A New Twist for the Wheel of Justice

Knowing that Channel 9 newshound Chic Poppe is all over the place, it's not surprising that this happened: Poppe says he helped police capture Leetae Williams, one of the fugitives on Channel 12's weekly "Wheel of Justice" segments.

Poppe says he was driving down Hamilton Avenue in Northside after 6 a.m. Thursday, after hearing a police call about a naked woman (an assult victim) running through Northside. He says he observed a suspicious man darting back and forth across the street, and hiding between houses. Poppe says he called 911, and then hung up when he saw two police cruisers coming up Hamilton Avenue. He says he pointed out the suspicious man to to police, and helped officers arrest Williams.

"I was the one who caught the guy. I was the one who saw him first," says Poppe, a Channel 9 photographer and 33-year news veteran.

But Poppe wasn't mentioned in Channel 12's story Thursday -- because he wasn't mentioned in the Cincinnati Police report on the arrest. Deb Dixon interviewed arresting officer Tom Haas.
http://www.local12.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoId=17683#top
Dixon says Haas mentioned that Poppe was at the scene, but "he didn' give him credit" for the arrest.

"If Chic says he helped in the arrest, I think that's very cool. We're all in this together. The police said he was there, but he's always there. I love Chic Poppe. He's everywhere."

Dixon says Poppe doesn't qualify for the Wheel of Justice reward money for several reasons. He didn't know that Williams was one of the Wheel of Justice fugitives, and he called 911 instead of CrimeStoppers to report the suspicous man.

"It's just a coincidence that the guy lurking around was on the Wheel of Justice. He didn't know who he was. I'm convinced the police would have found him," she says.