OH Pike County: 8 in Rhoden Family Murdered Over Custody Issue 4 Members Wagner Family Arrested#46

[Loomis124]

Billy was charged with 3 counts of receiving stolen property and also has a gun charge. The gun charge goes along with what you are saying about a possible history of a "gun mentality in solving problems."


Father charged in Pike County murders had past brushes with law
PORTSMOUTH

A Dayton Daily News examination of Billy Wagner’s life in southern Ohio shows repeated run-ins with the law on various criminal allegations. One incident remains seared in the memory of the man who says he experienced it.

Brad Uhl remembers the summer day the man in the white Jeep flashed a handgun at him, his teenage daughter, and his teenage niece during “a bit of road rage” on U.S. 23 near Lucasville, between Piketon and Portsmouth.

“It’s something you don’t forget,” Uhl said.

The incident — the details of which the Dayton Daily News is reporting for the first time — resulted in Billy Wagner pleading no contest to charges he improperly handled a loaded .40-caliber Glock handgun, according to the Portsmouth Municipal Court.

Billy Wagner’s wife, Angela Wagner, was similarly charged in the 2001 case, though records show her case was dismissed.

‘He was flashing it at us’

An Ohio State Highway Patrol investigation report shows troopers understood Uhl’s call to police as him reporting “a male driver was holding a handgun to the head of a woman passenger.”

But Uhl — contacted by the newspaper — disputes the Highway Patrol’s records in the incident. The gun was not pointed at a woman’s head, he told the newspaper, “He was flashing it at us.”

“He wouldn’t let me pass him,” Uhl said, recalling his car and the Jeep both met at a stoplight. “There was never a gun held to anyone’s head, he just held up the gun to say, ‘I mean business.’”

“The light turned green, he stood there for a second, I let him go and then made a call to the state patrol,” Uhl said.

About 15 minutes later, down the road about five miles, Uhl saw troopers pulled the driver over.

Uhl said he does not remember a woman in the car. The patrol’s records show otherwise. Both Wagners, the report indicates, were taken to the patrol post for questioning after troopers observed a black handgun in a purse on the passenger side.

Frank Gerlach — Billy Wagner’s attorney at the time — reviewed his 2001 files at the newspaper’s request. Neither Gerlach’s recollection nor his records indicate a gun was held to anyone’s head.

“I would have remembered something like that,” Gerlach said, though he acknowledged he did not recall representing Billy Wagner at all until the newspaper stopped by his Portsmouth office last week. Coincidentally, Gerlach said, he currently represents Angela Wagner’s mother on allegations she helped cover up the 2016 murders and forged custody documents.

Billy Wagner was sentenced to 30 days jail time in the 2001 case, which was suspended in lieu of one-year probation, the records show. He was also sentenced to a $100 fine and ordered to pay court costs — altogether $223. And while the gun was confiscated and ordered destroyed, Billy Wagner faced no penalty under Ohio law restricting his future use of weapons.

Full article here includes Billy's receiving stolen property charges: Father charged in Pike County murders had past brushes with law

I think it is very interesting that the same attorneys have been with the Ws forever, in all their dirty business and arrests. Frank Gerlach, in this article, is RN's current attorney. RNR, family and attorney, many many times represented them. MM, the one in big do dee now, their attny friend. And let's not forget Marshall, who resigned. And PFP is on tons of property deals. All on court and property records of the 5 Wags/codefendants in this case, however FW is not charged with capital offenses as the other 4 are. JMO

 

[Cool Cats]

Tuesday:
4-16.... 9:30am-- Status Conference-- Jake

 

[Loomis124]

Tuesday:
4-16.... 9:30am-- Status Conference-- Jake

Behind closed doors between the prosecution and defense attorneys. Jake waived his right to be there.

I wonder if any of the information from this meeting will reach the media since this is not in open court and there is a gag order in place..........Hmmmm

CC, where did you read that this is behind closed doors? TIA

 

[OhioBlues]

Billy was charged with 3 counts of receiving stolen property and also has a gun charge. The gun charge goes along with what you are saying about a possible history of a "gun mentality in solving problems."


Father charged in Pike County murders had past brushes with law
PORTSMOUTH

A Dayton Daily News examination of Billy Wagner’s life in southern Ohio shows repeated run-ins with the law on various criminal allegations. One incident remains seared in the memory of the man who says he experienced it.

Brad Uhl remembers the summer day the man in the white Jeep flashed a handgun at him, his teenage daughter, and his teenage niece during “a bit of road rage” on U.S. 23 near Lucasville, between Piketon and Portsmouth.

“It’s something you don’t forget,” Uhl said.

The incident — the details of which the Dayton Daily News is reporting for the first time — resulted in Billy Wagner pleading no contest to charges he improperly handled a loaded .40-caliber Glock handgun, according to the Portsmouth Municipal Court.

Billy Wagner’s wife, Angela Wagner, was similarly charged in the 2001 case, though records show her case was dismissed.

‘He was flashing it at us’

An Ohio State Highway Patrol investigation report shows troopers understood Uhl’s call to police as him reporting “a male driver was holding a handgun to the head of a woman passenger.”

But Uhl — contacted by the newspaper — disputes the Highway Patrol’s records in the incident. The gun was not pointed at a woman’s head, he told the newspaper, “He was flashing it at us.”

“He wouldn’t let me pass him,” Uhl said, recalling his car and the Jeep both met at a stoplight. “There was never a gun held to anyone’s head, he just held up the gun to say, ‘I mean business.’”

“The light turned green, he stood there for a second, I let him go and then made a call to the state patrol,” Uhl said.

About 15 minutes later, down the road about five miles, Uhl saw troopers pulled the driver over.

Uhl said he does not remember a woman in the car. The patrol’s records show otherwise. Both Wagners, the report indicates, were taken to the patrol post for questioning after troopers observed a black handgun in a purse on the passenger side.

Frank Gerlach — Billy Wagner’s attorney at the time — reviewed his 2001 files at the newspaper’s request. Neither Gerlach’s recollection nor his records indicate a gun was held to anyone’s head.

“I would have remembered something like that,” Gerlach said, though he acknowledged he did not recall representing Billy Wagner at all until the newspaper stopped by his Portsmouth office last week. Coincidentally, Gerlach said, he currently represents Angela Wagner’s mother on allegations she helped cover up the 2016 murders and forged custody documents.

Billy Wagner was sentenced to 30 days jail time in the 2001 case, which was suspended in lieu of one-year probation, the records show. He was also sentenced to a $100 fine and ordered to pay court costs — altogether $223. And while the gun was confiscated and ordered destroyed, Billy Wagner faced no penalty under Ohio law restricting his future use of weapons.

Full article here includes Billy's receiving stolen property charges: Father charged in Pike County murders had past brushes with law

Surprise. No jail time for threatening someone with a gun. I bet they lived their whole lives with no real consequences for their actions and probably thought they could get away with murder.

 

[rsd1200]

Well, it shows one thing. Angela likely has the same "gun solves problems" mentality.

There's always self-preservation. I worked for an org that assisted women in abusive relationships in breaking free (one of their ministries). A friend of mine used them. If he diffused things, that way, she'd likely have handed him the firearm. Idk the dynamics of their household, but you'd not believe some of the things that happened to my friend and most folks thought she was married to a funny, handsome, wonderful, man, when in fact he was the devil in disguise.

Edit; As I said, Idk their family dynamics. Just thinking of diff scenarios.

 

[Loomis124]

D

 

[sunshineray]

I wonder what would happen if one of them confessed to get LWOP but said Angie had nothing to do with it. You could pin it on the guys and leave out Angie. Just shopping for things at Wallmart is not enough. And I don't think she went to the crime scenes, I believe she stayed home to babysit and create an alibi that they were home that night.

Now the only way any of them will cop a plea deal to avoid the DP is if the first Wagner gets tried and gets found guilty and gets the DP. Then the Wagner getting tried next will see all the evidence and may be advised to plea. But in that case what if that Wagner insisted Angie or even Jake had nothing to do with it?

What if the Wagner's had a third son living with them but they kept that son 100% in the dark? Just because they live together does not prove all are guilty. Could a defense attorney prove one was in the dark?

I'm not pro Wagner, I was just thinking about it from the defendant's view point and thinking about various scenarios......Just mulling it over......2 Cents.......

I have to believe that evidence was shown to the GJ that implements all charged. LE waited to seat a GJ. They may have had damning evidence earlier on about one or two, felt that the others had to of known, been accomplishes even if they didn't pull a trigger and kept investigating until they had them all dead to rights.

 

[sunshineray]

This is the aspect that interests me about the psychology of it. I agree there was some type of 'trigger' to set the process of planning in motion, what I wonder is, why was the family so primed to 'go ballistic' over their hurt feelings. (Deliberate gun metaphors).

IMO there must have been a long-standing pattern of admiring gun violence as the ultimate way to solve problems like resentment or not getting what you want. Lots of 'I'll shoot that SOB', 'I'd like to blow them all away', rather than ever considering turning the other cheek, etc. So then, when someone said 'I want to kill her', it wasn't a shocking idea, the response of the others may have been more like, 'well, let's finally do it for real, instead of just talking about it'.

I think the main target was HR, the plot to kill the others may have emerged to cover up the crime: confuse police as to motive (Mexican drug gang, etc), plus remove anyone who might be able to implicate the W's. But perhaps it wasn't hard to massacre the Rhodens because the W's had a lot of hatred of others and pent-up violent fantasies of mass murder against everyone they disliked, it was like a dam busting and propelling them into it.

And don't forget the money. At some point they all knew that the little ones would inherit and control the purse strings on quite a lot of money. No outsiders allowed to be intimately involved in their legacy. AJMO

 

[Loomis124]

FrescaandSouthernComfort, if you're lurking, do you know if JWs status conference coming up the 16th will be publicized in open court or private in judges chambers? TIA

 

[sunshineray]

One thing that stood out to me in the "flashing the handgun" portion, is that AW had it in her purse. So she would have been the one to hand him the firearm. Instead of trying to diffuse the situation, she did as asked/told (?), and gave it to him. Who does that? Someone who does as their man tells them, or someone who also does not know how to diffuse a situation, but rather brings a can of gasoline to throw on the fire.

Honestly, I see it more along the lines of he's flashing his gun because he's being juvenile about a car with a man and two teenage girls passing him. He's feeling all big and bad until the cop car shows up behind him to pull them over. What does he do? What controlling guys do, gives the incriminating evidence to the woman, let her get caught with it in her possession. Not the first time I've heard that senario. AJMO

 

[Betty P]

From Franklin County, OH courts, here's an informational paper with rules about status conferences in the Court of Common Pleas. Very informative as to purposes for it, who attends, etc. It can even be conducted as a conference call.

https://www.fccourts.org/gen/WebFront.nsf/wp/DA9937FBE016A822852575A7003C173C/$FILE/LocalRule_41.pdf

whether held by telephone conference call or in person, the discussion should include, but not be limited to:
1.Joinder of parties;
2.Third-party practice;
3.Amendment of the pleadings;
4.Issues concerning jurisdiction and venue;
5.Service of process;
6.Default judgment;
7.Motions under Civil Rules 12, 19 and 56;
8.Issues concerning the statute of limitations;
9.Proper classification and tracking assignment ofi.the case;
10.The need for alteration of the schedule of events onii.the track;
11.Use of arbitration, mediation, or other means of iii.dispute resolution; and
12.Settlement.

JMO, I don't think it's public, but the results are probably made public. IANAL.

Looking at other search results online, it appears for these cases, this might be a time (though not the only time) when a plea deal can be made.

IANAL. JMO.

 

[Cool Cats]

CC, where did you read that this is behind closed doors? TIA

@Loomis124 I edited my post because I could be wrong. From my research on Status Conferences it sounded like they were only between the Judge and attorneys. And I read they can be done over the phone.

However, I can't find an article that actually comes out and says they are closed to the public and never held in open court. So I edited my post. Thanks for having me check more closely into it. I told you, you always keep me thinking...LOL

Sorry I can't be of more help on this! Guess have to wait for Tuesday!

 

[FrescaandSouthernComfort]

FrescaandSouthernComfort, if you're lurking, do you know if JWs status conference coming up the 16th will be publicized in open court or private in judges chambers? TIA

Just a meeting with the Judge and the attorneys. The purpose is to keep the Judge up to date on
what is happening. These conferences are at pretrial and tells the Judge of the progress the
attorneys are making. There is no evidence, motion, etc discussed so there is no need for the
defendant to be present. Some are even held by phone conferencing. Probably, Judge Denning
is dotting his Is and crossing his Ts.

 

[FrescaandSouthernComfort]

Just a meeting with the Judge and the attorneys. The purpose is to keep the Judge up to date on
what is happening. These conferences are at pretrial and tells the Judge of the progress the
attorneys are making. There is no evidence, motion, etc discussed so there is no need for the
defendant to be present. Some are even held by phone conferencing. Probably, Judge Denning
is dotting his Is and crossing his Ts.

P. S. The conference will be shorter in time than Billy's last court appearance...

 

[Loomis124]

Just a meeting with the Judge and the attorneys. The purpose is to keep the Judge up to date on
what is happening. These conferences are at pretrial and tells the Judge of the progress the
attorneys are making. There is no evidence, motion, etc discussed so there is no need for the
defendant to be present. Some are even held by phone conferencing. Probably, Judge Denning
is dotting his Is and crossing his Ts.

TY! I searched and even asked on here a week or so ago and got no answers. So thanks a bunch!

 

[FrescaandSouthernComfort]

TY! I searched and even asked on here a week or so ago and got no answers. So thanks a bunch!

You are very welcome. Seems I gave the Judge a new name. Should have typed Deering.

 

[Puzzles8]

I have to state JMO since I can't cite this.

The days of the 20 and 21st she was looking for places and looking for jobs for the boys on public forums in Alaska.

You have to wonder why able bodied adult children need their mother to find them jobs.
I also find it extremely odd FW still buys RW's jeans for her.

The level of dependence between generations in this family is extreme. I guess another example of an "enmeshed family".

What month/year do the 20th and 21st refer to?

 

[Puzzles8]

I hoping someone can help sequence events in the 2017 time frame.

I'm assuming they were in Ohio the dates of their LE interviews. At least Jake and Billy were in their AK rental by the 3rd week of June 2017.

They closed on the Peterson property March 2017. Where did they live until they left for AK?

When they left for AK(hauling 2 large trailers), did they tell people it was a "vacation" and just not return? Or did they vacation there earlier in the year (2017), come back to Ohio and then move to AK later in the year?

Were the trailers they took to AK, the same ones that were searched May 2017 at the property on 41? I remember they searched 2 large trailers and an enclosed trailer (that might have been confiscated by LE during the search). That suggests they were planning to use 3 vehicles for towing trailers to AK.

What happened to the semi they owned?

I don't need links to articles, JMO's will due!
Thanks!

 

[Cool Cats]

Surprise. No jail time for threatening someone with a gun. I bet they lived their whole lives with no real consequences for their actions and probably thought they could get away with murder.

Ha! Then you'll like to hear this. When Billy was caught by police officers with a bunch of stolen property in his shed, he claimed he just bought the stuff off some unknown guy and can he just "pay a fine."

He had that same type of attitude in Lexington. "What's going on?" And "I guess so." While handcuffed and while in front of the judge. That attitude of "I don't know what's going on can mommy's money take care of it?

He skirts by on gun charges and on 3 counts of receiving stolen property. Rich mommy and daddy were always there to "take up for him." Am I reading too much into it and really he's a genius pretending to only have a 7th grade education? Nah...I don't think so.....LOL.....

 

[Tiff23fr]

You have to wonder why able bodied adult children need their mother to find them jobs.
I also find it extremely odd FW still buys RW's jeans for her.

The level of dependence between generations in this family is extreme. I guess another example of an "enmeshed family".

What month/year do the 20th and 21st refer to?

April 2016