2025 begins with multiple thefts and assaults in Oxford

The Oxford Police Department began the new year responding to three incidents of assault and domestic violence and three incidents of theft, as well as one call for rape.

Less than two hours into 2025, an officer was waved down by two male Miami University students, one of whom had a swollen cheek and cut under his eye, according to an incident report. Both were members of the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity and were in town for a New Years celebration. The student with the injuries said a different male got into a fight with him after saying the AXP house used to belong to Sigma Phi Epsilon, the suspect’s fraternity.

OPD had not corroborated the suspect’s name at the time of the incident report but did verify that a student currently enrolled at Miami shares a name with the one provided by the victim.

Also after midnight on New Years Day, officers responded to a crash on McGuffey Avenue which damaged a vehicle. The underage driver was found to be intoxicated. Later, just before 5 a.m., a woman reported a sexual assault on South Elm Street. OPD listed the offense as rape in its weekly media report.

On Jan. 3, a stepfather assaulted his adult male stepson, resulting in injuries that required medical care. The stepfather was charged with domestic violence as well as strangulation, a fourth-degree felony.

According to an OPD incident report, the victim’s “face and arms were bloody and bruised” when an officer arrived on the scene. The victim told the officer that the suspect punched him in the face and “intentionally placed his knee across [the victim’s] neck and applied pressure.” The victim previously had a tracheotomy to assist with breathing, and the device was knocked out during the altercation. The suspect claimed that the altercation began when the victim “charged at him” after the suspect found the victim using compressed air to get high.

The victim was transported to McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital, and the suspect was transported to the Butler County Jail. The suspect was still in custody as of 11 a.m. Jan. 7.

On Jan. 4, an officer pulled over a driver who had been using her horn and turn signal erratically, according to an incident report. The officer wrote that the Butler County Sheriff’s Office had an active warrant for the driver. When the officer informed the driver of the warrant, she turned her vehicle back on and accelerated when the officer opened her door and grabbed onto her shoulder. The officer was then briefly dragged across the street before letting go.

The driver reached speeds of 90 miles per hour during the three-minute chase with multiple officers that ensued, according to the police report. After the vehicle stopped and the officers arrested the driver, they found a hypodermic needle, marijuana, “a clear crystalized substance and a red crystalized substance,” a “white powdery substance” wrapped in a bill and “loose white powdery rocks” in her purse.

The driver was transported to the Butler County Jail and faces multiple charges, including two fourth-degree felony counts of assault and failure to comply with a police officer’s order or signal. She also faces a fifth-degree felony charge of obstructing official business and was in Butler County Jail custody as of 11 a.m. Jan. 7.

In addition to the assaults, three incidents of theft were reported between Jan. 3 and Jan. 4. On Jan. 3, three individuals attempted to steal merchandise from an Uptown gas station and pushed over a display when confronted by a manager. The suspects are unknown, according to OPD’s media report.

Later that day, an employee was reported for stealing from a Locust Street restaurant. The theft was caught on video according to the media report.

On Jan. 4, a woman reported that her car had been stolen from the parking lot of her apartment complex after leaving it unlocked with a broken key fob inside. The car was later recovered in College Corner without the key fob, but no suspects had been identified for the theft.