney said the victim told police he “vaguely knew” Schrier, but the investigation is continuing.

The man was taken to Medina Hospital and transferred to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. His condition was unavailable Thursday.

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YORK TWP. — A state agency has awarded Buckeye Schools with a $60,000 grant to improve the district’s maintenance and custodial efficiency.

“This is actually the third time we’ve applied for this and it’s the first time we’ve got it,” Superintendent Brian Williams said. “I’m really excited about this.”

The Ohio Development Services Agency awarded more than $500,000 to 13 agencies statewide for various efficiency programs.

Williams said Buckeye would use the grant money to hire Clean Concepts Group to assess the district’s efficiency.

He said he hopes to have the company come up with ways to give workers some understanding of managerial tasks, so they can have more flexibility in the workplace.

“It’s really a bottom-up management style,” Williams said, adding the grant will allow Buckeye Schools to collaborate with Cloverleaf Schools.

David Goodman, director of the state agency, said the grant comes from the Local Government Efficiency Program, which assists communities with shared services and efficiency projects in all aspects of operations.

“Through sharing services and collaboration, communities can save money and deliver their services more efficiently,” Goodman said.

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Katie Anderson | Special to The Gazette
Lunchtime customers at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit on Friday said they supported the restaurant’s decision to not allow “open carry” firearms advocates to gather at the restaurant before beginning a demonstration along the city’s North Court Street retail district.

“It’s stupid when people parade around with big weapons,” said Montville Township resident Andy Shelton, who was dining at the restaurant Friday afternoon. “What are you going to run into in Medina where you would need that kind of fire power?”

Shelton said he supports the Second Amendment right to bear arms and is a member of the National Rife Association. But he said the “open carry” firearm advocacy groups are “pushing too hard” with their demonstrations.

“I think these gun marches hurt the Second Amendment more because it makes people paranoid, and then they push legislation even further,” he said.

The “open carry” demonstration was scheduled for 1 p.m. today outside the restaurant, 960 N. Court St. A group of 20 to 30 people carrying firearms planned to gather at the restaurant before walking down North Court Street.

Resident Don Roberts, a regular customer at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, said he is concerned about the possibility of an accident involving a gun.

“If I’m by myself just having a lunch break and if it’s a holstered gun and they’re handling it safely, then I wouldn’t really mind,” he said. “That being said, I have a 2-year-old daughter and I wouldn’t want guns around her.”

Roberts said if there was a playground next door to the restaurant, he would be more concerned about an “open carry” demonstration.

A male customer and a co-worker, who asked not to be named, both said there was no need to carry firearms in a demonstration.

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A group of “open carry” firearms advocates had to change their plans for a demonstration walk today in Medina’s North Court Street retail district after the manager of Dickey’s Barbecue Pit said the group wouldn’t be allowed to assemble in the restaurant’s parking lot. (DAVID KNOX / GAZETTE)

An organization that advocates openly carrying firearms will not meet today at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit as announced earlier this week, but still plans to hold a demonstration walk through Medina’s retail business district.

Nicole Frame, president of the Northeast chapter of Ohio Carry, said she received a call from the North Court Street restaurant’s manager early Thursday afternoon telling her the group couldn’t meet there.

The group had said it would begin its 1 p.m. walk at Dickey’s parking lot, and then return to the restaurant afterward for a monthly meeting.

“They’re kind of in a position where their hands are tied,” Frame said. “Apparently, there’s been quite a number of phone calls and people stopping in to complain.”

Dickey’s general manager Tony Raad said he respects Ohio Carry’s opinions, but the company’s owner, Dr. Anthony Salem, didn’t want it happening at his business.

Raad said Ohio Carry had met there last month, but he didn’t know it was against Salem’s wishes until the phone calls started coming in from concerned customers on Thursday.

“They’ve got to understand that people may not like to see that when they come here,” he said. “And they did seem to understand.”

Salem did not return a call for comment, but Raad said the business has another concern: its liquor license to serve beer. Under Ohio law, the only guns allowed on the premises are those carried by individuals with a concealed carry license. No drinking is allowed.

One of the regular customers who complained to Dickey’s was Medina resident and nationally known comic book writer Tony Isabella, who said Ohio Carry’s mission is irresponsible.

“Nothing of what this group has done is proper,” Isabella said. “I was very alarmed that they’d allow guns inside a restaurant, especially where there could be children.”

Isabella, best known as the creator and writer of Marvel Comics’ Black Goliath and DC Comics’ first major African-American superhero, Black Lightning, said he’s sure Dickey’s would have lost customers if today’s meeting had happened.

“I like going to Dickey’s,” Isabella said. “But I’m not going to Dickey’s if they’re supporting this.”

Frame said the new assembly location — another nearby parking lot — will be announced today.

“We have secured a new place to have our meeting after the walk. We’re choosing not to put it on Facebook,” she said.

Frame said the location will not be announced because of concern that people opposed to the open carry movement “can’t go talk this place out of our business again.”

Frame said this is the first time they’ve had a restaurant cancel on them so close to a meeting, but she said she understood the eatery’s position.

“Apparently a lot of the people who complained were regulars,” Frame said. “I can completely understand that. They’re a business, and they have every right not to let us in there if they think it will hurt their business.

“That’s their call. Any owner of an establishment can ask us to leave, even if they don’t have signs on the door.”

Frame said she fully supports advocating the right to bear arms openly, but she understands why businesses might be leery.

“Going into a restaurant before I was in this group, I may not have liked the people carrying guns inside,” she said. “I’m a parent, so I can see it from all perspectives — as an advocate and as a woman and a mother.”

She said the situation was frustrating and stressful because the organization had its monthly meeting at Dickey’s last month without incident.

Still, she said the walk will go on — and she’s making it a family affair. Jeremiah Frame, who’s her husband and the treasurer of the statewide organization, and her two children will be there.

She stressed her children will not be carrying weapons.

During the walk, Frame said the group will steer clear of Public Square because of a federal law prohibiting guns within 1,000 feet of a school.

Garfield Elementary School stands about 500 feet away.

Brett Pucillo, president of the statewide Ohio Carry organization, said he won’t fight business owners when it comes to letting them meet on private property.

“When you own a private business, you absolutely have the right to refuse service to somebody or not let them bring in weapons,” Pucillo said. “Personally, if I owned a business, I would sleep better at night knowing that I had let in some people who were just trying to exercise their rights. But that’s just me.”

He said he suspects their plan to meet at Dickey’s was posted to an anti-gun Facebook page, and the calls to Dickey’s resulted from there.

He said he wasn’t worried about finding a place to hold the meeting.

“Every once in a while, we run into businesses that are getting a lot of pressure,” he said. “And that’s fine. There are plenty of businesses who are willing to host us.”

Online debate
Today’s planned demonstration has sparked debate on The Gazette’s website and Facebook page.

“Obviously my family will be avoiding Medina completely on Saturday,” wrote Rebecca Breen.

An anonymous commenter added, “I like to use my Saturday to do some shopping in the Medina retail business district, but I will do my shopping somewhere else on June 21.”

Other commenters said walks like today’s only hurt the cause of upholding the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

“You are still hurting local businesses as well as your cause because nobody wants to have their families around a bunch of guys with guns,” another anonymous commenter wrote. “It makes people very uneasy and makes you look like belligerent jerks.”

Others defended the open carry group.

“You are amongst people carrying firearms on a daily basis,” wrote Mike Potting, the statewide organization’s secretary. “You are also subject to a criminal entering a no gun zone with a gun and shooting up the place.”

The upcoming demonstration is in response to an incident May 7, when men were approached by police while walking through Medina’s Public Square. The men were carrying a semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun and a handgun and police received more than 10 calls from concerned residents.

The men were members of Ohio Carry, but were acting alone.

Their encounter with police was captured on video cameras, which showed the men at first refusing to show their identification when approached by officers. The men said they were doing nothing wrong because of Ohio’s open carry laws.

Police and legal experts argued, though, that the police had reasonable suspicion to demand ID because so many residents called 911. Open carry advocates dispute that argument.

Medina Police Chief Patrick Berarducci told The Gazette last month that his officers will not interfere with today’s demonstration as long as it is conducted responsibly.

“If you feel in this day and age that you need to carry a firearm day in and day out, go ahead and do it, but do it responsibly,” he said. “It is when you do it irresponsibly that you cause problems.”

Contact reporter Nick Glunt at (330) 721-4048 or nglunt@medina-gazette.com. Follow him on Twitter @ngfalcon.

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COLUMBUS — Ohio’s unemployment rate dropped again in May and is at its lowest level since before the Great Recession, the state reported Friday.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said the seasonally adjusted rate in May was 5.5 percent, down from 5.7 percent in March and 6.1 percent in April.

It’s the state’s lowest jobless rate in seven years, matching the rate for April 2007.

The report found 11,000 fewer unemployed Ohioans last month.

But a portion of that drop was the result of a 14,000 decline in the state’s labor force — the total number of residents working or looking for jobs.

Experts say a decline in the labor force can be caused by discouraged workers who are not counted as unemployed because they gave given up looking for a job.

Ohio’s rate remains below the national rate, which was 6.3 percent in April and May.

The report found the number of nonfarm jobs in the state increased to 5,298,300 in May, up 2,900 from the revised April total of 5,295,400 when adjusted for seasonal employment swings.

May was the 44th consecutive month of job growth in Ohio. But the rate of growth has been slower lately than many other states. A year-over-year comparison using seasonally unadjusted numbers shows Ohio’s rate of job creation has lagged behind the national average for 19 months in a row.

While employment in goods-producing and construction was down last month, gains were seen in manufacturing, mining and logging and the private service-producing sector.

Gains were logged in professional and business services (up 6,000), trade, transportation and utilities (up 1,300), financial activities (up 400) and information (up 200). Declines were seen in leisure and hospitality (down 4,300) and educational and health services (down 900).

Government employment lost 100 jobs, to 754,400. Losses in local and federal government surpassed gains in state government jobs.

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MEDINA — When Buckeye school board member Tom Petek spoke at last month’s high school graduation ceremony, he was met with applause from the crowd.

But one student is voicing concern about what he considers was a religious message in the speech. The graduate said he has friends who also weren’t happy with the speech, but they weren’t comfortable speaking to the media.

“He said we’d make a lot of important decisions in our life, like finding a spouse and getting a good job, but basically said our most important decision would be to find Jesus,” an 18-year-old graduate said. “The rest of the speech was all about religion and trying to find Jesus.”

The graduate, who wished to remain anonymous to avoid social repercussions against his family, said he was unhappy with Petek’s speech because Petek is on the school board and the graduates were from various religious backgrounds.

“There are Jewish students. There are Islamic students,” said the graduate, who’s agnostic. “There are people from all across the spectrum in my graduating class.”

Petek told The Gazette he didn’t mean to offend anyone, and explained the focus of his speech wasn’t religion — it was hope.

“The premise of the speech was not ‘religion’ in a general sense,” said Petek, whose son graduated at the ceremony. “It was merely a message of hope based on my own personal experience. The opinions and comments that I shared were solely my own, and I clearly stated this throughout my address.”

He said he was trying to be helpful and didn’t feel he crossed any lines.

A video recording of the ceremony broadcast on public television shows that the speech contains references to Jesus Christ and passages from the Bible.

In the recording, Petek commended the graduates and said he could think of only one piece of advice to pass on.

“The best thing I can tell you guys is probably the most important decision I ever made in my life, and I mean this sincerely,” Petek told the class. “The most important decision I ever made in my life wasn’t where to go to college, it wasn’t who to marry… it wasn’t what career to choose.

“The most important decision I ever made was when I gave my life to Jesus Christ.”

Petek told the class that society defines happiness as wealth and success, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

“These things are great to pursue, but they won’t make you happy,” Petek said. “The apostle Paul said, ‘In whatever state I am, therewith to be content.’ Only a life in Christ will bring contentment.”

Petek went on to tell the students that Jesus Christ could help them overcome their hardships.

“Christ never promised us a life of ease or a bed of roses,” he said. “But what he did promise us is that he would always be there for us. The Bible tells us he is ‘a friend who sticks closer than a brother.’ It also says, ‘cast all your cares upon him, for he cares for you.’

“He loves you no matter who you are or whatever mess you’ve made of your life. He even proved it by dying on the cross.”

The graduate said he thought Petek’s speech violated First Amendment separation of church and state, but explained he didn’t want to pursue legal action because he feared the social repercussions.

Chris Link, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said Petek’s speech crossed a line — but the organization couldn’t sue over it without somebody who was there willing to come forward.

Under separation of church and state, she said, the government is barred from sponsoring particular religions.

“As a member of the school board, I would argue, he is a representative of the government. He cannot take the podium to proselytize,” she said. “It’s an abuse of his position to use that as an opportunity to proselytize his religion to a group of young people.”

Link said it would be different if he was simply a parent and chose to speak on religion on his own.

“The fact that you have a kid graduating doesn’t change the fact that you’re an elected official,” she said. “I’m sure there was an atheist member of the audience who would have loved to have the podium to spread his message, but he can’t because he’s not a member of the school board.”

Brian Williams, superintendent of Buckeye Schools, said he thought the graduates who were upset were blowing the situation out of proportion.

Williams said there’s also a traditional opening prayer before the graduation ceremonies that’s delivered by a student each year, and no one’s ever challenged it.

“I will say Mr. Petek probably shared a little more than he should have,” Williams said, “but I don’t think he crossed any lines or was offensive.”

Contact reporter Nick Glunt at (330) 721-4048 or nglunt@medina-gazette.com. Follow him on Twitter @ngfalcon.

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Ohio Carry President Brett Pucillo, of Kent, with his daughter Addison, 2, debates Ohio’s law allowing the open display of firearms with Angie Kovacs, of Medina, who was a candidate for the Medina school board last year. At left is Northeast Ohio Carry President Nicole Frame, with her son, Allan, 7, and Pucillo’s other daughter, Aubree, 3. (DAVID KNOX / GAZETTE)

Nick Glunt and David Knox | The Gazette

If it wasn’t for all the firearms, Saturday’s “open carry” demonstration walk could have been mistaken for a July 4 parade.

“We’re not in anyone’s faces. We’re not trying to force our beliefs down anyone’s throats,” said Brett Pucillo, president of Ohio Carry, who was wearing a Springfield XD 45 pistol.

Pucillo bought his daughters, 2-year-old Addison and 3-year-old Aubree, to the walk.

“We’re enjoying a beautiful day and taking the chance to educate people,” Pucillo said.

Dan Cooper, of Liverpool Township, holds up a protest sign on Saturday near a group of “open carry” firearm demonstrators on Medina’s North Court Street. Cooper was one of two sign-holding protestors at the demonstration. Brett Pucillo, president of Ohio Carry, said he opposed Cooper’s sign because it made gun activists sound uneducated. “To me, that’s as offensive as this gun on my hip is to him,” Pucillo said. (NICK GLUNT / GAZETTE)

Participants were a diverse group. They included teachers, contractors, tow truck drivers, consultants, corrections officers, a male nurse and nail salon owners.

“A lot of people have preconceived notions about what kind of people will open carry a firearm, Pucillo said. “We hope with the wide diversity of people here we can dispel some of those myths.”

The walk started on the sidewalk near O’Reilly Auto Parts on North Court Street in Medina at about 1 p.m. The group originally wanted to assemble in the Dickey’s Barbecue Pit parking lot, but changed plans on Friday after the restaurant’s owner objected.

Twenty-two adults started north toward Reagan Parkway, where they crossed the street and headed back south all the way to a Goodyear Tire outlet, just south of Harding Street. They then turned back north and ended where they started.

By the end of the 90-minute demonstration, latecomers had swelled the ranks of the group to nearly 40.

During the walk, members of the group were met with both boos and cheers from passing motorists.

Supporters responded by honking and flashing thumbs ups. Opponents shouted out windows.

One flipped his middle finger and another threw a cheeseburger at the walkers, according to Mike Krasnevich, of Brunswick.

“Most people were supportive,” he said.

Four people came with signs opposing the demonstration.

Joey Gaspar, of York Township, pulls a wagon carrying his twin 2-year-old daughters during Saturday’s demonstration walk in support of Ohio law allowing the open display of firearms. Gaspar has an AK-47 military-style rifle slung over his back and also carried a .380-cal. semi-automatic pistol and a .22-cal. derringer on his hip. (DAVID KNOX / GAZETTE)

Dan Cooper, of Liverpool Township, carried a protest sign reading, “Medina welcomes gun nuts. Les shoot sumpin.”

Pucillo said he objected to Cooper’s sign because he said it made gun activists sound uneducated.

“To me, that’s as offensive as this gun on my hip is to him,” he said.

Cooper said he was attempting to use humor to make a point.

“I feel it’s dangerous,” he said. “It makes me uncomfortable. I respect their rights, but they don’t need to be carrying these big weapons.”

Almost all the demonstrators had holstered handguns — mostly semiautomatic pistols and only a few revolvers. But several carried military-style rifles — either AR-15, the semiautomatic version of the U.S. military’s M-16, or the Russian designed AK-47 — equipped with high-capacity magazines.

At least two carried Kel-Tec KSGs — pump action, 12-gauge “tactical” shotguns with a 15-round capacity.

Chasity Slater, of Creston, carried one of the Kel-Tecs. She came with her boyfriend, Nicholas Burton, also of Creston, who had an American-made AK-47 equipped with a 30-round magazine.

Asked why they carried such lethal weapons, Slater answered, “Because we can.”

Burton said the weapons made a point.

“It’s important to educate the community on their rights. In Ohio, the law is you do not have to have a permit to open carry.”

Open Carry Treasurer Jeremiah Frame, of Aurora, in Portage County, said none of the participants in the demonstration carried any automatic weapons, which fire continuously with a single trigger pull and are strictly restricted by federal law. Semi-automatic weapons fire only once with each pull of the trigger.

“There were no automatic weapons,” Frame said. “I can say that because I’m pretty well-versed in the weapons field. I would have recognized it.”

Protesters also objected to a sign briefly displayed by Angie Kovacs, of Medina, who was a candidate for the Medina school board last year. The sign read: “No, that gun does not make your d—- look big.”

Kovacs said, “I did respect their wishes and turned it away from the children that were there.”

She said the point she was making with the sign was that the display of firearms frightens many people.

“If you’re carrying a gun to make a point, you’re doing it for the wrong reasons,” she said. “I think it’s 100 percent about intimidation.”

“A gun doesn’t make you more macho,” she said. “I’m not impressed.”

Kovacs said openly carrying guns reminded her of scenes from the violent streets of Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. A sign she carried read: “Fallujah, Kabul, Mogadishu, Medina.”

Kovacs argued that most Medina residents oppose the open display of firearms and said that almost all the demonstrators were from outside the county, some from as far as Cincinnati and Columbus.

One passer-by said he opposed the demonstration — but not for the reasons most would think.

“I fully support what they’re doing, but I wish they didn’t have to,” said Al Wygal, of Medina. “The Second Amendment is part of the Constitution, and that’s what our country was founded on.”

He said the group shouldn’t have to inform people of what their rights are because everyone should already know.

“When some real nut comes in shooting, I hope one of these guys is around to take them down,” Wygal said. “If there were more law-abiding citizens who carried guns, there wouldn’t be as much crime.”

But another passing motorist said carrying guns so openly could cause the very violence they hope to combat.

“What if some people saw them carrying guns and (felt) they were in danger?” asked Kellie Biegel, who pulled over in a parking lot with her husband to watch the walk. “I don’t feel safe with these people walking around.”

Biegel said she thought this sort of demonstration would actually cause more restrictions on gun owners.

“What it’s going to do is backfire on them,” she said. “People are going to get scared, and then there will be even more regulation.”

Carolyn Robey-Warren, of Columbus, president of Ohio Carry’s Central branch, argued the opposite.

“A right that’s not exercised is a right you can kiss goodbye,” she said.

Saturday’s walk was in response to a May 7 incident, when two men with an AR-15 rifle and shotgun slung over their backs were approached by police while walking near Medina’s Public Square.

Police received more than 10 calls from concerned residents.

The men were members of Ohio Carry, but were acting alone.

Their encounter with police was captured on video cameras, carried by both the men and the officers, which showed the men at first refusing to show their identification when approached by officers.

The men complied only after an officer told them they would be disarmed if they didn’t.

The officers said they were justified in demanding the IDs because of the 911 calls and because one of the men fumbled when asked his age.

The demand for the ID was the key issue cited by several demonstrators.

“We have a constitutional right to carry a firearm to protect ourselves,” said Harry Wynn, of Stow, who wore an AR-15 across his chest and also carried a Glock 30. “Nobody should get forced ID’d because they have a firearm — I don’t care how many 911 calls came in.”

Two police cruisers were seen parked in lots along Saturday’s demonstration route, but officers did not approach the demonstrators or the protesters.

“We had officers assigned to shadow the demonstration, said Medina Police Chief Patrick Berarducci, “both for their safety and those of the other side.”

Berarducci, who said he drove by the demonstration while on the way to lunch with his wife, said there was no reason to do more than observe.

“We tried not to interfere with what either side was doing,” he said. “I’m glad everybody acted responsibly.

“There are people who are emotionally invested on both sides and our job is to keep that from building into a confrontation.

“Our guys did their job.”

Contact reporter Nick Glunt at (330) 721-4048 or nglunt@medina-gazette.com. Follow him on Twitter @ngfalcon. Contact managing editor David Knox at (330) 721-4065 or dknox@medina-gazette.com.

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Musician and lecturer Rick Iacoboni brought a “Behind the Music of the Beatles” multimedia presentation to the Medina library on Saturday. (NANCY JOHNSON / GAZETTE)

While the Beatles were mired in legal disputes during their protracted break-up in the late 1960s, George Harrison found a quiet spot in Eric Clapton’s garden where he wrote the uplifting song “Here Comes the Sun” for the landmark album “Abbey Road.”

This is just one of several little-known Beatles facts musician and lecturer Rick Iacoboni brought to the Medina library with his “Behind the Music of the Beatles” multimedia presentation on Saturday.

Brecksville resident Iacoboni said watching the Beatles’ first performance on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, when he was 8 years old changed his life.

“I decided that’s what I wanted to do — I wanted to play music,” he said.

Iacoboni played plenty of music during his presentation.

Seated before a screen showing images of the Beatles during various stages of their careers, Iacoboni told behind-the-scenes tales of some of the band’s most popular songs.

He illustrated the stories with instrumental versions of their songs, strumming either a six-string or 12-string acoustic guitar, before a library audience.

“In the beginning the Beatles would come into the studio and producer George Martin would help them shape their ideas into commercial songs,” Iacoboni said. “Later it was a collaborative effort. The Beatles were the whole package. Unlike many artists, they wrote, recorded and performed their own music.”

The first song The Beatles performed on Ed Sullivan was the John Lennon/Paul McCartney composition “All My Loving.” According to Iacoboni, Sullivan had requested an upbeat opening number.

“The song was recorded in 13 takes,” said Iacoboni, “Paul McCartney wrote it as a love song for his then-girlfriend Jane Asher. Her brother, by the way, was Peter Asher of Peter and Gordon fame. He later became a well-known music producer.”

Peter and Gordon’s single “A World Without Love,” penned for the duo by Lennon and McCartney, shot to the top of the U.S. charts exactly 50 years ago this week, on June 27, 1964.

By then, the Beatles had already established themselves as chart-toppers in their own right. In April of that same year, 12 Beatles songs occupied Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, including the top five positions —an unprecedented feat that has never been repeated.

One of those songs, “She Loves You” was partially written on a tour bus by John Lennon. Lennon and McCartney finished the song at McCartney’s home in Liverpool where his father, Jim McCartney, scolded the boys for using the slang term “yeah, yeah, yeah.” Mr. McCartney suggested the boys change the lyrics to “yes, yes, yes,” a suggestion the songwriters thankfully ignored.

“She’s a Woman” was written by Paul McCartney to emulate the music of Little Richard. The band recorded the song the same day McCartney wrote it.

“The way Lennon and McCartney worked was whoever wrote the majority of the song would also do the vocals on the recording,” Iacoboni said. “For instance John wrote most of “ ‘Ticket to Ride.’ ”

The song, Iacoboni said, was a nod to the ladies-of-the-night the band met while playing the red light district in Hamburg, Germany, during the early years of their career.

“You’ll never look at that song the same way,” he laughed.

Although in the early years the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team penned mostly love songs, over time and largely influenced by Bob Dylan’s work, Lennon moved to writing more personal, introspective songs.

“Nowhere Man” was one of Lennon’s first autobiographical songs, along with “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” and “Norwegian Wood.” Iacoboni said the latter was Lennon’s take on a secret affair he’d had while still married to Cynthia Powell, the mother of his older son, Julian.

Paul was living with the Asher family when he woke up with the melody to “Yesterday” in his mind. He promptly sat down at the piano and began crafting the lyrics in the early hours of the morning. The song’s working title was “Scrambled Eggs,” probably a paean to McCartney’s anticipation for breakfast.

The song had come so easily to McCartney, he was afraid he had plagiarized it.

“Yesterday” became the Beatles’ most popular song. The original recording has been played on radio more than 7 million times. The song has been recorded by more than 3,000 different artists.

According to Iacoboni, the Beatles introduced many innovative ideas and unconventional instrumentation through their music, which in turn changed the face of popular music.

As an example, he cited “Hey Jude,” which was the first single that — at more than seven minutes long — broke Top 40 radio’s typical “three-minute-song.”

The band was the first pop group to add strings to their recordings.

When George Harrison discovered the sitar while filming the movie “Help,” the instrument appeared for the first time in popular music.

And instead of editing out accidental guitar feedback from a recording, the Beatles turned the jarring sound into the opener to “I Feel Fine.”

“They used so many different sounds that manufacturers began making special effects pedals, which most bands use today,” Iacoboni said, “Their songs had unique tempo and key changes, too, making a seemingly simple song much more complex.”

During the Beatles early years, vinyl singles were usually released with an A-side and a B-side.

“The B-side was never a great song,” Iacoboni said, “but the Beatles had more great songs than they knew what to do with,” which led to the music industry’s unprecedented double-A-side single.

“They backed ‘Penny Lane’ with ‘Strawberry Fields,’ ‘Help’ with ‘I’m Down’ — all hits,” he said.

“Penny Lane,” written by McCartney, and “Strawberry Fields,” written by Lennon, were both odes to Liverpool. The two were surprised they had both come up with songs about their hometown at about the same time.

“Each song is an excellent example of the different writing styles between the two,” said Iacoboni.

Iacoboni also paid homage to George Harrison, who joined the Fab Four at the age of 17. Known as the quiet Beatle, Harrison grabbed the other Beatles’ attention when he brought Eric Clapton to the studio to record “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

“As Harrison matured, his songwriting matured,” said Iacoboni, citing Harrison’s solo triple-album release “All Things Must Pass” as the embodiment of Harrison’s enormous talent.

Drummer Ringo Starr was given time behind the microphone for at least one song per album. Although his vocal range was limited, Ringo’s renditions of “Yellow Submarine” and “I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends” are considered Beatles classics.

In 1967 the Beatles performed “All You Need Is Love” in a live worldwide satellite broadcast. George Martin brought in a 12-piece orchestra and the band lined up friends like Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Keith Moon to sing with them. The legendary broadcast was seen by more than 140 million viewers in 26 countries, unprecedented numbers at the time.

Iacoboni said the Beatles have remained a relevant musical force. They have sold more than 600 million lifetime units, with more than 30 million sold in just the past 10 years.

In 2010, their long-delayed iTunes debut netted 450,000 digital album downloads in the first week alone.

And although Lennon and Harrison have passed away, McCartney and Starr are separately still making music in the studio and on the road.

“They contributed so much to music,” Iacoboni said, “the list just goes on and on.”

Contact reporter Nancy Johnson at (330) 721-4065 or areanews@medina-gazette.com.

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MEDINA — Ohio’s Special Olympics torch will make its way through Medina and Montville Township on Monday morning at the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run.

Montville Township police Sgt. Chris LaFond said the run will begin in Medina’s Public Square at 9 a.m. About a dozen officers are expected to participate.

Officers will run a 5.3-mile course south down state Route 3, then east on Poe Road toward the Montville Township Police Department.

“In years past, we’ve had the (Special Olympic) athletes join us either at the start or end of the run,” LaFond said. “This year will be no different.”

LaFond, who plans to participate, said the event is the only torch run in Medina County this year. In previous years, Wadsworth and Brunswick have hosted runs.

As a result, officers from many of the county’s law enforcement agencies will be participating.

“We usually have a pretty nice turnout,” LaFond said. “We’ve got guys who are runners and guys who aren’t, so we usually stick together in a group.”

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MEDINA — Officials say the county will save $250,000 this year by turning off the air conditioning in county buildings on days energy use is in high demand.

The policy went into effect last week.

County Administrator Chris Jakab said the county will shut off the air conditioning in county buildings on five to 12 of the hottest days this summer when the regional energy grid is being used the most.

The county spends more than $2 million a year on energy costs, Jakab said.

“We are trying to keep out rates low for 2015,” he said.

Jakab said officials from the regional energy grid will let county officials know which days they will be measuring usage of the grid, so if the county turns off the air, the capacity rate will fall.

“When they sense a spurt in demand because of consecutive hot days, an alert goes out to officials that, say, tomorrow will be an ‘event day,’ ” he said.

Starting at 2:30 p.m. on “event” days, the air conditioning will be turned off at the Medina County Jail, Juvenile Detention Center, the Professional Building, courthouse, the prosecutor’s building, Job and Family Services, the administration building, the human services center and the engineering building.

The air conditioning will be turned back on at 6 p.m.

The county had its first event day June 18.

County officials will be warned one day in advance before the air conditioning is cut.

By curbing electricity use, the county hopes capacity rate charges will be reduced.

Jakab said the county staff is on board with the plan.

“We haven’t had any complaints from the elected officials or department heads,” Jakab said.

Contact reporter Andrew Davis at (330) 721-4050 or adavis@medina-gazette.com.

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MEDINA — Residents most likely will see their trash bills go up to $16 a month — a $2 increase — starting Oct. 1.

Medina City Council’s Finance Committee, which includes all seven Council members — unanimously recommended the rate hike Monday. The full Council is expected to approve the hike July 14.

The last increase — also $2 more a month — was in 2006.

“We have held the line as long as we can,” Service Director Nino Piccoli said.

Piccoli said the city’s Utility Rate Review Commission met in May and recommended a larger increase, to $18.56 per month.

Piccoli said there would be no increase for commercial rubbish removal at this time.

The Sanitation Department serves more than 7,000 households in the city and accounts for 60 percent of the waste that is processed at the Medina County Central Processing Facility in Westfield Township, Piccoli said.

The hike for trash pickups was the second utility bill increase this year. Earlier this month, the city announced water bills were going up by 5 percent, beginning next month.

In other action, the Finance Committee approved the Sanitation Department seeking bids to purchase a new rear loading packer garbage truck.

The truck has an estimated cost of $220,000.

Piccoli said the last truck was purchased in 2010.

Contact reporter Andrew Davis at (330) 721-4050 or adavis@medina-gazette.com.

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About a dozen runners representing five Medina County police agencies participate Monday morning in the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run. The 5.3-mile run benefited the Ohio Special Olympics and marked the Olympic torch’s passing through Medina County toward Columbus. The event began at 9 a.m. on Medina’s Public Square, and continued south with a police escort down state Route 3. Runners turned east at Poe Road and ended at the Montville Police Department.

(NICK GLUNT / GAZETTE)

(NICK GLUNT / GAZETTE)

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Two homes were seriously damaged on Royal Oak Drive in Brunswick when a tornado ripped down the street Monday. (LOREN GENSON / GAZETTE)

A tornado severely damaged two homes on Royal Oak Drive in Brunswick on Monday evening. High winds ripped the roof off one home and removed part of the roof from another.

The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down, possibly a high EF1 or a low EF2 — meaning the twister packed winds of about 110 mph.

The weather service said at least an 1½ inches of rain fell during the storm.

A second possible tornado touchdown also was reported north of state Route 303 on Clover Drive.

Police officers went door-to-door checking on residents. Everyone is accounted for and no injuries reported, officials said.

A pregnant woman who lived in the home in the 1500 block of Oak Drive, across the street from the homes with the most damage, was transported to a hospital as a precaution.

Becky Siverd’s in-laws said she was eight months pregnant and there was concern because of the stress of the situation.

“She went down to the basement with the dog, but it was a lot for her to take,” said Robin Siverd, the woman’s father-in-law.

The tornado was triggered by a thunderstorm that blew across Medina County.

Responding were Brunswick police and firefighters and firefighters from Hinckley Township, Medina and the Medina County Technical Rescue Team.

Officials received calls about the damage about 7:10 p.m.

No tornado sirens blasted in Brunswick because no alert was issued by the National Weather Service said Rob Marok, the IT administrator for the city.

Even if the weather service had issued a warning, the sirens installed in Brunswick have been disabled for several years, Marok said.

The city shut the sirens down after an attack from computer hackers set them off several years ago.

The city was unable to override the hacker and the sirens have been offline ever since.

“They were put in incorrectly, without any security to protect them,” he said.

Many residents said they went to their basements after receiving alerts about thunderstorms on their cellular phones from both the National Weather Service and Brunswick Code Red, an opt-in service for severe weather alerts.

Marcel Mol’s family made their way down to the basement of their home at the corner of Royal Oaks Drive and Oak Tree Drive.

Mol’s home sustained structural damage to the porch. Fire officials had him leave the home while they inspected it for safety Monday night. His neighbor’s home on Royal Oak Drive was missing a roof and part of the second-story walls.

“It’s devastating to see his home,” Mol said. “We’ve never seen anything like this.”

Dan Gladish, Brunswick’s chief building inspector, said residents were evacuated from four homes in the following the storm.

Police said an emergency shelter was set up at the Brunswick Community Recreation and Fitness Center, 3637 Center Road.

The Medina County Technical Rescue, a collapse rescue squad, set up a makeshift construction site to cut lumber to help stabilize the homes.

“They’re already underway in helping make sure these homes are secure,” he said.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for Medina County until 2:45 a.m., after the storm dumped between and inch and 1½ inches of rain.

A dispatcher with the Medina County Sheriff’s Office said there was the usual amount of road flooding in the areas around Chippewa Lake, but no reports of road closings or damage.

A dispatcher at the Medina post of the Ohio Highway Patrol, said there were no reports of road closings or weather-related crashes.

“We had no calls at all,” the dispatcher said. “No trees down or anything.”

Contact reporter Loren Genson at (330) 721-4063 or lgenson@medina-gazette.com. Follow her on Twitter @lorengenson.

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MONTVILLE TWP. — For almost four years the new Montville Centre shopping plaza at state Route 18 and Windfall Road sat vacant — a victim of the 2008 economic downturn.

But the prospects for the center changed in 2012 when Gino and Barbara Faciana, owners of Pleasant Valley Construction Co., bought the 70,000-square-foot mall for $3 million.

Members of the Faciana family and the Michaels family, along with Montville Township trustees, cut the ribbon at the new On Tap Grille and Bar in Montville Township on Tuesday. The Michaels family has owned and operated On Tap since 1982. The new location opened up June 11. (DREW DAVIS / GAZETTE)

“We are all about Medina County,” Gino said. “We want to fill the plaza up and bring life to the area.”

The Facianas did just that Tuesday by celebrating two grand openings — On Tap and 111 Bistro.

On Tap, a staple of bar cuisine and night life in Medina, and the 111 Bistro, a startup operated by two ambitious restaurateurs, hosted ribbon-cuttings at their new homes in the Montville Centre.

The owners of On Tap opened at the corner of the plaza June 11, moving from their previous location down the street where they had operated since 1988.

The new restaurant boasts three bars and 40 taps, a patio with a life-size Jenga set, waterfall, fireplace and a turf-laden corn hole set.

“It has been a dream for a long time,” Nicole Michaels, marketing director for On Tap, said. “This location is a lot bigger and a lot better.”

The grill is open every day except Monday and cooks in the restaurant’s two kitchens will serve food until 11 p.m. while the bar will remain open until 11:30 p.m. weeknights and 1 a.m. weekends.

If fine dining is more of your thing, the 111 Bistro, run by head chef Anthony Scolaro and front house manager Meghan Pender, are bringing a new twist to the Medina food scene.

“New American casual fine dining,” Scolaro called it.

Scolaro previously worked as the executive chef at Westfield County Club and received his chef’s training at the University of Akron.

Pender has worked as the front house manager at Sully’s Irish Pub in Medina and received her managerial education at Akron.

Both Scolaro and Pender have the same vision: Don’t intimidate the customer by being overly posh and use only the freshest ingredients from local farms and businesses.

The bistro is open each day at 3 p.m. for dinner and 11 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays for brunch.

The menu includes salmon béarnaise served with asparagus, potato confit, ravigote and a 6-minute egg, and pan-roasted chicken made with lemon, thyme, pan jus, leek farrotto and lemon gremolata.

“I think Medina County needs a restaurant like theirs,” Faciana said.

Faciana was born and raised in Medina, started Pleasant Valley Construction with his wife in Medina in 1974, and they then raised their family in Medina. He said it is important for them to support businesses with a local mindset.

The plaza reopened in 2013 when a Verizon Wireless store opened up. A fitness center, Mediterranean Fitness, also occupies a storefront.

Faciana said the last food establishment, Pizza Master, will open in September.

Pleasant Valley Construction is continuing to take lease bids on the remaining storefronts and plans to diversify the plaza with other retail and business options.

“We are hoping to have it 85 percent full by the end of the year,” Faciana said.

Contact reporter Andrew Davis at (330) 721-4050 or adavis@medina-gazette.com.

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A siren wouldn’t have helped Monday night when a tornado touched down in Brunswick. That’s because the National Weather Service didn’t issue a tornado warning.

But residents are wondering about the next time and asking why the city hasn’t fixed its sirens, which have been shut off since 2008.

A map prepared by the National Weather Service office in Cleveland shows the track of Monday night’s tornado through Brunswick. The path shows it was an EF0 tornado during most of the 1.7-mile path, but reached speeds of an EF1 twister — up to 110 mph — over two housing developments. The points where the tornado reached speeds of EF1 are in green and the EF0 speeds are shown in blue. (MAP COURTESY OF NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE)

“There was no siren, nothing, and my kids were running around outside,” said Molly Koenig, who got her children inside minutes before the tornado hit.

On Monday, the weather service issued a severe thunderstorm warning as rains moved into Brunswick. Within two minutes, the city activated CodeRED phone calls, which went out at 6:56 p.m. alerting residents to severe thunderstorms.

CodeRED, is an opt-in phone service for Brunswick and Brunswick Hills Township residents to get severe alerts from the city.

The warning was too late. The tornado had touched down minutes before.

Residents say they understand that not all tornadoes can be predicted. But many are.

Koenig wondered what would happen next time if they’re not near their phone to get a tornado alert.

“The phone alert is good, but what if you’re outside or you don’t have your phone on you?” Koenig said.

Other parents in the neighborhood agreed and said they think City Council should look at upgrading the sirens to get them in working condition.

The sirens were taken offline in 2008, after hackers got into the system and set off the alarms during early morning hours. After a few days of hacking attacks, the city shut the sirens off for good.

“We didn’t want people to be complacent about the sirens with us not being able to control who was setting them off,” said Vince Carl, Ward 2 councilman and the city’s vice mayor.

Carl, whose ward includes streets on and around Royal Oak Drive, which sustained the most damage from Monday’s tornado, said he’s willing to consider spending the money to get the sirens working again.

“It was going to cost about $80,000 to fix it,” he said. “We would have to buy encryption hardware in order to get the signal so it can’t be hacked.”

Carl said he doesn’t think the city has an extra $80,000 to spend, but is willing to consider the proposal if residents say it’s a priority.

“If you ask people if they want to spend money on the sirens or on fixing city streets, I think they’ll say they want us to fix the roads,” he said. “But I’m willing to consider it if they say they want it.”

City Manager Anthony Bales, who took office just last week, said he thinks it’s likely Council will consider the upgrades.

“I know the city has considered the cost several times, but I imagine we will look at it again,” he said.

Contact reporter Loren Genson at (330) 721-4063 or lgenson@medina-gazette.com. Follow her on Twitter @lorengenson.

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Medina County prosecutors say two Lodi couples’ night on the town in August ended with a husband raping the other man’s wife.

Daniel Archer, 34, is on trial this week in Medina County Common Pleas Court before Judge Christopher J. Collier. If convicted, he could spend up to 11 years in prison.

Archer Daniel

Archer is accused of raping a 31-year-old woman, who testified Tuesday that she woke up the morning of Aug. 4 to find Archer naked and on top of her.

She told the jury that she and her husband and Archer and his wife were part of a group that had been celebrating a friend’s graduation from nursing school that night. They set up camper trailers in Litchfield Township and rented a “party bus” to take them to and from The Valley bars in Akron.

Upon returning about 2 a.m., the woman said she went into the camper to sleep and woke up to Archer raping her.

“I actually thought it was my husband,” she said. She said she realized it wasn’t him because her attacker was bald and her husband is not. “When I said, ‘what,’ he grumbled, and I recognized the tone of voice. I was sure — as sure as you can be in the dark — that it was Dan.”

She said Archer left the bedroom. The woman said she could hear her husband outside the camper, and about 10 minutes later, he came inside and noticed she was upset.

She told her husband what happened and he went to confront Archer, who was in another of the camper’s bedrooms with his own wife.

After the confrontation, Archer and his wife left. The woman’s husband packed up the camper and took her to Wooster Community Hospital, the nearest clinic that performs rape kit assessments.

She testified that county sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Kevin Ross interviewed her that night and she told him she was “95 percent certain” Archer was her attacker. The following day, she said she was 100 percent certain.

“I’d known Dan a long time, so it was shocking to me this could occur,” she told the seven-man, five-woman jury Tuesday. “Part of me didn’t want to believe it was him because I knew how serious this was.

“That 5 percent was a coping mechanism at the time.”

During opening arguments, county Assistant Prosecutor Scott Salisbury told the jury that investigators with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation discovered semen on the woman’s underwear that matched Archer’s DNA.

In addition, Archer’s shirt and socks were found inside the woman’s bedroom in the camper, he said.

Salisbury told the jury the case was “more than just ‘he said, she said,’ because we have scientific evidence.”

Archer’s attorney, David Gedrock, told the jury that his client may have been in the bedroom with the woman, but there was no sex.

“Two people — (the woman) and Dan — got in the wrong bed. That’s what happened,” he said.

Gedrock said there were holes in the prosecution’s case, but did not specify what the gaps were.

“The prosecutor’s job is to close the door on this case,” he said. “If they fail to close that door, if there’s a gap left, that’s reasonable doubt.”

Archer’s trial is set to continue today and is expected to last through the week.

Contact reporter Nick Glunt at (330) 721-4048 or nglunt@medina-gazette.com. Follow him on Twitter @ngfalcon.

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