In Our Community

An Update from Your County Prosecutor

It continues to be an honor and a blessing to serve as your Delaware County Prosecutor!

We are officially half-way through 2023, and time never seems to slow down does it? The prosecutor’s office continues to be the busiest it has been in the last several years. I thought I’d take this opportunity to update you on a few major criminal cases that we wrapped up over the past year, and to tell you about a new scam circulating the county.

2022 was certainly a year of accountability in the office. If you recall, an active shooter opened fire on I-71 in Delaware County in March of 2022. First, he shot multiple rounds at southbound traffic narrowly missing passengers in two different vans and a multitude of other travelers on the roadway. Then, the shooter turned his fire on law enforcement, who arrived on the scene and ran towards his gunfire to protect the travelers on I-71. Ultimately, our heroes who wear the shield were able to apprehend the shooter, and we prosecuted him in Delaware County. Just nine months later, the shooter was sentenced to 25-31.5 years in prison after he pled guilty to multiple counts of attempted murder and attempted aggravated murder. Fast forward to March of 2023, I recognized as “Top Cops” the heroic officers from the Columbus Police Department who protected everyone on I-71 that day. We are lucky as citizens to have so many dedicated law enforcement who remain willing to protect us in today’s climate.

The summer of 2022 also brought the horrific trial of Laylah Bordeau. She was accused of driving under the influence of fentanyl and killing an entire family from Powell when she drove across the middle barrier of I-71 and into oncoming traffic. Ultimately, the jury found her guilty of multiple counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and sentenced her to the maximum sentence of 32-36 years in prison.

In the fall of 2022, our special victim prosecutor, Cory Goe, successfully prosecuted Muata Fisher for sexually abusing a child. A jury found Fisher guilty of multiple sexual assault charges including rape of a minor and gross sexual imposition. Fisher is now serving five life sentences for his crimes.

Just a few months ago we wrapped up a homicide trial involving a case where the body of a man was found in a plastic tote by a kayaker on Alum Creek. The investigation was led by the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office and ultimately the evidence led detectives to suspect Timothy Baldrick. After executing a search warrant, detectives found a video of the homicide with Baldrick as the shooter. Baldrick was found guilty of aggravated homicide by a Delaware County jury, and he was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 36 years.

These cases are just a small sample of the tireless work our criminal assistant prosecutors do every day to protect and serve our community. In 2022, nearly 600 indictments were filed for various felony crimes—with low-level drug possession being the most frequent charge filed.

One final note to make you aware of—there is an ongoing scam purported to be related to the criminal justice system in Delaware County. A criminal will contact an unsuspecting resident and tell the resident that there is active arrest warrant for his or her arrest, and the criminal will even use the names of elected officials like the Delaware County Sheriff or Common Pleas Judge Gormley or Judge Schuck to make the scheme seem more believable. The criminal will then tell the resident that if the resident pays a fee, the arrest warrant can be lifted. Unfortunately, some residents fall victim to this scam and pay the criminal, only to find out later it was a fraud.

Stay vigilant—no one from the criminal justice field will demand you pay money to lift an arrest warrant. That is not how it works in our profession. If you do get contacted, please call your local law enforcement agency so that we can continue to investigate these criminals and bring them to justice in a court of law for defrauding our citizens.

Melissa A. Schiffel is the Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney. Learn more at prosecutor.co.delaware.oh.us or call 740-833-2690.