CINCINNATI -- A 25-year-old man admitted to robbing hikers at Ault Park over the weekend, according to court records.
Grady Cummins and his friends are frequent fixtures at the park over the summer. It's been a safe place for as long as they -- and many other locals -- can remember.
"I would never think twice about it," Laura Battaglia, an Oakley resident, said.
Neither did Cummins until June 30, when police say a stranger, 25-year-old Jacob Weiss, pointed a gun at him and demanded he turn over everything he had. Cummins did so; he ran from the encounter barefoot and attempted to get help from a nearby home, but Weiss was already gone.
Weiss returned Saturday, according to Cincinnati police, and stole personal items from a group of runners. Police arrested him shortly afterward and discovered the victims' belongings on his person. The gun he carried was an airsoft gun, they said.
Weiss was charged with three counts of aggravated robbery and two counts of robbery. He is listed as homeless and being held in the Hamilton County Justice Center until his case goes before a grand jury July 19.
Cummins said he was glad to hear that Weiss had been arrested, but the experience has made him warier of his summer hangout.
"I'll definitely come (to Ault Park) in a bigger group of people and probably want to avoid it at night altogether," he said.
