LORAIN — A violent criminal wanted by police in Cuyahoga and Lorain counties was tracked down by the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force and arrested in Puerto Rico early Tuesday.

Andres Arzola fled to the city of Ponce after police say he attempted to rob a Lorain man in the Lake Motel last month and beat the victim with the butt of a gun.

Lorain police say Arzola and several associates dragged the man into the motel and demanded his money, and the victim began fighting his attackers.

Shortly after the alleged robbery attempt, Arzola fled Ohio, police said. Lorain police issued a warrant for Arzola, charging him with felonious assault, aggravated burglary and kidnapping.

Deputy marshals and task force officers from the Lorain Police Department, Elyria Police Department, Oberlin Police Department, Sheffield Police Department and the Solon Police Department in Cuyahoga County worked with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office to apprehend Arzola.

Officers tracked Arzola by identifying and going after several known associates until being led to Arzola’s relatives in Puerto Rico.

“The results of our task force partners working together can clearly be seen in this case,” Assistant Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Drew Deserto said. “This fugitive was allegedly involved in several acts of extreme violence and was considered a danger to society.”

Arzola also was wanted by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office for 12 counts of armed robbery and 12 counts of kidnapping. Those charges stem from an April 17 incident in which police say Arzola and several associates allegedly robbed a high-stakes poker game in Solon where a dozen poker players allegedly lost $50,000 in cash and approximately $25,000 in jewelry.

Arzola is currently awaiting extradition and will be brought back to Ohio to face his charges.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

Drugs headed for the Chicago area were intercepted in Lorain County during a traffic stop on the Ohio Turnpike on Monday afternoon, leading to the arrest of an Illinois man, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol.

The bust yielded 31 pounds of BC Bud marijuana, a highly potent form of marijuana typically grown in British Columbia. It has a THC content — the element in marijuana that gives it its potency — of 30 percent, compared with only 4 percent in typical marijuana.

The marijuana, believed to be valued at more than $124,000, was found in a suitcase and duffel bag in the back of a 2009 Toyota Prius driven by 32-year-old Jose Duran of Aurora, Ill., trooper said.

The drugs were individually packaged in several dozen small resealable plastic bags.

According to troopers, Duran was heading west on the Ohio Turnpike shortly before 4:30 p.m. when he was pulled over by troopers near milepost 149 in Amherst Township.

Sgt. Richard Reeder said Duran was going 71 mph in a 65 mph zone prior to being stopped and failed to stay within the marked lanes.

During the stop, troopers say Duran gave conflicting stories and seemed overly nervous, both of which prompted troopers to call for a drug-sniffing K-9.

Duran was charged with possession of drugs, a third-degree felony. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He was taken to the Lorain County Jail.

Reeder said Duran was not cooperative with investigators and has refused to answer questions about where he was coming or going, but troopers believe the drugs were headed for Chicago.

Through August 2009, troopers throughout Ohio have seized more than 3 million grams of drugs valued at approximately $19.3 million. In 2008, the patrol seized more than 5.2 million grams of drugs valued at approximately $47.5 million.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

OBERLIN — Police are investigating allegations that money is missing from the Eastwood Parent Teacher Organization, according to Oberlin Schools Superintendent Geoffrey Andrews.

A sum of money in excess of $1,000 was supposed to be transferred from the PTO to another organization but “the transfer never happened,” Andrews said.

He said he was told of the allegation several weeks ago and reported the matter to police, who are investigating.

The money is not comprised of public funds involving the Oberlin Schools, Andrews said.

Police did not return several calls seeking comment.

ELYRIA — Authorities are searching for three girls who walked away from the Pathways Group Home on Sunday night.

Lorain County Juvenile Court Administrator Doug Messer said two other girls who also walked away from the facility Sunday already have been arrested and were being held at the county Juvenile Detention Home.

Messer said three girls walked away from the facility at 8 p.m. and, two hours later, the other two girls left.

Pathways is a group home for girls and those staying there wouldn’t be stopped by staff members if they left, he said, although they would face sanctions from the court for doing so.

The two girls who have been found are a 16-year-old girl who was in the facility on a misdemeanor assault charge, and a 17-year-old girl who was there on a domestic violence charge.

The three girls who are still free are a 16-year-old girl with breaking and entering charges, another 16-year-old with a domestic violence charge and a 17-year-old with an unauthorized use of a motor vehicle charge.

Messer said it’s not unheard of for girls to simply walk out of the facility.

“Sometimes they leave,” he said. “Sometimes they come back.”

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.

Daniel Komarek Donald Herbert Lamson Read the full obituaries on The Gazette E-dition at: http://medinagazette.oh.newsmemory.com/

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