Willie S. Hicks, III has been sentenced to 18-years-to-life in prison after entering a guilty plea in the shooting death of Lentheric Caldwell back in January of 2016. 

The shooting happened at the Hi-De-Ho Lounge on Vernon Odom Boulevard in Akron. Witnesses say 44-year-old Hicks entered the bar, pulled out a gun, and then shot the 39-year-old Caldwell in the chest. Hicks fled the scene, but was caught up with by police shortly after.

Hicks entered a guilty plea to one count of murder and one firearm specific violation. In court, it is reported that Hicks took responsibility for the crime and apologized to Caldwell's family. He was sentenced by Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Scot Stevenson to 15-years-to-life for the murder charge and an additional 3 years on the firearm violation.  

After a two-touchdown performance in the Brown and Orange Scrimmage at Ohio Stadium in Columbus Saturday, the Browns have officially named Robert Griffin III the team's starting quarterback. Griffin signed with the team this offseason after four years with the Washington Redskins. 

Below is the official press release from the Cleveland Browns regarding Griffin: 

Robert Griffin III has been named the Browns starting quarterback, Hue Jackson announced Monday.

Griffin III, who signed with the Browns in March after four seasons with the Washington Redskins, emerged from a four-man competition that included veteran Josh McCown, Austin Davis and rookie Cody Kessler. He’ll receive his first startFriday in Cleveland’s preseason opener at Green Bay.

Jackson believes Griffin’s best football is ahead of him.

"It's time. Robert has earned the right to be named the starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns," Jackson said. "Since he was signed back in March, Robert has made it clear through his actions that he is willing to do everything that has been asked of him to earn this role. Throughout this process he has gained the respect from his teammates, the coaching staff and the entire organization that is necessary for him to lead our offense and really the entire team. Pep (Hamilton) has done an outstanding job with that room to get us to this point so we can make this decision at what I feel is the optimal time which enables us to best prepare for the regular season. It's now on Robert to show the organization and our fans that this is the right decision. Throughout the offseason program and training camp, Robert has shown improvement every day and we expect him to continue to ascend as he becomes more and more acclimated to the offensive system we will employ this season. I've been crystal clear on what we expect from Robert. He fully understands the responsibility and I feel he is ready to handle this role."

"I would be remiss if I didn't also commend Josh, Austin and Cody. Josh in particular has been outstanding throughout this process and all of our quarterbacks have worked well together. Their play, professionalism and work ethic has pushed the room to really improve the level of play at the position for our team."

Since training camp opened last week, Griffin has primarily worked with the first-team offense. At Friday’s live, 11-on-11 scrimmage in Berea, he connected with rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman on multiple long passes, including one for a touchdown, and tossed a short touchdown pass to tight end Connor Hamlett. On Saturday at the Orange and Brown Scrimmage in Columbus, Griffin consistently moved the offense down the field and threw two touchdown passes.

Griffin (6-foot-2, 218 pounds) is entering his fifth NFL season out of Baylor. Originally selected by Washington with the second overall pick in 2012, Griffin has appeared in 37 games with 35 starts. He has completed 679 of 1,063 passes (63.9 percent) for 8,097 yards with 40 touchdowns, 23 interceptions and a 90.6 rating and added 1,480 career rushing yards with eight scores.

Griffin set NFL rookie records for passer rating (102.4), interception percentage (1.27) and rushing yards by a quarterback (815) en route to being named 2012 Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year and a Pro Bowl selection. He led the Redskins to a 10-6 record and their first division title in 13 years.

Starting 13 games in 2013, Griffin recorded a career-high 3,203 passing yards and became the fifth quarterback in NFL history to record 3,000 passing yards in each of his first two seasons. He started seven games in 2014 and registered 1,694 passing yards. Last season, he was inactive 15 games and dressed but did not play in another.

The Ohio National Guard revealed their plans for improvements projects at Camp Ravenna Joint Military Training Center on Thursday. Included in the project is a $3.7 million Modified Record Fire Range, a $477,000 Fire and Movement Range (originally expected to cost $3.5 million), and a $5.1 million Sewer and Water Project; all part of the effort to train more U.S. Soldiers more thoroughly in Northeast Ohio.

Brig. Gen. Anthony P. Digiacomo II said, during the ceremony, the project has been more than a decade in the works, and means a lot to him personally.

Thursday's ceremonies included the ground breaking ceremony for the modified range, the First Shot Ceremony on the new fire and movement range, and the ribbon cutting ceremony at the site of the sewer and water project. You can see more, including a video of the First Shot Ceremony on our 1590 WAKR Facebook page.

Former Cleveland Brown Reggie Rucker was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison Wednesday for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars through a charity fund he helped manage. 

Details of the case reveal that Rucker used money intended for the Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance and Amer-I-Can foundations to pay off gambling debts, his mortgage, and other personal expenses. 

Earlier in 2016 Rucker admitted to the fraud in federal court, but sentencing was delayed while the former NFL wide receiver underwent tests to determine whether or not past concussions played a factor in his decision making abilities. On Wednesday, Federal Court Judge Dan Polster handed down the sentence, and Rucker's attorney requested the sentence be carried out at the federal facility in Morgantown, West Virginia. He will remain free for about 30 days and then will begin his sentence. In addition, Rucker was ordered to pay more than $110,000 in restitution. 

Reggie Rucker played for the Cleveland Browns from 1975 through 1981. 

ODOT posted on Twitter late Tuesday night that they're postponing their scheduled ramp closures throughout the Central Interchange in Akron. ODOT spokesman Brent Kovacs tells 1590 WAKR that the contractor did not get the detour signs up in time for the work, thus delaying the project that is scheduled to take about 3 months. 

Here is our previous story explaining what ramps will be closed when the project resumes. 

Akron Police are asking the public's help in identifying a man who robbed a Dollar General employee while the employee was leaving to make a bank deposit. The store is located at 994 Brown St. in Akron. Police say the suspect is a white male, between 25 and 27 years old, with short, light-colored hair. See more in the surveillance video below, courtesy of Akron Police: 

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's office released a statement Monday morning regarding their pursuit of restitution for consumers who purchased generators from RHI Incorporated and never recieved them. 

A lawsuit that has been filed claims that Marc J. Ryder, owner of RHI Incorporated, violated Ohio's Consumer Sales Practices Act and Home Solicitaiton Sales Act in various counties, including Summit. 

Below is the full press release: 

(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today announced a lawsuit seeking restitution from a seller accused of failing to deliver generators sold to Ohio consumers.

The lawsuit accuses Marc J. Ryder, doing business as RHI Incorporated, of violating Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act and Home Solicitation Sales Act.

Ryder sold generators to consumers of multiple Ohio counties, including Franklin, Summit, Muskingum, and Delaware, in some cases at home and garden shows or similar events. In the past two years, 10 consumers filed complaints against RHI, generally saying that they paid thousands of dollars for a generator they still had not received months after the sale. Two of the 10 complaints remain unresolved.  

“Our goal is to protect consumers,” Attorney General DeWine said. “We’re seeking reimbursement for consumers who have lost money and an end to any violations of Ohio’s consumer protection laws.”

Filed in the Franklin County Common Pleas Court on Friday, the Attorney General’s lawsuit accuses Ryder of failing to deliver products or services within the required eight-week time frame, failing to register a business name, and failing to give consumers proper notice of their right to cancel under Ohio’s Home Solicitation Sales Act. The Attorney General seeks an end to any violations of these laws, consumer damages, and civil penalties. 

Attorney General DeWine encouraged consumers to be cautious when making large purchases from vendors. Tips to avoid problems include:

• Research a seller carefully. Check for complaints filed with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and Better Business Bureau. Find out if the business name is registered with the Ohio Secretary of State. (Unless a seller is operating under his or her own personal name, the name generally should be registered.) Check online reviews to learn more about a seller.
• Independently verify a seller’s claims. If a vendor claims to be an authorized dealer or to be affiliated with a larger company, contact the company to verify these claims. Don’t rely only on what the seller tells you. Also make sure the seller puts any verbal promises in writing. Otherwise they are not guaranteed.
• Check your cancellation rights. Ohio’s Home Solicitation Sales Act gives consumers a three-day right to cancel many sales made outside a seller’s normal place of business, such as at a home show or fair. Sellers are required to give you notice of these cancellation rights.
• Consider paying with a credit card, if possible. If you pay with a credit card, you generally have stronger protections to dispute unauthorized charges. On the other hand, if you pay with cash or check, it’s generally harder to dispute or recover your costs if something goes wrong.

Consumers who suspect a scam or unfair business practice should contact the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at www.OhioProtects.org or 800-282-0515.

A copy of the lawsuit is available on the Ohio Attorney General’s website.

Akron Police are asking for help identifying a suspect who robbed the LoanMax at 1340 East Tallmadge Avenue just before 4 p.m. Wednesday. Below is a video of the incident with more details from Akron PD. WARNING: SOME GRAPHIC LANGUAGE: 

The Former Ohio Governor spoke to the Ohio Delegation Thursday morning, ahead of the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. He touched on the race for the White House, Donald Trump, and the "all-important" Senate race in Ohio.

FirstMerit Bank will sell 13 branches within Stark and Ashtabula counties to First Commonwealth Bank, the subsidiary of First Commonwealth Financial Corp. The announcement came Wednesday morning from Huntington Bancshares Inc. and FirstMerit Corp. 

The sale is part of the agreement reached with the U.S. Department of Justice to help resolve banking competition concerns on behalf of the department. 

FirstMerit and Huntington said 80 employees between the branches will join First Commonwealth following required regulatory approvals.

The banks have a combined $735 million in total deposits and $115 million in total loans as of May 31. Customers will be provided additional information on the branches that have been slated for divestiture, the statement said. The conversions are not expected to be completed by the end of the fourth quarter of 2016.

The following is a list of the branches that are affected:

Stark County: 

• 140 Lincoln Way West, Massillon
   
• 2704 Lincoln Way East, Massillon
   
• 5594 Wales Ave. Northwest, Massillon
   
• 100 Central Plaza South, Canton
   
• 1110 30th St. Northwest, Canton
   
• 2917 Whipple Ave. Northwest, Canton
   
• 3100 Atlantic Boulevard Northeast, Canton
   
• 308 E. Gorgas St., Louisville

• 6252 Middlebranch Ave. Northeast, North Canton
   
• 4555 Belden Village St. Northwest, Canton
   
• 2150 Locust St. South, Canal Fulton 
• Ashtabula County: 

• 4200 Park Ave., Ashtabula
   
• 22 W Jefferson St., Jefferson