There was a time in the Wheeling area when the closest thing to Tex-Mex food was a Bob Evans omelet with jalapeno slices added to the ham and cheese, but then suddenly, there were photos flooding social media of a food fusion unlike anything ever seen before.
There were burgers and burritos and smoked brisket and then wings and tacos and nachos and loaded salads, too, and the culinary craziness apparently was taking place close to the old home of Jamboree in the Hills. The food porn appeared cheesy and spicy, the meats were rubbed and smoked, and “Ma and Pa” were a handsome husband and a beautiful bride.
Tom and Angela Strussion seemed like glass-half-full folks, and their Salsa Joe’s Smokehouse 740 in Belmont, Ohio, proved popular very quickly even though the couple opened the eatery during the coronavirus pandemic back in 2020. The online reviews were very favorable, and the word-of-mouth buzz was consistently above average, so even patrons from Wheeling and Cambridge made a trip once preserved for that annual country music festival.
Time and time again, Salsa Joe’s didn’t disappoint, and that’s why there was so much excitement about the second location in the Elm Grove area of Wheeling, and about a new partner – 27-year-old Andrew Griffin from Oklahoma – joining the Strussions’ Tex-Mex empire.
But that’s also why the double homicide turned excitement into shock in September 2021, and why the murder charges against Griffin, and his recent arrest and extradition, have been the biggest news in the Upper Ohio Valley since Union Local’s Colton McKivitz made it to Super Bowl LVIII with the San Francisco 49ers in 2024.
“I’ve received a lot of messages since we brought (Griffin) back to Belmont County, and I know our detectives on the case have, too. And they should,” said Belmont County Sheriff James Zusack. “They worked very hard to get to where we are now with this case. There’s been a lot of reaction, and it’s all been positive.
“After all of the investigating, apprehending Mr. Griffin is something that needed to get done, and we got it done after these guys worked the case every single day,” explained the sheriff. “The extradition could have been trickier than it was, but it wasn’t because our guys did what we had to do, and because the (Belmont County) Commission supported us.”
The public supported, too, but after three years of repeated “No Comment” comments, some believed the case had gone cold.
“I’m not going to lie – this is a big deal for Belmont County,” Zusack insisted. “That’s why we’re being very careful with every procedure, and why we’re making sure every ‘I’ is dotted and every ‘T’ is crossed.
“There needs to be justice here.”
Anticipation and Satisfaction
It was a secret for security reasons when Sheriff Zusack joined his deputies in escorting Griffin from the airport in Columbus back to Belmont County on March 14th to face a 14-count indictment that included aggravated murder with firearm specifications.
The press was there, though, because media members reacted to the department’s same-day phone calls.
“No one knew anything about the transport because we keep those things quiet, but I did have our staff make calls to our local media outlets to tell them that it would be a good idea if they were at the Sheriff’s Office that morning,” Zusack explained. “Once we had him officially in our custody in Columbus, that’s when I knew it was OK for our staff to make those calls.
“We had him in shackles, so we put him in a wheelchair because it was easier to get him through the airport that way,” he said. “From Columbus, we brought him here, and that was a good feeling because I knew we finally got it done. Everyone did their jobs so we could bring (Griffin) here so he could face trial after a very long investigation.”
No problems, Zusack confirmed, have been reported since the defendant’s booking into the Belmont County Jail.
“He has not caused any issues. He’s been well behaved, quiet. There hasn’t been a problem whatsoever,” he reported. “We take care of the individuals in the jail no matter why they are in there or who they are, and that’s across the board, of course. Those individuals are there to serve their time or to wait for their day in court.
“There are three meals every day and there’s a regular schedule,” he said. “(Griffin) will be just fine.”
Since that day, Sheriff Zusack has recognized several staff members for their work on the case, including Jail Administrator Chris Baker, Detective Sgt. Jason Schwarck and Deputy Tristan Thomas.
“I like recognizing our people for doing well at their jobs, and I like to share those photos on our Facebook page and on our website because they deserve the recognition. What we do isn’t easy, and people don’t see most of what we do, so if I can get them some recognition, then that’s what I’m going to do,” he insisted. “Now, when it comes to the investigation into the double homicide, I doubt anyone will ever realize the dedication our detectives had while working it.
“That’s why I know for sure the extradition was very satisfying to those guys. There was a lot of attention to it,” Zusack continued. “And I hope the public continues to pay attention so they can gain some understanding about all of the hard work and time that has been spent on getting the answers that are needed to get justice. There’s still work to do to go to trial, but they deserve a ton of credit.”
Zusack assumed control as the county’s sheriff on January 6th, and he’s experienced very few days during the past three months that he would consider as “normal” compared to what he witnessed for nearly a decade as chief deputy for retired sheriff Dave Lucas.
“But since the extradition, things have slowed down a good bit, and that’s allowed me and my staff to get back to concentrating on getting the office to operate the way I want it to operate. There is a sense of relief and it feels good,” Zusack admitted. “I have a lot of good people behind me who help me make the decisions that need to be made, and I do listen to their advice, for sure. I like getting other people’s perspectives, and it’s something that keeps morale pretty high, too.
“The best part about the arrest of Mr. Griffin and everything that followed is the fact that we did what we said we were going to do,” he added. “I told people not to doubt us, and now they know why.”
