Steve Kraus was indicted by an Ottawa County grand jury on Wednesday, just 15 days after beating incumbent Chris Redfern in the 89th House District race. The indictment includes one felony count each of BURGLERY, BREAKING AND ENTERING AND THEFT. Ohio elected a stone cold street criminal. Kraus said the allegations are false. Im innocent of all charges and I will vigorously defend them, Kraus told the Register. He referred other questions to his attorney Jim Hart, who could not be immediately reached for comment. The victim, Helen Stines, went to Danbury police May 15 and said dozens of valuables were taken from her 600 block South Lightner Road home in Port Clinton, according to a Danbury Township police report. Read the report Kraus allegedly went inside the home on property where he was asked to look at an antique vehicle in a detached garage that Stines intended to have auctioned. Kraus is an auctioneer by trade. But he was not authorized to go into the house and was instructed to just look at the vehicle, according to the police report. Kraus said previously he was authorized — by different real estate agent — to look at the home. He also underwent a polygraph test arranged by Hart that found he was truthful when asked specific questions in detail about the allegations. But police reported that witnesses saw Kraus in the house and one man snapped photos of him carrying items from the home to a van hed parked nearby. Numerous items were reported missing from the home, including: •Antique 12-gauge double-barrel shotgun •Bass drum, acoustic guitar, saxophone •Three Strawberry Shortcake figurines •Antique doll and wooden marbles The man who photographed Kraus at the home told police he saw Kraus at the residence four times. October Surprise? The burglary report about Kraus was kept secret by Mulligan for nearly five months after it was reported when the Register learned of the complaint and reported about it in late September. Kraus called the complaint an early October surprise from Democrats and cronies of his opponent, state Rep. Chris Redfern, including Ottawa County Prosecutor Mark Mulligan. Mulligan denied dirty politics played any role in the delay in resolving the theft complaint. The case sat on my desk for no longer than five to seven days, Mulligan said. He said he received the report in July. But Mulligan didnt forward the report of the complaint to the first of three potential special prosecutors until Sept. 8. The first prosecutor cited a conflict of interest, Mulligan said, while the other had a breakdown in communication with Danbury police. Timothy Braun, a former assistant county prosecutor who is now an attorney in private practice in Lucas County, was Mulligans third pick to review the file. The court later affirmed his appointment. Braun presented the evidence to the grand jury at about 1 p.m. Wednesday and the indictment was returned in just a couple hours. Braun was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 20:49:57 +0000
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