Grand jury returns indictments in 2 notable Butler County cases

Peyton Michael Joseph McFarland, 20, of the 100 block of Sands Avenue, was arrested hours after the fatal stabbing and booked into the Butler County Jail.

McFarland was arraigned Thursday by Butler County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer McElfresh who set bond at $1 million.

According to court records and the 911 call, McFarland confessed to stabbing his roommate, Christopher Hacker, 31, during an argument.

McFarland identified himself to the dispatcher in a strained, out-of-breath voice.

“I need an ambulance,” he said in the call. “I attacked a person that I was living with, I need an officer to come and arrest me.”

Twin brothers from Indianapolis were indicted on multiple felony charges for allegedly robbing a Middletown pharmacy and tying up the employees.

Nicholas Johnson-Tucker and Patrick Johnson-Tucker are accused of robbing CVS at 820 S. Breiel Blvd. on May 2, tying up the two employees inside and taking more than 8,000 pills with a total value of $11,129.92, according to Middletown police.

A grand jury returned indictments for aggravated robbery, two counts of kidnapping, carrying a concealed weapon and two counts of tampering with evidence against Nicholas and aggravated robbery, two counts of kidnapping and failure to comply with the signal of a police officer against Patrick.

The brothers are being held at the Butler County Jail in lieu of $700,000 plus bonds.

Last month during a preliminary hearing in Middletown Municipal Court, a detective testified the brothers admitted to driving to Middletown for the robbery after choosing the location from a list on the internet.

Detective Ken Mynhier testified that Nicholas told him that he worked for a moving company and he was struggling financially.

The pair was caught shortly after the robbery when their vehicle wrecked crossing the Ohio 122 bridge after a short pursuit.

During the robbery, a gun was allegedly displayed by Nicholas, who told the two employees, “not to do anything stupid,” Mynhier said. Twist ties used to bind the hands of the clerk and pharmacist were visible in video of the robbery sticking out of Patrick’s pocket, Mynhier said.

The pills were dumped into a pillow case and the suspects ran, police said. The employees were able to free themselves, lock to door and call for help.