Cleveland, OH
Mother sues private Northeast Ohio prison over son’s fentanyl overdose death
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The mother of a man who died of a fentanyl overdose in a private prison in Northeast Ohio has sued over her son’s 2023 death.
Bonnie Billings of Canton accused officials at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center of negligence and failing to provide a safe environment after Montel A. William’s death.
She named the prison’s warden and its parent company, CoreCivic, as defendants in the lawsuit filed earlier this month in federal court in Youngstown.
CoreCivic spokesman Brian Todd said the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation. He said that safety is a top-priority for the company and that it has a zero-tolerance policy against drugs or other contraband getting into the prison.
“Contraband is a nationwide challenge for all corrections systems, both public and private,” Todd said in a statement. “We work as one team with our government partners, and local, state and federal law enforcement agencies on investigative and intervention efforts to remove, detect and prevent the introduction of contraband at all of our facilities, including NEOCC.”
The prison typically holds some 1,500 federal pretrial detainees and inmates serving state prison sentences.
The lawsuit said someone smuggled drugs into the prison and that Williams, 30, died from either purposefully or unintentionally ingesting the drug Oct. 31, 2023.
It said the death happened because of the prison’s “lax care policies and failure to exercise due care.”
Williams was serving a four-year, six-month sentence on a felonious assault conviction in Stark County at the time he died.
It’s the latest in a string of lawsuits against the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center. The lawsuits include accusations by employees who were attacked by inmates and that prison employees failed to get medical help for a man who was stabbed several times.
Federal prosecutors in recent years have also charged two guards, a nurse and members of a violent street gang with smuggling items, including drugs, inside the lockup.
Adam Ferrise covers federal courts at cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. You can find his work here.
Cleveland, OH
Male dead after running from crash scene and shooting another in Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood, police say
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A person is dead after a short pursuit and crash on Cleveland’s East Side.
According to the Cleveland Police, they were asked to assist Newburgh Heights Police who was pursuing a vehicle.
The suspect being chased crashed into several vehicles at East 74th and Harvard Avenue and took off south on foot, shooting a person near the 7400 block of Clement Ave.
According to CPD, the suspect shot himself in the area shortly after and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The shooting victim was transported to the hospital in stable condition.
The crash victims were in stable condition.
The Cleveland Police Accident Investigation is handling the crash scene and the Cleveland Police will handle the suspect shooting.
Check back with 19 News for the latest on this story.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
As we move closer to the 2026 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers will begin to put together their roster structure for the 2026-2027 season.
As the Cavaliers weigh their options with the 29th selection in this year’s draft, the future draft capital of the Cavs is pretty thin.
Although the Cleveland Cavaliers have consistently been drafting at the end of the first round, and in last year’s case, just having a second-round pick, they have shown a strong ability to draft well in the post-LeBron era.
Players like Collin Sexton and Darius Garland may no longer be with the organization. They have both shown the ability to be high-level NBA Players. Evan Mobley has been the Cavs ultimate draft selection since he’s been on the roster, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2025, also being named to an All-Star Game, Second Team All-NBA, and All-Defensive team.
Even Ochai Agbaji, who never played a game for the Cavaliers, helped Koby Altman and staff secure Donovan Mitchell in a trade with the Utah Jazz.
With the Cavs being all-in on chasing an NBA Championship since getting Mitchell in a trade, the Cavs have made a lot of trades to limit their draft capital. We will dive into how things look for the future and what it means for the Cavs.
2026: 1st Round Pick (29th overall)
The Cavaliers currently own the San Antonio Spurs pick in the 2026 NBA Draft due to the first DeAndre Hunter trade when the Cavs acquired him from the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta originally had the Spurs pick when they traded it to the Cavs, and it ended up being a pick swap where the Cavs received the lowest pick for the 3 teams.
The Cavaliers do not have their second round pick in this years draft as they attached it to Darius Garland in the Los Angeles Clippers trade for James Harden this past January.
2027: No picks
The Cavaliers do not own their 2027 pick, and it has been moved since they traded it. The Memphis Grizzlies will receive the most favorable pick in this draft between the Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Utah Jazz, while the second most favorable pick will go to the Phoenix Suns. The Cavs 2027 Second-Round pick goes to the Chicago Bulls.
2028: First Round Pick
In 2028, the Cavs hold their first-rounder. They will receive the least favorable pick between themselves, the Utah Jazz, and the Atlanta Hawks. Utah will receive the more favorable pick between themselves and the Cavs, while Atlanta will get the more favorable pick if it is their own or the least favorable pick of Cleveland and Utah. The Cavs 2028 second-rounder goes to the Utah Jazz from the Donovan Mitchell trade.
2029: No Picks
The Cavs 2029 first-round pick gets a little confusing. Utah will get the most favorable pick between Cleveland, Minnesota (Top 5 Protected), and the Jazz pick to Utah, the second most favorable pick will go to Charlotte. The Cavs do not own their second-round pick in 2029; it will go to the Atlanta Hawks.
2030-2032: First Round Pick
The Cavs own their first-round pick outright between 2030-32. They do not own any of their second-rounders as 2030 goes to San Antonio, 2031 goes to either the Boston Celtics or Utah, and the least favorable goes to Boston. Their 2032 second goes to Utah.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A man was shot in Cleveland’s Cudell neighborhood Tuesday night.
Cleveland Police 1st District officers responded to the 10100 block of Madison Ave around 9:00 P.M.
A man approximately 45 years of age was found with a gunshot wound.
EMS took the victim to MetroHealth Hospital. This incident remains under investigation.
There is no information on any suspects or arrests.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
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