Officers target domestic violence suspects
10/19/2012Thursday was Tiffany Wilborn’s birthday.
The young woman, who in March was fatally stabbed by her boyfriend, would have turned 24, said her grandmother, Miniiah Garrett.
Ms. Garrett was one of a number of domestic violence victim advocates at a press conference with law enforcement Thursday to announce the arrests of 42 people wanted on domestic violence warrants.
The arrests were part of an annual October sweep, organized by the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office, and involved numerous law enforcement agencies from across the region.
Ms. Garrett said she knew her granddaughter was in an abusive relationship with Charles Toyer, Jr., 21, with whom Ms. Wilborn had a daughter.
“She would say she was going to make him change by giving him love,” Ms. Garrett said.
In September, Toyer, charged with murder, was sentenced to life in prison.
Of the arrests, 12 were for felony-level charges, Sheriff James Telb said.
Officers met at 8 a.m. for instruction and many worked until 11 p.m Wednesday, knocking on doors, following leads, arresting suspects.
“It was good old-fashioned police work,” said Toledo police Detective Mary Jo Jaggers, who works full time on domestic violence cases.
The involved officers, Detective Jaggers said, were aware that “we were in the shadows of a very tragic incident over in Lake Township, and, you could have dropped a pin inside that room.
“We knew what we were fighting for, and the arrests we were going to make were for those victims,” Detective Jaggers said.
The detective was referencing a domestic-related shooting rampage in which Amber Jones, 26, and her son, Jorge Duran III, 3, were killed, allegedly by her estranged boyfriend and the father of the toddler – Jorge Duran, Jr., 24.
Mr. Duran is also accused of shooting and injuring three more people before he was fatally shot by Lake Township police Tuesday night.
No major incidents were reported during the sweep, although Detective Jaggers reported officers were involved in at least one foot pursuit with a suspect.