Eugene Jack Sleezer

An Ohio man was arrested Thursday, April 10, after allegedly threatening the lives of two Warsaw women over the phone. Eugene Jack Sleezer, 39, of 177 Wall St., Tiffin, Ohio, was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail for two preliminary charges of intimidation, both Class D felonies, with a $150,000 surety bond.

According to an affadavit filed by the Warsaw Police Department, on March 17, Gordon L. Allen of the Warsaw City Police Department was called to respond to a threatening phone call at Kosciusko Community Hospital. Upon arrival, Allen spoke with a hospital employee  who stated she had received a call from a male subject, later identified as Sleezer, requesting the medical records of his deceased mother, Aeletta Jean Shepherd.

The woman advised Sleezer she needed a birth certificate to access the records and Sleezer reportedly became belligerent. Sleezer allegedly swore at the woman, told her he would come get the records and if she did not give them to him, he would “knock her teeth down her throat.”

Sleezer informed the hospital employee that he had just been released from prison and then hung up the phone. He called back and told the woman he was coming to the hospital and she could not stop him, regardless of hospital security or police assistance. Sleezer allegedly informed the woman he would “get her” and his mother’s records.

After receiving the two calls, the woman was able to find a contact for next-of-kin for Sleezer’s deceased mother residing in Milford. Milford Town Marshall Richard Miotto was dispatched to make contact with the individual, Richard Stengle Jr., in reference to the threat.

After making contact with Miotto, it was discovered an additional threatening phone call had been placed by Sleezer to the Stengel’s girlfriend. According to the woman, Sleezer threatened her life from the same number he used to call the hospital, stating several times that he was going to kill her and that he was loading his gun. The woman reported Sleezer’s voice was filled with hatred and she believed she could hear him chambering his gun. She stated that she feared Sleezer due to his history of violence.

Sleezer has a long arrest history in Kosciusko County with criminal charges dating back to 1994. Sleezer’s criminal record includes theft, two counts of neglecting a dependent, operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury, failure to stop after an accident causing injury disorderly conduct, minor consumption of alcohol, sexual misconduct with a minor, as well as numerous other violations and charges.