He is not facing any charges in connection to the deadly shooting as of Monday afternoon. Village and state law enforcement officials have not released details about the Thursday evening shooting in Yellow Springs though the Greene County Coroner’s Office says a 71-year-old woman is dead.
Around 6:15 p.m. Sunday, Bleything reportedly rang the doorbell of a West South College Street home, according to court records.
A man answered the door and Bleything allegedly pointed a gun at him.
“In the victim’s statement, he says, ‘I went to open the door; I saw a black gun pointed at my head,’” according to an affidavit.
The man shut the door and ran to his father’s room before calling 911, court records say.
Once reviewing doorbell camera footage, the man and his sister were able to identify the armed man as Bleything, according to court documents.
Bleything was arrested in Springfield by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation agents. He reportedly disposed of the gun before his arrest, but evidence related to the gun has since been recovered.
The Greene County Prosecutor’s Office is requesting $1 million bond because “the defendant is the prime suspect in the fatal shooting of an elderly female in Yellow Springs on March 14, 2024,” according to a filing by the prosecutor’s office.
“The state expects to file charges related to the homicide in the future,” says the filing from Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Suzanne Schmidt.
PREVIOUS REPORTING:
The Village of Yellow Springs posted on Facebook around 9:30 p.m. Sunday asking residents to shelter in place due to a police and Ohio BCI investigation near West South College Street.
“We are asking residents to stay in place,” the post read. “Refrain from answering your doors if someone approaches, and refrain from calling dispatch unless there is relevant information in reference to this alert.”
They encouraged anyone who saw the man to call 911, but urged residents not to approach or attempt to contact him.
At 10:58 p.m., the village posted an update saying the man was in custody.
Yellow Springs schools remained closed Monday after the district sent out a notice Sunday saying schools would be closed “out of an abundance of caution.”
It was not immediately clear if the investigation was related to a reported assault in the 600 block of South High Street Thursday where police issued a Signal 99, or call for officer assistance.
“While in route, YSPD received additional information from dispatchers, details of which are unable to be released at this time, indicating the initial report of an assault to be incomplete and prompting an escalated response,” read a social media post from the village.
Ohio BCI spokesman Dominic Binkley confirmed last week the agency was requested to assist Yellow Springs Police Department with an investigation.
Officials have refused to provide the public details of the Thursday incident.
Neither BCI nor Yellow Springs officials would provide details on Friday of the incident or if anyone was hurt or killed. They referred to the incident as an “assault.”
A Dayton Daily News reporter personally visited the village police station Friday and requested an incident report, 911 call and dispatch logs, none of which has been provided.
The Greene County Coroner’s Office said they responded to the scene, but referred all further questions to BCI and Yellow Springs.
