What really happened to Ryan Johnson

 

Larry Harmon and Ryan Johnson

 

A few years back, after a series of unflattering articles about his life appeared in the Beacon Journal, I befriended a young man named Ryan Johnson. He was a kid prodigy who lived in a million dollar home and got paid to write computer code and who sometimes experienced manic episodes that drove him to do odd things like move his living room furniture into the creek behind his house. He struck me as a modern-day Holden Caulfield. He said we’d work together on a profile one day, but in the meantime wanted me to read some of his short stories.

We never got around to that profile. And now Ryan is dead.

Like his life, Ryan’s death is becoming a bit of a mystery. I suspect we haven’t yet heard the complete story.

Read what we found in this week’s Independent.

I have asked the Akron Police Department to give this case the attention it deserves.

Martin Frantz Wants to Be Judge!

 

Too busy to call a dead girl's family back (that's Frantz in the Hawaiian shirt).

 

Oh My God.

Word came in this evening that Wayne County Prosecutor Martin Frantz is eyeing the Common Pleas bench of departing judge Robert Brown.

It would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.

We’re talking about Martin Frantz, here. The Martin Frantz who won’t test DNA evidence that could prove he sent a man to the Death House for a crime he did not commit and who let the real serial killer go because he had a slam-dunk case. The Martin Frantz who won’t give the family of a dead girl the time of day. The Martin Frantz who is more concerned about his win/loss record than any real justice.

I will devote as much time as possible to help the Democrat who runs against him. I will be in Wayne County passing out literature about this man to Republicans as well.

If you live in Wayne County, call your representative. Tell them Martin Frantz does not deserve to wear the robe.

The Thin Blue Line

 

Bad Cop!

 

Today’s Beacon has an incredible story about a rogue Akron cop who seems to enjoy locking up women who dare question his authority. This sort of thing goes on all the time in smaller jurisdictions, where there are no reporters to keep runaway lawmen in check. Well, Akron’s daily, though understaffed, is still able to shine some light on these cases. It’s another Phil Trexler special.

What I find most humorous, is how officer Donald Schismenos, who likes to intimidate weaker prey, cowers behind union officials instead of manning up and answering the paper’s questions. Schismenos faces a 15-day suspension for taking away a woman’s freedom. He should be fired.

”I don’t understand how one can only be given 15 days for taking someone’s freedom away from them, locking them up for two days, disobey a direct order, be less than truthful during an investigation and file false charges against someone,” said Phil Young, the city’s police auditor.

Read the rest here.