Brendan Clark, 37, of Tallmadge has been sentenced to 9 years in prison after pleading guilty to rape and domestic violence against a woman he knew back in July of last year.

Court documents show Clark entered the victim's home, threw an unspecified chemical in her face, and then attacked and assaulted her. The victim was later able to escape and alert a neighbor. 

Clark was sentenced immediately after his guilty plea in Summit County Court. After he serves his sentence, Clark willl have to register as a sex offender with the County every 90 days for the rest of his life. 

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Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh announced today that Brendan Clark, 37, of Van Evers Road in Tallmadge, pled guilty in connection with an attack on a female acquaintance.

Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Paul Gallagher immediately sentenced Clark to nine years in prison.

Clark pled guilty to the following charges:

• Rape – a felony of the 1st degree
• Domestic Violence – a misdemeanor of the 1st degree

In July of 2016, Clark entered the victim’s home, threw a chemical in her face, dragged her into a bedroom where he beat her and sexually assaulted her. The victim was able to escape and ran outside where she alerted neighbors. The Tallmadge Police Department conducted an investigation and obtained DNA evidence and an admission from Clark.

Judge Gallagher also designated Clark as a Tier III sex offender. When Clark is released from prison, he will have to register with the local sheriff every 90 days for the rest of his life.

A press release Sunday from Summa Health officials states that from now on, no doctor contracts will be terminated without full approval of the entire Summa Health System Board.

The announce comes as the hospital system continues to deal with the abrupt firing of the doctor group that manned the hospitals emergency rooms, prompting a group of roughly 100 doctors voting "no confidence" in Summa management and calling for Dr. Thomas Malone, Summa CEO, to resign. 

The Summa Board, which says they're "troubled" by recent events, is also hiring an "executive coach" to help create a new corporate culture, which, as stated in the release, "values employee and physician engagement."

Additionally, Summa Health is creating a new medical staff panel composed of doctors, to advise them on medical staff issues.

Read the full press release from Summa Health Systems below: 

Summa Health is grounded in the concept of servant leadership, of serving the patient or serving those
who do. The Board of Directors believes that this idea is the backbone of our mission, vision and values,
guiding our organization toward long-term success.

After facing difficult headwinds recently, we think it’s important to remember that our entire Summa
Health team has served one another and accomplished a great deal over the last few years. Together we
have launched a $350 million facilities plan that will form the cornerstone of our vision to drastically
improve the overall health of our community and give us a platform to continue to be a leader on
population health. Our finances are sound, our accountable care organization is a state leader, and the
performance of SummaCare is on the rise.

As pleased as we are by these accomplishments, recent events and the divisions that they have revealed
are very troubling to us. To address the concerns of our physicians and staff, and to build a culture that
aligns our values with our vision, we are: ? Hiring an executive coach who will report directly to the Board and provide guidance on the
establishment of a new culture, one that values employee and physician engagement. The work
of this coach will extend to all members of the Summa Health executive leadership team. ? Creating a medical staff panel of 3-7 physicians (both independent and employed) that will
report directly to the Board and advise on medical staff issues. The Board will work with medical
leadership to gather nominations for physicians to serve on this panel. ? Committing to filling the two physician vacancies on our Board by February 28, 2017. ? Revising our contract renewal process in accordance with best in class standards in order to
avoid a repeat of the recent emergency department transition. ? Providing direct Board oversight for all physician contracts for the remainder of 2017. No
physician contract will be terminated without the full approval of the Board.

All of these steps are intended to provide the foundation for the Summa Health leadership team to build
a culture of engagement and open communication. Our Board will be monitoring this situation closely.
As caretakers of Summa Health, it is our responsibility to provide the tools for management to develop a
way forward that ensures we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. It is also our responsibility to
ensure that our community is served by a high-quality healthcare organization that not only improves
the health and wellness of our region, but also remains a pillar of strength that helps drive Akron
forward. We take each of these responsibilities seriously and are committed to ensuring the execution
of our vision for Summa Health. We remain fortunate to be joined on our journey by the tireless and dedicated Summa Health team, the
physicians, employees, volunteers, donors and leaders who work daily to deliver quality, compassionate
care and strengthen our organization so, that as a vital community partner, we can continue to thrive.

Sincerely,

Summa Health Board of Directors 

Two men were shot inside the Clutch Gentleman's Club on South Arlington early Sunday morning. Now police asking for help finding two suspects. The police report states an altercation started inside the club just after 3 a.m. and then one, or possibly both suspects opened fire. A Canton man and a man from Detroit were both shot; both transported to Akron City Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. 

Below is the press release from APD: 

Shortly after 3:00am Sunday morning, two males were shot inside the Clutch Gentleman’s Club, located at 1890 South Arlington Street. The victims reported they were involved in an altercation inside of the club when the suspect fired several shots. The first victim, 33 year old male from Canton, was shot in the abdomen and upper leg. The second victim, 33 year old male from Detroit, was shot in the upper right leg. Both victims were transported to Akron City Hospital by a friend with non-life threatening injuries. The suspects are two black males. The first suspect is about 30 years old, 6’1” – 6’3”, 240 – 250 lbs., with black braided hair, beard, mustache, and was wearing a camouflage pants and gray shirt. The second suspect is 5’7” – 5’9”, wearing a knit hat with a white emblem on the front, a light colored hooded sweatshirt and jacket. Anyone with information is asked to contact our department.

On Monday, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan's office issued a press release stating that the mayor has ordered an audit of the contract between Oriana House and the City of Akron. 

The audit announcement comes shortly after reports of overdoses and even an overdose death at Oriana House Akron. 

You can read the full statement from the mayor's office below: 

Today Mayor Dan Horrigan made public his plans to seek an independent audit of the contract between the City and Oriana House, Inc.— a non-profit community corrections and rehabilitation organization that provides confinement, chemical dependency and employment placement services and operates a work release program for individuals convicted of certain offenses through the Akron Municipal Court.

“As we, as a community, strive to build collaborative, effective solutions to combat opiate addiction, my priority has always been to provide the victims of addiction with safe, healthy environments in which to recover and generate real opportunities for those individuals to turn their lives around and contribute fully to society.”

“Furthermore, from my first day in office, my administration has been systematically reevaluating each of our significant long-standing relationships and agreements to make sure we are achieving the maximum benefit for our citizens,” Mayor Horrigan said. “It is critical that Akron residents have full confidence that their public dollars are being well spent. For these collective reasons, I have asked my staff to see that the City’s contract with Oriana House is subjected to a full, independent audit.”

In addition to the independent audit, Mayor Horrigan also expressed his intention to reevaluate the process through which these services are awarded. “As we look to the future, we will be critically examining our procedures and contracting criteria with fresh eyes, to ensure fairness and transparency throughout the process,” Mayor Horrigan said. Additional details about the audit will be made public as they become available.

The Summit County ADM Board is ramping up efforts to battle drug addiction and abuse in and around Summit County. 

Part of that effort is a new Addiction hotline they will be unveiling Tuesday, January 17th. The local number will be operational Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Any calls made after hours will go to the ADM Crisis Hotline that will remain operational. 

Dr. Jerry Craig, ADM Board Executive Director, says the new hotline is not exclusive to opioid addiction. "Irrespective of the problem, we want to make sure that people have access to the most available treatment options," Craig says, whether that's treatment for drug, alcohol, or even gambling addiction. 

The number to the new ADM Addiction Help Line is 330-940-1133. Again, the ADM Crisis Hotline will continue to operate 24/7, but specific calls to this new hotline will be expedited and triaged to the most current and available resources regardless of patient needs. 

See the full press release from the Summit County ADM Board below. 

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ADM Addiction Help Line Opens Tuesday, 1.17.17

The ADM Addiction Help Line launches on Tuesday, January 17, 2017, as a new service to assist individuals who are looking to recover from an addiction to alcohol, drugs or gambling. Callers will be asked a few questions to assist the Help Line staff in determining which local treatment providers could meet their needs. They will be provided with information about treatment options available to them based on their individual circumstances. Once the caller knows their options, they can choose the local agency where they would like to begin treatment. The Addiction Help Line staff will then connect the caller to the selected treatment agency to make a warm hand-off and to schedule the initial appointment. The ADM Board is contracting with the Akron Summit Community Action, Inc. for this new service. The Help Line number is 330-940-1133 and the hours of operation will be Monday through Friday from 8:30am – 4:00pm. The ADM Crisis Center will continue to be available on a 24 /7 basis to provide detoxification and drop-in services and treatment readiness groups. “Akron Summit Community Action, Inc. is pleased to partner with ADM on an Addiction Help Line”, stated Malcolm J. Costa, President & CEO of Akron Summit Community Action, Inc. “Calling the addiction helpline may be an act of courage; sometimes taking strength to admit you have a problem,” stated Costa. “We recognize the importance of getting people the help they need in a timely manner when they are ready to start their recovery. The ADM Addiction Help Line will fast track making the connection between those seeking addiction services and local treatment providers. By calling the Help Line, those seeking addiction services will choose from the most available agencies and have the convenience of being connected to their selected provider to get the process started”, adds Jerry Craig, ADM Board Executive Director.  

The parents of Ashley Zhao made their first appearance in Massillon Municipal Court Wednesday morning for arraignment. 

The charges listed by Judge Edward Elum were First Degree Murder and Felonious Assault for Mingming Chen, mother of Ashley, and Complicity to First Degree Murder and Complicity to Felonious Assault for Liang Zhou, the father of Ashley.

Both Chen and Zhou are scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on the morning of January 19th. No pleas have been entered at this time, and both parents have been appointed separate public attorneys.

Click here for previous stories/information on this case. 

Former City of Green Little League President Tim McCloud has been arrested, charged with theft and money laundering dating back to the time he held the office. 

According to a press release from the Sheriff's Office, the president who took over when McCloud left his role noticed about $10,000 missing from an account linked to the little league program. Upon further investigation, Inspector Bill Holland with the Sheriff's Office says they found a total of $27,000 that was unaccounted for. That investigation lead right to McCloud, who had set up a new account while in office. That account combined league fees and donations with some of McCloud's personal funds. It was discovered that McCloud was using those funds for personal expenses. 

McCloud's been booked in Summit County Jail on two felony charges of Theft and Money Laundering. 

The U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force, along with Ravenna Police, have increased the reward to $10,000 for anyone with information leading to the arrest of David Darnell Calhoun Jr. 

Calhoun Jr. is wanted in the shooting deaths of 33-year-old Lashaun Sanders, 32-year-old Sara Marsh, and her unborn baby back on November 30, 2016, according to reports from Ravenna Police. 

Court documents show that Calhoun Jr. was on parole at the time of the shooting. 

He is believed to be armed and dangerous and police say he's likely in the Akron or Ravenna area. Anyone with informaiton is asked to call 866-4-WANTED. 

Summit County officials estimate that 2016 was a record-setting year for the number of drug overdose deaths in the county. 

Tests are still being conducted, and won't be completed until Spring, 2017, but officials estimate the total number of overdose deaths is somewhere between 225 and 250 for 2016. That would be an 11.3% increase over 2015, according to officials. 

Dr. Margo Erme with Summit County Public Health says, while the numbers are not surprising, there needs to be concentrated effort from health officials, law enforcement, and the public. "There is no one solution," Erme says. "We did not get to the situation overnight and it's multifactorial as to how we got here, so there is not going to be a single fix. 

Dr. Erme notes the number of visits to Summit County emergency departments that were attributed to drug overdoses was about 2,423. She says that has a lot to do with the prevalence of more deadly drugs, including fentanyl and carfental. 

In an abrupt move, Summa Health Systems replaced 65 Emergency Department doctors under Summa Emergency Associates with doctors from US Acute Care Solutions at five different hospitals in Akron, Green, Wadsworth, Medina, and Barberton on New Years Day. The move comes after contract talks between Summa and the doctors union broke down. 

Now, there are concerns that the move is going to affect patient care, ER wait times, EMS response times, and more. 

Summa Health has issued a statement in response to questions about the move: "The situation with our Emergency Department physicians was a contractual dispute. We've moved to a new provider for emergency services. The transition has been seamless with no impact on patient care." 

Still, concerns from local officials and the public are being voiced. 

One report indicates that the contract talks halted when ED doctors were not given contract lengths and job security they felt they deserved.