Sergeant Glenn Sturgill
August 2, 1982 Det. Sgt. Glenn Sturgill was killed in the line of duty
by three armed robbers inside the city of Ashland. Sgt. Sturgill had
been following three suspicious males during the evening hours and observed
the three use a shotgun in a robbery attempt at the Fisher Big Wheel
store on Claremont Ave. The three approached a female in the parking
lot and demanded her car. The female dropped a large glass jug she was
carrying and the three males ran from the scene. Sgt. Sturgill then
exited his unmarked unit and pursued the three males across the street
into a cornfield behind McDonald's restaurant. The investigation showed
that Sgt. Sturgill apprehended one of the males. Unknown to him, one
of the other two was hiding behind a trash dumpster and fired one shot
at Sgt. Sturgill striking him in the right-lower side and the angle
of the rifled slug went upward and struck his heart, killing him instantly.
Sgt. Sturgill fell backwards into the cornfield where he died. Within
8 hours, all three suspects had been located and were taken into custody.
All three subjects were tried, convicted, and sentenced to prison for
murder. Detective Sergeant Sturgill was killed on his 30th birthday.
He left behind a wife, Becky, and two children. Detective Sergeant Glenn
Sturgill had served the County for 6 years.
The Command Center built at the Ashland County Fairgrounds was dedicated
in part to the memory of Detective Sergeant Glenn Sturgill. The main
driveway at the Justice Complex was named Sturgill Drive in his memory.
Lieutenant John P. Gisclon
On January 14, 1995, Lt. John
P. Gisclon was on overtime duty and had been working a breaking and
entering on Rt. 250 East at a local gunshop. One suspect was arrested
at the scene by an undercover detective captain. The captain wasn't
sure if he had arrested the only suspect. A search was conducted in
the area with no one being located. Around 3:00am, Lt. Gisclon stopped
a male walking on Rt. 250 North in Bailey Lakes. Lt. Gisclon called
for a Ohio Highway Patrol Trooper in the area to meet with him at that
location. Trooper Lee Sredniawa arrived within seconds. The trooper
found only Lt. Gisclon's cruiser parked in the roadway. The trooper
exited his cruiser and walked slowly toward Lt. Gisclon's cruiser. The
suspect jumped up from behind Lt. Gisclon's cruiser and started shooting
at the trooper, hitting him in the left leg. The suspect ran towards
the trooper and started to attack the trooper. A hand-to-hand fight
turned into a very close gunfight, which caused the trooper to be shot
again. The trooper was finally able to shoot and kill the suspect. The
trooper called for help and was able to get behind Lt. Gisclon's cruiser.
He found the Lieutenant lying on his back in the roadway, unconscious
from a gunshot wound. First responding sheriff's deputies arrived and
started CPR on Lt. Gisclon. The squad arrived and transported him to
the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Lt. Gisclon left behind a
wife, Renee, and two small daughters. Lieutenant John P. Gisclon had
served the County for 21 years.
The Command Center built at the Ashland County Fairgrounds was dedicated
in part to the memory of Lieutenant John P. Gisclon. The west entrance
to the Justice Complex was named Gisclon Drive in his memory.
Trooper James
R. Gross
Ohio Highway Patrol Post 3
January 12, 1969 - January 19, 1996
Hometown: Brunswick
124th Academy Class: June 25, 1993
Trooper Gross of the Ashland post was slain during a traffic stop on Interstate
71 in Ashland County. He responded to a CB-radio report of an erratic
driver and, upon approaching the vehicle, was shot twice. The suspect
was subsequently captured and convicted of capital murder and sentenced
to death.
James Robert
Gross was born January 12, 1969, to Robert and Barbara Gross. He graduated
from Brunswick High School in 1987, then attended Akron University where
he received an associate degree in criminal justice in 1991. While working
his way through college as a restaurant manager, Jim Gross met Veronica
Watson -- the future Mrs. James Gross, to whom he was married on August
21, 1993, two months after graduating from the 124th Academy Class. During
his brief career, he served at Mt. Gilead and Ashland.
Trooper
James R. Gross Memorial Highway
Members of the
Gross family joined Governor Bob Taft when he signed Senate Bill 153 on
February 12, 2002 designating a portion of Interstate 71 in Ashland County
as the "Trooper James R. Gross Memorial Highway." The bill,
sponsored by Sen. Jeff Armbruster of North Ridgeville, goes into effect
90 days after Gov. Taft's signature and filing with the Secretary of State.
Trooper Gross became the 33rd Patrol officer to die in
the line of duty when he was fatally shot on Interstate 71 in 1996. The
site of the shooting is in the middle of the two-mile stretch of the Gross
Memorial Highway, between mileposts 189 and 191.
Efforts are being made to erect signs indicating the highway's
name by mid-May, in time for the dedication ceremony when the bill becomes
law.
Gov. Bob Taft displays the signed document as others watch. Standing left
to right: Col. Kenneth L. Morckel, Major J.P. Allen, Eugene and Christine
Murray (Gross' sister and brother-in-law), Sen. Jeff Armbruster, and Robert
and Barbara Gross (parents).
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