CHILLICOTHE, Ohio – Police have decided not to press charges in the case of a local woman who reported being drugged at a bar.
The incident occurred in April, and the Guardian obtained the report after it was previously withheld by the Chillicothe Police Department.
Officers investigated potential drink tampering at the Cozy Inn on Western Avenue after the woman sought medical attention at Adena Regional Medical Center (ARMC), suspecting her drink had been drugged.
According to police reports, the woman reported feeling strange and experiencing tremors after consuming a drink at the bar and grill on April 6. She had been bar-hopping with a friend, starting at a bar outside Chillicothe and then moving to another bar, where they met four men. After leaving the second bar, they went to the Cozy Inn, where the woman began to feel unwell.
The woman said one of the men she had just met that night bought her a drink, after which she began to feel strange and eventually blacked out. Concerned for her well-being, her neighbor drove her to the emergency room at ARMC. Medical tests were conducted, and she signed a release form allowing officers access to her medical records.
During the investigation, the woman mentioned that the man who bought her the drink had made sexual advances toward her after learning she couldn’t drive him home. She noted that the other men she met that night were supportive and defended her against him.
Officers spoke with a bartender at the Cozy Inn, who said security cameras were installed and promised to review footage for any suspicious activity. The owner of the Cozy Inn and another establishment agreed to provide video footage and expressed the intent to bar the man from both establishments.
Initial lab results from the woman’s urine sample indicated the presence of amphetamines and ethanol. The woman later mentioned she had taken an antibiotic called Metronidazole, which can react with alcohol and cause symptoms similar to those she experienced. Further tests for GHB were conducted, but the results were insufficient to charge anyone with a criminal offense.
The case has now been closed due to a lack of evidence.
