Ex-police lieutenant accused of threatening woman with knife enters plea

KETTERING — A former police lieutenant accused of threatening a woman with a knife has entered a plea.

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Jason Etter pleaded guilty to one count of menacing by stalking on Wednesday, according to Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas records.

As part of the plea deal, one count of strangulation and one count of possession of criminal tools were dismissed.

Etter remains booked in the Montgomery County Jail and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 22.

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As previously reported, Kettering police responded to a menacing complaint on March 12, in which a woman claimed Etter had threatened to kill someone known to her in text messages.

He was arrested that same day and posted bond.

The next day, the same woman reported an assault to Kettering police and named Etter as the suspect.

She claimed Etter assaulted her in her apartment, strangling her and placing the blade of a knife under her throat, according to an affidavit and statement of facts.

“Jason Lee Etter also made stabbing motions with the knife making her believe that he would stab the victim,” court records state.

The victim recorded conversations with Etter, where he allegedly made additional threats against their life.

Court records also state that the allegations of threats and physical violence happened between January and March of this year.

Etter was previously charged with one misdemeanor count of possession of a firearm while intoxicated and 16 counts of aggravated menacing in November 2024.

Investigators said he pointed a gun at a crowd that included children and threatened to kill people if they would not stop shooting off fireworks during a 4th of July party.

After taking a plea deal, eight counts of aggravated menacing were dismissed, and a judge suspended a six-month jail sentence and put him on probation for two years.

Montgomery County Municipal Court - Western Division records show that his probation was terminated on March 9.

Etter, a lieutenant at the Miami Township Police Department at the time, was fired after the 2024 incident.

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