OH - Pike County: 8 people from one family dead as police hunt for killer(s) #2

[Madeleine74]

I'm sure information will eventually come out if their enterprise involved additional illegal substances.

On another note, I know it's not very fun to just go by the facts, but in my experience that's what 99.99999999% of cases are all about. The fantasy-type scenarios are usually just that (made up fantasies).

 

[Cryptic]

.
Authorities wouldn't say publicly whether they thought the killings were drug-related, but an official with knowledge of the operation told CNN's Nick Valencia: "This operation was not for personal use; it was for something much bigger than that. It was a very sophisticated operation."

Yikes, I guess I was wrong about the likelihood of small scale production. I just presumed that truly large scale production would mean cultivation in a state forest or something. Then again, I have heard that some producers can pack an awful lot of high quality plants (evidently marijuana plants can vary in quality tremedously) into barns etc. by using sophisticated grow lights, optimal soil, temperature, rotation plans and selected strains of seeds etc.

That being said, with the statements yesterday being made to the effect of discovery of several marijuana plants I am leaning towards the drug cartel. if there were Mexican Nationals involved it is not that far-fetched to envision a scenario where the Rhoden family may have decided that the people they were dealing were on the verge of deportation. They may have gone off and threatened to deport them themselves in order to keep all the proceeds. I can definitely see retaliation if that happened.

Given the large scale marijuana production, I think you are right about distinct possibility of drug motivation. If it was the cartel, maybe likely scenarios could involve:

The family cheating the cartel. or

Cartel "A" either hiring the family to produce high quality marijuana or using the family as their preferred source of it. Cartel "B" then attacks the family to cut their rivals off from a source of drugs. The extreme violence also sends a message to anybody else who is thinking about working for Cartel "A".

 

[tlcya]

:welcome5: ARNR23

Thank you for giving us the local perspective. I can imagine that on the one hand things feel very unsettled and chaotic and part of coping with that is trying to continue on with normal activities, especially for the kids. I understand what you are saying about business as usual on the surface and yet I am sure most area residents feel shocked and unsure what to think about this whole situation.

 

[Dmacky]

During the press conference yesterday it was stated that most of the family members appeared to have been sleeping, EXCEPT for some of the younger ones. I can't imagine the fear they went thru :frown:

 

[MamaMoonshine]

Ive read selling used cars is a great way to launder money- in a small area like this - I'm sure it didn't take long for people to figure out who was selling and what they were selling and where they lived. And I would guess If people thought you were laundering money - that you'd have a ton of it lying around- AND a bunch of drugs... I'm not quite sure I believe a cartel did this yet..

 

[ARNR23]

One more quick thing, I know marijuana has been mentioned as being found at some of the scenes, but the big problem around here is heroin. I have personally known 5 people in the last year die of a heroin overdose, it's an epidemic in this entire area. This may very well be drug related or motivated, but if it is, I'd be shocked if it were just marijuana.

 

[SCHMAE]

I've never posted here before so forgive me if I have no idea what I'm doing! I live about 30 minutes south of where this happened and let me be the first to say that everyone who lives anywhere near where this happened is shaken by this, not just because of the horrific nature of the crimes, but because these things just do not happened around here. Our local LE agencies are not equipped at all to deal with something on this scale so I think everyone is probably a little relieved that Pike Co. had the foresight to bring in other agencies. That said, everyone is on edge due to the lack of information and the thought that the person or persons are still out there.

Marajuana grows are pretty common place in the country around here (maybe not on the same scale as this one), but it's fairly common nonetheless. A lot of people around that area are what are referred to as "country folk" and I just don't see the
perps being from around here as the sophistication and planning that was required for this are far more than anyone I know from this area would be able to plan and execute. Maybe I'm wrong, IDK, but I think it's highly unlikely.

I just wanted the give a little insight from someone closer to the scene than some of you may be. My son's baseball team has their first game tonight in the town next to where this happened, I'm not too excited about going up that way with things so
up in the air, but it appears, on the surface anyway, that things are business as usual for the most part.

:welcome: and thanks for your post !

 

[MirnaMinkoff]

One more quick thing, I know marijuana has been mentioned as being found at some of the scenes, but the big problem around here is heroin. I have personally known 5 people in the last year die of a heroin overdose, it's an epidemic in this entire area. This may very well be drug related or motivated, but if it is, I'd be shocked if it were just marijuana.

I live in and grew up in the region - about an hour from Chillicothe. It's not so much the marijuana as the huge amount of money the crop can produce, not to mention the money involved in funding and building a professional scale grow operation. We are talking hundreds of thousands, if not millions, in money selling the pot and then probably in the high tens of thousands of dollars to even set up such a operation (if it was truly large scale and professionally done even more money). There are most likely other drugs involved, because cartels have their hands in all manner of drugs. Twenty years ago I had a friend who's had many family members who grew pot in the region near Athens, OH. They basically spent all their money ($20,000 or so) from the weed crop on other drugs - it was crack/cocaine then, but now it would probably be pills/heroin all the cash crop money would be spent on.

Pot is popular across a very wide spectrum of people, whereas heroin and stronger drugs are mostly confined to the addicted. The thing they all do have in common is MONEY and lots of it - anytime you have something illegal that's worth a lot of money you will also have violence. It's why I think all drugs should be legal, it will at least take the profit and extreme violence out of the mix. Prohibition doesn't work, it just enriches criminals. (We would have never had the America mafia to the scale and power we did had it not been for alcohol prohibition in the 1920's. Prohibition made the mafia rich beyond their wildest dreams and that money allowed them to become a major power in American cities for the next sixty years.)

 

[SweetT]

Well, who ever did this knew the area and people well enough to hit even a home what 30 miles away? With relatives there? Says local to me, I sure hope they checked for people fleeing to Canada or perhaps Mexico which would be further away... So possibly locals who are no longer around, it's also possible they slipped right back into society and their local jobs to keep from looking suspicious. Just a guess, I have not followed this all along as I was sure it would have been solved by now and was surprised to hear it was a professional hit. I was like what? Could they just be saying that to make someone feel a little safer? Just wondering out loud.

 

[04009margaret]

Are there any outlaw motorcycle gangs in the area? This really sounds more bikie related than cartel to me. Bikies will without hesitation eliminate a threat to their drug earnings. The bikie gangs of today are replicating the old ways the mafia conducted business, they rely heavily on the drug trade, stand-over tactics or delegation as they call it (settling business disputes) & debt collection as there main source of revenue. They have been known to be brutal in dealing with anyone undermining their business operations & they are hard core in sending a strong message to anyone else about what to expect should anyone be thinking of doing the same. The way this crime was committed is exactly how a bikie gang would carry out such an operation without fear or favour, I am related by marriage to a sergeant at arms of an OMG & we have no contact with them at all because of who he is for our safety, what we don't know can't harm us, but I know from past experience & word of mouth this is the type of thing they would do. They also are heavily involved in the transport industry, most of their leaders own trucking or heavy haulage companies, this gives them a foot in the door of virtually every industry, they turn up wearing their colours & their rivals are too scared & intimidated to compete against them.

 

[sumzero]

It has been warm enough around here for the past few weeks to leave the windows open at night for sure.

April temps in Peebles, OH: https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/45660:4:US

 

[ARNR23]

Pot is popular across a very wide spectrum of people, whereas heroin and stronger drugs are mostly confined to the addicted. The thing they all do have in common is MONEY and lots of it - anytime you have something illegal that's worth a lot of money you will also have violence. It's why I think all drugs should be legal, it will at least take the profit and extreme violence out of the mix. Prohibition doesn't work, it just enriches criminals. (We would have never had the America mafia to the scale and power we did had it not been for alcohol prohibition in the 1920's. Prohibition made the mafia rich beyond their wildest dreams and that money allowed them to become a major power in American cities for the next sixty years.)

I agree completely about pot being popular amongst a very large section of the population, especially around here. Heroin however, at least in this area, has become an epidemic. It literally has worked its way into the small communities around here that used to have a major issue with prescription pills (there is a documentary about the prescription pill epidemic in Appalachia...not sure if I can mention it by name so I won't). When the pills became hard for these people to get, they turned to heroin. While addicts are surely being affected by the epidemic, there are so many people you'd never imagine (again, at least in this area) who get hooked on pain pills, can no longer find them and then turn to heroin as it is so easily accessible and in this area, it is just as easy to find as pot.

 

[sumzero]

As I posted a bit back, it appears this may have been quite a sophisticated grow operation.

(CNN)Investigators found three marijuana "grow operations" at rural residences where eight family members were killed in southern Ohio, state Attorney General Mike DeWine said Sunday at a news conference.
Authorities wouldn't say publicly whether they thought the killings were drug-related, but an official with knowledge of the operation told CNN's Nick Valencia: "This operation was not for personal use; it was for something much bigger than that. It was a very sophisticated operation."

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/24/us/marijuana-grow-operation-found-at-ohio-slaying-sites/

How accurate is this quote? The reason I wonder is because the same expression was used for the murders: "It was a sophisticated operation." (Mike DeWine) The operation, then, could refer to the murder plan rather than the marijuana growing. It was "something bigger" than the outcome of a personal grudge against one person. I don't know. But I do know reporters, in their frenzy, can be careless with the facts -- and with quotes. Just sayin'.

ETA: Listening to that CNN reporter, I got the impression that he was working hard to break a story. He learned that law enforcement was familiar with the family, suggesting that they were on LE's radar for criminal activities. Weren't they familiar with the family just because it was simply a large family that had lived in the region for many generations? He then said, based on that statement, that CNN looked into court records and found out that Dana (?) had some domestic-related charges. Some of her children (?) had drug-related offenses (not necessarily surprising if they were teens/young adults). Maybe CNN is on to something. Or maybe their report is breathless hype that has nothing to do with the murders. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[Toralei]

I agree completely about pot being popular amongst a very large section of the population, especially around here. Heroin however, at least in this area, has become an epidemic. It literally has worked its way into the small communities around here that used to have a major issue with prescription pills (there is a documentary about the prescription pill epidemic in Appalachia...not sure if I can mention it by name so I won't). When the pills became hard for these people to get, they turned to heroin. While addicts are surely being affected by the epidemic, there are so many people you'd never imagine (again, at least in this area) who get hooked on pain pills, can no longer find them and then turn to heroin as it is so easily accessible and in this area, it is just as easy to find as pot.

That is tragic on so many levels....

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[ARNR23]

Edit: I'm not saying this has to do with heroin at all, I'm just pointing out how big of a problem it is around here. I think more than anything if this is in any way drug related, that is the reason no one is really coming forward with any solid tips on who these people are. It's a way of life around here, you don't "rat", especially on people who are capable of doing something like this. It's very sad.

 

[Cryptic]

Are there any outlaw motorcycle gangs in the area? This really sounds more bikie related than cartel to me. Bikies will without hesitation eliminate a threat to their drug earnings.

The way this crime was committed is exactly how a bikie gang would carry out such an operation without fear or favour, I am related by marriage to a sergeant at arms of an OMG & we have no contact with them at all because of who he is for our safety, what we don't know can't harm us, but I know from past experience & word of mouth this is the type of thing they would do.

For many reasons, including a dearth of recruits who want to live a criminal lifestyle 24/7/365, many U.S. biker gangs have gone more mainstream in recent years. That does not mean there are no individualy dangerous criminals in the clubs, or that the club as whole cant be dangerous (usually that means "color" disputes with another gang over who can, or cannot wear state "rockers").

Even with the individual criminal members, I dont think a U.S. biker gang could pull this off. Not only is deliberately targetting family members of a rival out of character for U.S. biker gangs, but I bet most gangs could come up with enough criminal members willing to commit such deliberate up close and personal murders. In short, had it been U.S. Biker gangs, I think the headlines would have been:

- Drive by shootings occurred at three rural homes last night. One person was killed, three were injured. Police suspect drug involvement... or something like
- Shooting outside rural tavern leaves two dead.

 

[bighairdontcare]

I've also wondered since this IS a sophisticated grow operation, if they were in fact dabbling in other things that has not been released. JMO.

Some people have mentioned the "pill mills" and such- noting that they are common in south regions of Ohio.
It may have something to do with illegally distributed narcotics. I would think that the searches of the homes and properties would confirm if any drugs (other than pot) were discovered for the trafficking level. However, I have been reading on another site (where locals have been posting) and I have not read any specific speculations as such. If this family or individual of the family was suspected to be trafficking drugs, I am SURE that some locals would KNOW if the someone of this family was involved in such a thing. I cannot think of any other scenarios that an execution of a family would take place. I am not buying into the cockfighting or dog fighting- and I am not sold on some disgruntled ex.....
Could it be something with gun trafficking?
I am sure there is some info that LE has not released yet....
Also, it is not yet established how grandiose these pot cultivation sites were, correct?

 

[Madeleine74]

One more quick thing, I know marijuana has been mentioned as being found at some of the scenes, but the big problem around here is heroin. I have personally known 5 people in the last year die of a heroin overdose, it's an epidemic in this entire area. This may very well be drug related or motivated, but if it is, I'd be shocked if it were just marijuana.

Heroin overdoses happen on an individual basis. Murders like this one are about the operations involved and the people who are running those businesses. 3 grow sites of marijuana implies that was probably their main source of business. To make heroin you need the plant source in sufficient quantities (opium poppy plants) unless they were experimenting with home-cooked synthetic stuff. Bottom line: drugs can kill. Not only the people who take the end product, but everyone along the chain is at risk because of the amount of $$$ involved.

 

[Dr. Know?]

Pot grow operations found near executions in Pike Co. (UPDATE)

At one of the homes, investigators found hundreds of marijuana plants, including two indoor grow operations and a third outside.

http://www.10tv.com/content/stories...ects-in-murders-of-8-ohio-family-members.html

 

[ARNR23]

There was an altercation between bar patrons and members of the Iron Horsemen motorcycle gang at a bar about 50 miles from where this happened the Saturday before. Is it OK to post a link to an online newspaper article about it?