MARENGO, Ohio -- A small Central Ohio town has had some big crime problems due to decreased police protection.
NBC 4's Mike Bowersock got the BOTTOM LINE on the frightening crime trend that hit a small Morrow County town.
Over the past few weeks, residents in the town of Marengo have had a one-in-100 chance of being robbed at gunpoint, Bowersock reported.
Just before midnight Sunday, a man wearing a bandanna walked in the exit of the Oasis Drive-Thru & Video, pointing a gun at the clerk and demanding she empty the register.
The man was believed to be the same person who robbed a Pizza-To-Go at gunpoint eight days earlier and Castle's Gas & Deli prior to that.
"I see it ending in someone getting hurt, whether it be a business owner, an employee, a customer or the person breaking in," said Burgess Castle, the owner of Castle's Gas & Deli.
The sheriff's office currently staffs half the number of deputies it had two years ago and one-third the number the town had a few years before that, Bowersock reported.
The sheriff said the investigation into the recent robberies has been hindered because the department does not have anyone to examine the cases full-time.
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