CINCINNATI — A man who prosecutors said skipped the last day of his trial on a domestic violence charge -- and then skipped town -- was apprehended in Georgia.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said in a news release Monday that 47-year-old Douglas Ford was convicted March 25 on a felony domestic violence charge after a Mount Healthy police officer witnessed him assault a woman in December.
Despite having a history of prior domestic violence convictions, Deters said, Ford was released on his own recognizance after his arrest in December, pending his trial. When he failed to appear in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court for the last day of his trial, a new warrant was issued for his arrest.
Local law enforcement arrested Ford in Camden County, Georgia, this weekend, where he is currently awaiting extradition back to Hamilton County.
Deters said Ford's conviction was noteworthy because it did not require testimony from the victim: The responding officer reached the scene in time to witness the assault after the victim's children called the police, he said.
"There are many reasons why domestic violence victims refuse to cooperate with the process -- which can make these cases difficult to prosecute," Deters said in the news release. "But it is important, not only to our victims, but for the safety of the community, that when we can proceed without the victim, we do so."
Ford could face up to three years in prison as a result of his conviction.
