Sheriff McClelland Explains Why It's Taken 9 Years to Break the Case
"One of the questions I anticipated today is how can an investigation like this take nine years? Detectives repeatedly ran into the phrase, 'I know what you want. They will kill me.'" – Sheriff Dan McClelland
The three men suspected of killing Daniel Ott in 2006 have been indicted in his murder.
Joseph Rosebrook, 59, of Saint Cloud, Fla., Carl “Jeff” Rosebrook, 57, of 969 Country Road 142, East Liberty, and Chad South, 45, of Moraine, Ohio, were all charged in a single five-count indictment with specifications filed Wednesday morning in the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas.
The five counts are conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, aggravated murder with prior design and calculation, aggravated murder during the commission of burglary, kidnapping of Ott and kidnapping of Ott’s then-girlfriend, Maryann Ricker. The charges were announced during a 1 p.m. press conference Wednesday in the offices of Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz, where he, Geauga County Sheriff Dan McClelland and Chief Deputy Scott Hildenbrand explained why the case took nine years to break.
They previously were charged with murder, an unclassified felony, for their roles in the death of 31-year-old Ott, who was shot and killed May 26, 2006, inside of the home he was renting at 16058 Claridon-Troy Road in Burton Town-ship.
According to the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, it was a “hit” gone bad, as South, the suspected hit man, allegedly murdered the wrong Daniel Ott.
Ott shared a name with another Northeast Ohio resident who was a federally-convicted car thief and a reputed associate of Joseph Rosebrook, according to the sheriff.
“(The sheriff’s office detectives) worked tirelessly on this case since 2006. And at no point in time was this ever a closed case,” Flaiz said Wednesday. “They pursued leads and suspects both all over Ohio and all over the United States, including making numerous trips out of state. Given the nature and circumstances of the case, the investigation was very difficult because really at the heart of this is witness intimidation and the attempted murder of a witness, which ultimately resulted in the wrong Dan Ott being killed.”
Due to Joe Rosebrooke’s alleged history of witness intimidation, Flaiz said they would not answer a lot of questions about the details of the case in order to protect their investigation as well as the witnesses.
“On May 26, 2006, Dan Ott, Maryann Ricker were asleep in their home in Burton Township. They were awoken that morning by their dog barking and he came face-to-face with an armed intruder inside the residence,” Sheriff Dan McClelland said Wednesday. “Eventually, a struggled would occur and the intruder, armed with a shot gun, shot the victim, Dan Ott, at point blank range, killing him.”
McClelland said the investigation began at that time, however, when detectives looked at activities, relationships and any other clues related to the victim, they continuously came up blank.
“About six months into the investigation, we came to learn of the Rosebrook enterprise and that a Dan Ott was involved in those cases — a totally different, older Dan (than) our resident in Burton Township,” the sheriff said. “Detectives began pursuing that information. At that time, Joe Rosebrook was an inmate at the London Correctional (Institution) in Ohio. Detectives came to learn that he had a smuggled track phone in the facility with him and that he had maintained his contacts on the outside in his criminal network.”
His network specialized in a “chop shop operation,” stealing cars, herding them out and selling them, McClelland explained.
“But they also engaged significantly in witness intimidations. One of the questions I anticipated today is how can an investigation like this take nine years? Detectives repeatedly ran into the phrase, ‘I know what you want. They will kill me,'” the sheriff said. “And people flat out refused to talk. Numerous search warrants, wire tap warrants were obtained and the matrix of the network of this criminal operation became clearer and began to come into focus.”
In summary, Joe Rosebrook, while still in his prison cell, allegedly put out a hit on a Dan Ott. He provided information to alleged hit man Chad South. They had spent time in Logan (County Jail) together and in the prison system, McClelland said.
“Joe Rosebrook’s brother, Carl “Jeff” Rosebrook, was the (reported) money man in the operation,” the sheriff said, adding he was the one they believed was going to pay South for the hit.
“Chad South (allegedly) went to the wrong house. Came to Burton, Ohio and subsequently murdered Dan Ott from Burton, Ohio,” he said. “The investigation was never closed. It was never a cold case. And frankly, looking back over the last nine years, I doubt that a week would go by without some action by the detectives in following up on the investigation and working the case.
“You could imagine the difficulty investigating a homicide where, frankly, they go the wrong guy. Very challenging.”
McClelland confirmed there were at least two other hit attempts on the living Ott since 2006 in other jurisdictions, though they did not believe South was involved in those.
Hildenbrand read the following statement from Ott’s family:
“On May 26, 2006, Dan Ott was shot and killed in his home as a result of mistaken identity. He was a son, a brother and a compassionate friend who was taken too soon from his family and friends.
“It has been a long nine years of waiting and hoping for some resolution to this horrific crime and our patience has paid off. We want to thank the Geauga County Sheriff’s (Office) and their detectives for nine years of dedicated work to solve this crime and for keeping us informed with their progress along the way. We are hopeful that justice will finally be served.”
South and Carl Rosebrook were separately arraigned on June 5 in Chardon Municipal Court on one count each of felony murder, the most serious crime in Ohio, carrying a possible sentence of 15 years in prison to life in prison without parole.
Chardon Municpal Court Judge Terri Stupica set South’s bond at $3 million cash or surety. Geauga County Public Defender Robert Umholtz represented him at last Friday’s arraignment.
Cleveland criminal defense attorney Kristina Supler represented Carl Rosebrook, who is a Perry Township trustee in Logan County, at his arraignment. His bond was set at at $1 million cash or surety.
The elder Rosebrook was arrested in Florida, where he moved after his release from prison in March 2014 after serving a 10-year prison sentence.
Joseph Rosebrook was sent to prison in April 2005 after being convicted in Logan County, Ohio, on one count each of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder of a witness, receipt of stolen property, obstruction of justice and concealment of identity, according to Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction records.
Rosebrook Meets South
The Bellefontaine Examiner has shared the following background information with the Geauga County Maple Leaf regarding the relationship between Joseph Rosebrook and South:
He and South first met each other in 2004 while both were housed at the Logan County Jail awaiting trial in separate cases.
According to a statement of facts in South’s 2004 burglary conviction case file, he had been arrested March 16, 2004, when he and an accomplice were found inside an Indian Lake-area home.
They had broken through three doors and ransacked the residence, stacking items they intended to pilfer near exits.
When Logan County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to neighbors’ concerns of a break-in, the two men did not respond to orders to come out, instead, laying down in the residence.
Deputies entered and found the first suspect in a hallway acting as if he was drunk. South was found under a blanket wedged between a bed and wall of a bedroom.
He, too, acted as if he was drunk and unable to stand or walk.
Deputies did not fall for the ruse and dragged South from the residence, through the snow and to a cruiser.
He was on the jail roster from March 17 to Dec. 1 of that year, Jail Administrator Lt. Greg Fitzpatrick said. He was transferred to the ODRC to serve a 15-month term for burglary.
By 2014, Joseph Rosebrook had been indicted on racketeering charges and was out on bond with an ankle monitor. He installed an extended line on the telephone used to track him and would take the phone with him to his workshop at his property.
From there, he made calls on another phone trying to set up a hit on a witness. Authorities had approval for a wiretap and recorded the conversations.
When the murder plot came to light, Logan County Common Pleas Judge Mark S. O’Connor revoked his bond.
Joseph Rosebrook was returned to jail on July 9, 2004, and stayed until April 13, 2005, when he began his 10-year prison sentence.
Rosebrook and South were assigned to the same cell at least once during their extended incarcerations at the jail, Fitzpatrick said.
Based on the nature of their crimes, Fitzpatrick said he believes the two would have been housed in the same block area of the jail during their stays.
It also appears the two men may have continued the relationship while in the Ohio prison system.
Both also were inmates at the London Correctional Institution in 2005 and into 2006, reported JoEllen Smith, ODRC public information officer.
LCI is not a celled facility, so there are no cell assignments on record, she said.
