Hicksville man charged in 10th OVI

DEFIANCE — A Hicksville man, who was arrested Sunday after being involved in a one-car crash in Defiance County, has been charged with operating a vehicle while under the influence, his 10th such charge, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol.

Ralph Gipple, 46, who is scheduled to appear Monday in Defiance Municipal Court, was southbound on Hicksville-Edgerton Road, north of Buckskin Road in Hicksville Township, when his vehicle went off the right side of the road and struck a ditch about 5 a.m. Sunday, troopers said.

The suspect, who fled the scene on foot, was tracked to his mother’s residence in Hicksville by a Defiance County Sheriff’s Office K-9 officer.

The injured suspect was treated at Community Memorial Hospital in Hicksville, and then arrested on a felony charge of operating a vehicle while under the influence. He was taken to the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio near Stryker, pending his initial appearance in Defiance Municipal Court.

A review of the suspect’s driving record showed seven convictions for operating a vehicle under the influence (OVI) in Ohio, and one conviction each in Indiana and Florida, troopers said.

The current charge makes this his sixth OVI within the last 20 years, a felony in Ohio, according to troopers of the Defiance post of the Ohio Highway Patrol.