Craig M. Kitts, 44, was indicted earlier this year by a Portage County grand jury on one count of carrying a concealed weapon, a fourth-degree felony,

Craig M. Kitts, 44, was indicted earlier this year by a Portage County grand jury on one count of carrying a concealed weapon, a fourth-degree felony, and one count of possession of heroin, a fifth-degree felony.

Ravenna police spokesman Lt. David Rarrick said officers came into contact with Kitts on Sept. 4, 2009, while responding to a report of a suspicious person in the 400 block of South Walnut Street.

Officers checking the area located Kitts and questioned him, Rarrick said. While questioning Kitts and patting him down to make sure he was not armed, officers found a spring-loaded knife and heroin, he said.

Rarrick said Ravenna police have had numerous contacts with Kitts in the past. He said the seizure of the knife was a positive outcome as “someone with a concealed weapon is a concern to us.”

Kitts, who is currently incarcerated in a community-based corrections facility in Summit County, was granted a personal recognizance bond June 30 by Judge John Enlow during his arraignment on the charges in Portage County Common Pleas Court.

A trial date is set for Nov. 30, according to court records. The weapons charge is punishable by up to 18 months in prison, and the drug charge up to a year in prison.

The concealed weapons charge is a felony because of Kitts’ prior conviction on involuntary manslaughter and felony domestic violence charges in the November 2000 death of his wife, Lori Kitts.

According to prior accounts of the case in the Record-Courier, Craig and Lori Kitts got into an argument on Nov. 4, 2000, in their home at 121 Brady St. in Kent. A police investigation later revealed that Craig Kitts smashed his wife’s head between the front door and a wall of the house.

Lori Kitts, 27, was found unconscious 60 feet from the couple’s home in front of another house on Brady Street. She died the next day at Akron City Hospital. The couple were parents of an 18-month-old child.

An autopsy found that Lori Kitts had suffered numerous blunt force injuries to her head. Kent police arrested Craig Kitts on Nov. 17 and he was indicted a week later on murder and felony domestic violence charges.

A jury convicted Craig Kitts in February 2001 of involuntary manslaughter, a third-degree felony, and domestic violence, a fifth-degree felony, and he was sentenced in March 2001 by Portage County Common Pleas Judge Joseph Kainrad to six-years in prison, the maximum allowable by law on the two charges.

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Stephen ‘Aki’ Akinyemi, 44,‘King of the Hill’ found shot dead

‘King of the Hill’ found shot dead in the Cheshire mansion of a controversial businessman Arran Coghlan.Stephen ‘Aki’ Akinyemi, 44, was said to be a prominent member of the notorious Cheetham Hill gang, which is believed to be behind major crime and the supply of drugs in Manchester.He was known for enjoying champagne and cruising Manchester’s clubland in his silver Porsche, with the private registration AKI.He had a string of previous convictions and most recently had been jailed for 13 months in 2006 for violent disorder.At the time of his death, he was on bail for allegedly attacking someone with a baseball bat outside the Lounge 31 nightclub in the city centre in November.He was found with serious stab injuries at Mr Coghlan’s Alderley Edge home on Tuesday afternoon. He was wearing a stab vest.But a post-mortem examination revealed he had died of a gunshot wound, not knife injuries.Mr Coghlan was also discovered with stab injuries at the scene and he was taken to hospital under police guard. He was later discharged although he remains in police custody after being arrested on suspicion of murder.Last night a tribute page to Mr Akinyemi on social networking website Facebook, titled ‘RIP AKI’, had more than 600 members.
Mr Coghlan was cleared in 1996 of murdering Stockport ‘Mr Big’ Chris Little, who was shot dead at the wheel of his Mercedes.In 2003, Mr Coghlan stood trial for the murder of drug dealer David Barnshaw, who was kidnapped and forced to drink petrol before being burned alive in the back of a car in Stockport in 2001.But the case collapsed when it was revealed police had failed to pass on important information about another possible suspect.

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Glasgow firm Spyguard's general manager Gavin Scott, 64, and directors Paddy Dyer, 44, and Gary Fitzpatrick, 46, have all had their licences removed.

GANGLAND security firms are on the run after police chiefs started sharing secret files with industry watchdogs, we can reveal today.Strathclyde Police are handing over intelligence on rogue firms to the Security Industry Authority (SIA) - leading to dozens of people losing their licences because of underworld links.One company have already lost their SIA approved contractor status.One security source said: "The SIA have failed to clean up the industry partly because it hasn't got enough power."It's fantastic the police are now sharing what they know about these people. If that continues, it could make a real difference."Glasgow firm Spyguard's general manager Gavin Scott, 64, and directors Paddy Dyer, 44, and Gary Fitzpatrick, 46, have all had their licences removed.The SIA acted after police told them how the firm used intimidation to win contracts.Former Army sergeant and weapons instructor Scott unsucessfully appealed against losing his licence at Glasgow Sheriff Court.In a written judgement, Sheriff John Brown said: "Such information, in my view, entitles the SIA to take the action they have to suspend the licence in the public interest."Scott, from Yoker, Glasgow, said he had no idea if his employers were involved in organised crime.He added: "I'm being punished not for who I am but for who the police say I work for. Does anyone know who they work for? "I earn £300 a week as a supervisor. Does that sound like someone who is a bigtime crook? I was 22 years in the Gordon Highlanders. I have no criminal record yet am being treated like one."It seems everyone is being tarred with the same brush."
Others who have had their licences revoked include gangster Eli Webb, 44, who has walked free on five attempted murder charges.He lost his licence a week after the it was revealed he was linked to "roll wars" - in which bakery firms were targeted in a campaign of intimidation.An industry source said: "It's incredible that someone like Webb was even licensed in the first place."Barry Dempster - a 29-year-old tanning salon boss linked to Pegasus Security - has also lost his licence. He is the son of underworld figure Bobby 'The Devil' Dempster. Boss Stephen Palombo, 41, had won approved contractor status for his firm X714 by convincing the SIA they were legitimate.But X714 were stripped of the status because of their links to Willie Bennett, 50, an associate of the Daniel crime clan.Palombo, who also runs a drug-testing business for employers, was unavailable last night. A spokeswoman said: "He's out the country and X714 is no longer in business. I don't know the name Willie Bennett."The SIA also moved to end Motherwellbased Izon Security's approved contractor status over alleged links to drug dealer Thomas Allan, 50.But the firm successfully challenged the move at Hamilton Sheriff Court.A police source said: "We can now spell out in detail the connections between criminals in the background and the people fronting and running the firms."That allows the SIA to review the suitability of individual licence holders and any firms who have gained approved contractor status. There's a lot more to come."Those stripped of their licences are now barred by law from working in security.Lawyer Jim Kelly said he planned a second appeal on Scott's behalf.He added: "I believe that the police and the SIA are acting illegally in the way they target people they suspect are involved in crime."If people pass all the tests laid down by the SIA, then they should be allowed to hold a licence."

The SIA said: "We can suspend a licence if we think there is a risk to the public."

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