Trish Bennett, Editor
ASHVILLE – A local man has been charged with murder in the shooting death of 16-year-old Sam Nicholson on Sunday on Jefferson Avenue.
Justin R. Blevins, 19, of Hagerty Road, is being held in the Pickaway County Jail after his arrest about 8 a.m. Tuesday, according to Chief Doug Clark, Ashville Police Department. He is expected to face the judge for an initial hearing Wednesday in Circleville Municipal Court.
Clark said Blevins had been the prime suspect since early in the investigation, and officers had been trying to track him down. Police then received a tip that Blevins would be visiting a local attorney’s office Tuesday morning, so they staked out the location. A vehicle matching the description from the tip showed up, and Blevins was inside, he said.
Blevins was taken into custody by Detective Jeff George, Ashville Police Department, and Detective Rex Emrick, Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office.
A motive in the shooting has not yet been determined, Clark said. Blevins and the victim knew each other, but Clark said he is unsure of the details of that connection at this time.
The shooting occurred about 5:30 a.m. Sunday in Apartment B at 212 Jefferson Ave., Ashville. Nicholson was shot to death, and another man was reportedly assaulted as the suspect fled the scene.
The case remains under investigation by the Ashville Police Department with the assistance of the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office and the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
