Ohio
Ohio man arrested in connection with Chula Vista double homicide
CHULA VISTA (KGTV) — An Ohio man has been arrested in connection with the deadly stabbing of two people in Chula Vista.
According to the Chula Vista Police Department, the victims, 57-year-old Abdul Hasan and 71-year-old Paz Gojar, were found dead at their home around 2:30 PM on February 21, 2025.
Chula Vista police say the cause of death was initially unclear due to the condition of the victims, but during the autopsies, investigators learned that the man and woman had been fatally stabbed.
According to a press release from the Chula Vista Police Department, investigators later identified 43-year-old Steven Cleveland, of Ohio, as a person of interest in the murders. Detectives learned that Cleveland fled to Kentucky shortly after the killings.
The press release states Cleveland was located and arrested in Knoxville, Tennessee, on an unrelated warrant on April 3, 2025. While Cleveland was in custody, police say they were able to determine that Cleveland fatally stabbed Hasan and Gojar on January 29, 2025, and fled the scene.
Chula Vista police say on October 22, 2025, an arrest warrant was issued for Cleveland, charging him with multiple offenses including murder and auto theft. They say the warrant has since been served, and Cleveland remains in custody at the Tri-County Regional Jail in Mechanicsburg, Ohio, awaiting extradition to San Diego County.
“In complex and lengthy investigations like this one, the community often doesn’t see the tireless work happening behind the scenes. Our detectives, crime lab personnel, and so many others – including members of the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee – played key roles in identifying and locating the suspect. I’m deeply proud of their dedication and teamwork, and our hearts remain with the victims’ families as we continue to pursue justice on their behalf,” said Chula Vista Police Chief Roxana Kennedy.
According to the Chula Vista Police Department, the case has been submitted to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, which has filed murder and other related criminal charges.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — As concerns have grown over the impact of social media on young people, lawmakers are pushing to keep protections in tact to keep children safe online.
This week the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Ohio’s law, the Social Media Parental Notification Act, requiring parental consent for children under the age of 16 to use social media must be restored. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the act into law in July 2023.
Netchoice, the trade group that represents Tik Tok, Snapchat, Meta and other tech companies contested Ohio’s law in 2024, arguing that it was overly broad, vague and represented an unconstitutional impediment to free speech.
“An unconstitutional law protects no one, and we remain focused on ensuring the First Amendment rights of Ohioans are protected,” Paul Taske, NetChoice Litigation Center Director said.
Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit’s panel does not agree with this view point, determined that the law is not unconstitutional and had the block on the law’s enforcement vacated.
“At bottom, the Act imposes a parental consent requirement,” Judge Eric Clay wrote. “That requirement constitutes a marginal burden that precisely targets the multi-faceted problem that Ohio has identified: Children’s unsupervised assent to terms and conditions for use of platforms that take advantage of and harm them.”
The Social Media Parental Notification Act is a way to protect children’s mental health against the “intentionally addictive” nature of social media, according to U.S. senator Jon Husted.
The law requires companies to get parental permission for social media and gaming apps and to provide their privacy guidelines so families know what content would be censored or moderated on their child’s profile.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson says the ruling is “a win for Ohio families.”
“The court agreed that parents –- not social media companies –- should get a say in what kids see online,” he said in a statement. “We have an obligation to keep our children safe, and today, the most dangerous place for our kids is the internet. This decision gives parents the tools to be involved and provide oversight.”
LICKING COUNTY, Ohio (WCMH) — When you think of wild animals in central Ohio, a black bear likely isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. That’s why one Licking County family said they couldn’t believe their eyes.
It was an average afternoon drive home for father and son, Justin and Aaron Rhodes, when something walked into the road in front of them.
“I didn’t even think it was real at first, so that’s why I had to do the double take,” Justin said.
Aaron said he thought it was “just a weird looking dog”.
To their disbelief, it was a bear. The sighting comes just one year after the animal was spotted in Licking County for the first time in more than two decades.
“It’s kind of hard to believe that they’re even around this area,” Justin said. “I’ve lived in this area for about 24 years now, so it’s been quite a while, and I’ve never seen one before.”
These sightings are becoming more common. The Ohio Division of Wildlife said the black bear population is growing in the state, and they expect those trends to continue. Ohio saw a record number of confirmed sightings in 2025.
Lindsey Krusling, a wildlife communications specialist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, said they are seeing more breeding females establish homes in the state, signaling the species is returning. Experts said the work restoring natural forest land is a big reason why.
“We’re starting to get some black bears coming in from neighboring states like Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky,” Krusling said. “They’re naturally crossing those state borders and coming back to Ohio because we have more of that habitat available to them, especially those forested areas.”
As the black bear population grows, the Division of Wildlife is expanding its research. They are putting radio collars on some bears they find in the state to help track data, such as if the bears are staying here, how far they’ve traveled and if they’re successfully having cubs.
“We’re trying to get quite a bit of data from these bears, and we’re super excited to see where this takes us,” Krusling said.
The research is in the beginning stages, but they expect population growth to continue, Krusling said.
Sighting reports can be submitted here to help the Division of Wildlife track black bear populations throughout the state.
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