Bleything, of Springfield, is facing one count each of attempted felonious assault, tampering with evidence and possessing criminal tools, according to Xenia Municipal Court records. As of Monday evening, he is not facing any charges in connection to the deadly shooting, though filings from the state prosecutor’s office say they expect to “file charges related to the homicide in the future.”
Yellow Springs police initially took a 911 call Thursday responding to calls of an assault in the 600 block of South High Street. The single officer on duty that evening was dispatched, along with Miami Twp. Fire and Rescue.
While en route, the dispatch center relayed additional information to the responding unit that the victim had possibly suffered a gunshot wound. This information prompted the lone officer on duty to issue a “signal 99.”
A signal 99 requests all available units over the scanner to come to the aid of an officer, to include multiple departments and dozens of cruisers from across the county.
When the officer arrived, the victim was found with a gunshot wound, Yellow Springs police Chief Paige Burge said at a Monday night press conference.
“Due to the severity of the crime, and the substantial resources required to properly investigate this type of offense, I determined that the (Ohio) Bureau of Criminal Investigations would be requested to handle the case,” Burge said.
BCI investigators and the Yellow Springs Police Department worked more than 20 hours on scene collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses and neighbors, Burge said. The village then released an initial statement explaining the substantial police response, and informing residents of the investigation. This is standard practice among law enforcement agencies and also came at the direction of BCI, “to ensure ample time was given to properly investigate,” she said.
The shooting at the time appeared to be an “isolated incident,” Burge said, with no additional threat to public safety.
“Hindsight is 20/20, (if) we were able to know what we would have known on Sunday, I would have absolutely been able to give that notice,” Burge said.
Ohio BCI spokesman Dominic Binkley confirmed last week the agency was requested to assist Yellow Springs Police Department with an investigation.
Officials from both Yellow Springs PD and the Ohio BCI refused to provide the public details of the Thursday incident prior to the Monday press conference, including whether anyone was hurt or killed. The Greene County Coroner’s Office confirmed a 71-year-old woman is dead.
Why the public was not informed at the time that someone had been killed, Burge said that both standard practice and directives from the BCI indicate that “no details about any ongoing investigation are released until we have more definitive information to release.”
“Investigators must balance several factors when releasing details of an ongoing investigation to the public. The first is always public safety, and … evidence at the time of the initial public statement did not indicate a greater risk to public safety. The second is the integrity of the investigation itself,” Burge said.
Between Friday night and Sunday, BCI and Yellow Springs PD made attempts “to reach out to this individual, to try to make contact to see if we could find a peaceful resolution,” as well as determining whether Bleything was connected to the Thursday shooting, Burge said.
According to an affidavit filed Monday in Xenia Municipal Court, around 6:15 p.m. Sunday Bleything reportedly rang the doorbell of a West South College Street home. A man answered the door, and Bleything allegedly pointed a gun at him.
“In the victim’s statement, the man said, ‘I went to open the door; I saw a black gun pointed at my head,’” the affidavit stated.
The man shut the door and ran to his father’s room before calling 911. After reviewing doorbell camera footage, the man and his sister were able to identify the armed man as Bleything, according to court documents.
Around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, a “Be on the Lookout” order, or BOLO, was issued for a man with Bleything’s approximate description, “out of an abundance of caution, to ensure public safety until Bleything could be taken into custody,” Burge said Monday.
“While this public notification was deemed necessary, it is also important to note that evidence in this case indicates that Bleything is the person of interest in both incidents and no greater threat to the public at large exists,” she said.
Bleything was arrested in Springfield by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and BCI agents. He reportedly disposed of the gun before his arrest, but evidence related to the gun has since been recovered.
Residents who spoke at the Yellow Springs Village Council Meeting on Monday leveled criticism at both the Yellow Springs Police Department and the Ohio BCI for the response and lack of communication.
“On Thursday there was a shooting and our police chief made the decision that there was no further risk to the community. Three days later, it’s proven that that judgment of hers was in error, because the gunman came back to Yellow Springs and threatened somebody with a gun to their face,” said resident Jeff Reich.
Reich added that the 911 call for the menacing incident came in at 6:15 p.m., and the BOLO went out three hours later.
“During that period of time, my wife was in our yard. We have friends who are walking their dog down that street,” he said. “We didn’t know anything.”
“This past weekend I did a lot of things around the village with my family, and I did all those things based on the fundamental premise that there was not a suspect who just committed homicide at large in my community. I came to find out, late on Sunday evening, that that was not the case,” said resident Art Boulet.
Representatives of the Ohio BCI did not attend the press conference Monday; however, the agency also drew criticism from residents Monday evening.
“Let’s put things in perspective. When BCI comes in here, they run the show,” said Dino Pallotta. “We’re not a big city … we don’t have those resources. When BCI comes in and they’re going to run their show their way. Whether we like it or not.”
The Greene County Prosecutor’s Office is requesting $1 million bond for Bleything because “the defendant is the prime suspect in the fatal shooting of an elderly female in Yellow Springs on March 14, 2024,” according to a filing by the prosecutor’s office.
Yellow Springs Schools closed on Monday, “out of an abundance of caution,” in response to the Sunday BOLO but were open on Friday.
About the Authors
