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Resident tells commissioners restraining order not being enforced; commissioners say law enforcement has investigated
Summary
A Clermont County resident told the board he has an active restraining order that county law enforcement will not enforce; commissioners said investigations and outreach to the prosecutor and sheriff have occurred but said the board has limited authority to compel charges.
Andrew Sober, a resident of Amelia, told the Clermont County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 22 that a neighbor with an active restraining order continued to appear at his property and that the sheriff’s office would not enforce the order.
Sober said he has the restraining order and that a person at the neighbor’s residence currently faces a court case for possession of drug paraphernalia. “I have a restraining order against the resident who’s in court right now for possession of a meth pipe. This is a restraining order that our sheriff’s department will not enforce,” Sober said.
Sober told the board he has repeatedly tried to reach commissioners by phone and email and said he would keep returning until county officials responded.
A commissioner replied that the county can ask law enforcement and the prosecutor to investigate but cannot unilaterally compel criminal charges. “I can only speak as one commissioner. I can’t make it happen,” the commissioner said, noting the sheriff’s office and investigators had been to Sober’s property.
The commissioner said county staff had contacted trustees and the sheriff’s office and that investigations had occurred. “They have investigated that. They’ve gotten back with you. I know they’ve been out to your property,” the commissioner told Sober.
No new enforcement action or formal directive from the board was reported during the meeting. Sober said he planned to continue attending meetings until he received the phone calls and responses he requested.
Speakers included Andrew Sober (resident) and multiple commissioners (Commissioner Bachelor; Commissioner Corcoran; Commissioner Painter) who participated in the public exchange but were not individually identified in the record as the exact speaker for each line of the back-and-forth.
Speakers' accounts referenced contact with the sheriff’s office, the county prosecutor and township trustees, and a prior investigation; the board recorded no vote or new directive in response to Sober’s remarks.
Speakers and county staff advised Sober to continue working with law enforcement and the prosecutor and to document interactions; the board did not commit to additional action during the meeting.
