Sheriff's deputies arrested a Shade man early yesterday morning for tampering with evidence related to an ongoing criminal investigation.
Steven N. Dougan, 27, of 130 U.S. Highway 33 in Shade, was held on $500,000 bond and taken to the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail, where he remained last night. Dougan's arrest is related to the investigation of a body found burned in a car off Chase Road, according to the Athens County Sheriff's Office.
The complaint charges that Dougan moved or altered biological evidence related to a criminal offence, knowing an investigation was underway.
Dougan's extensive criminal record, which includes a slew of felonies and multiple parole violations since 2000, contributed to the high bond, said County Prosecutor C. David Warren. He directed further questions to the sheriff's office, which declined to comment.
After a grand jury indicted Dougan twice in two months during 2000, he took a deal, pleading guilty to vandalism, receiving stolen property and two counts of breaking and entering in exchange for five years of community control. All four counts are felonies.
Numerous parole violations, many drug-related, took Dougan in and out of prison until 2004. A year later, he pleaded guilty to breaking into Lodi General Store in Shade and stealing more than $500 in goods. He served eight months in prison.
dh100006@ohiou.edu
- Jessie Balmert and Caitlin McGlade contributed to this report.
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Dave Hendricks
