Latest news with #AllenCountyCommonPleasCourt
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
Juror harassment alleged in Page trial
May 15—LIMA — The jury trial of Leroy Page, charged with kidnapping and assaulting two Allen County residents after breaking into their Fraunfelter Road home more than two years ago, was put on pause briefly Thursday after it was learned that two jurors in the case believe they had been followed home the previous evening. The jurists reported, independently of each other, to the court bailiff upon returning from Thursday's lunch break that they felt they had been followed. Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge Terri Kohlrieser spoke with the female jurors in her chambers, separately, and said each gave detailed descriptions of the vehicles involved but could not identify the race nor gender of the drivers. "They did give enough detail that I believe they believe they were followed," Kohlrieser said. She noted that one juror lived "off the beaten path" in a rural area of the county. The judge then brought the women into the courtroom individually to question them further. Each jurist said they believed they could continue to serve on the case and vowed to be fair and impartial. Kohlrieser said she checked with officials at the Allen County Sheriff's Office to see if police officers had escorted the women home on Wednesday. She was assured that no such directive had been issued. The judge did, however, issue her own warning to everyone inside the courtroom on Thursday. "It is a potential crime to follow a juror home," she said. "If I find out anyone did that, you will be held in contempt of court, and I will ask the authorities to bring criminal charges against you. I will not tolerate anyone messing with the jurors." Testimony comes slowly Testimony in the case on Thursday came primarily from law enforcement officers who responded to the Fraunfelter Road home of Dianna and Benjamin Shelton, near the intersection of West Elm Street, in the early morning hours of Oct. 30, 2022. That is where Page is alleged to have crashed a vehicle he was driving after leading Lima police officers on a pursuit that prosecutors say exceeded 120 miles per hour earlier that night. Jurors listened to body microphone footage from Sgt. Matthew Gill of the Allen County Sheriff's Office, who interviewed the homeowners a short time after the incident. Gill told Benjamin Shelton that Lima police were "99% certain they know" who had broken into the residence. That tentative identification came after Page had fled from Lima police officers earlier in the evening. Jurors listened as the officer showed Shelton a photo he said was taken from Page's Facebook profile. "That's him," Shelton is heard saying in reference to the couple's attacker. DNA links Page to scene Shelton told Gill that both he and his wife had been beaten by Page and that Dianna Shelton "got it worse than I did." The woman told jurors on Wednesday she suffered multiple facial fractures, a broken nose, a concussion, severely lacerated lip and other bruises at the hands of Page. She said the attacker struck her and her husband repeatedly over a span of several hours before forcing them to drive him to the intersection of Breese and Yoakam roads in Shawnee Township. Gill testified that Lima police officials were aware Page resided at a nearby home on Red Bud Lane. A search warrant was executed at that location later that morning, but Page was not located. It was later learned that Page fled the area. He was arrested nearly two years later in Nevada. Deputy Jerry Cress, an identification officer with the Allen County Sheriff's Office, testified Thursday that he obtained DNA samples from the Dodge Ram pickup truck used by the Shelton couple to transport Page to the Shawnee Township location. Testimony later in the day from Devonie Herdeman, a forensic scientist in the DNA section of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, revealed that Page's DNA was discovered on the armrest in the rear driver's side seat of the pickup. DNA taken from various locations inside the Shelton's home contained insufficient data from which to draw a match, Herdeman said. Acting as his own attorney, Page drew rebukes from Judge Terri Kohlrieser on more than one occasion Thursday for his line of questioning. At one point the judge instructed Page to "stop testifying and ask a question." Page, 34, is facing felony charges that include having weapons under disability, improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, aggravated burglary, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of felonious assault in connection with the Oct. 30, 2022, incident. Testimony in the trial will continue Friday. Featured Local Savings
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Shortage of lawyers concerns local jurists
Mar. 30—LIMA — "Justice delayed isn't justice at all," said Dennis Kerber, magistrate in the domestic relations division of Allen County Common Pleas Court and president of the Allen County Bar Association, when asked about a statewide shortage of attorneys that is becoming increasingly noticeable locally. According to a recent statement from the Ohio Bar Association, rural communities face a growing crisis as legal needs are going unmet due to a statewide attorney shortage. The legal needs of many residents are going unhandled in areas that include child custody, real estate disputes, consumer fraud or defending against criminal charges, according to the state bar. Mary Amos Augsburger, chief executive officer of the Ohio Bar, testified in early March before the Ohio House Finance Committee to urge continued state funding for programs that help fill this gap. The group is advocating for the expansion of the Rural Practice Incentive Program, which provides loan repayment assistance to attorneys who practice in underserved areas, and continued funding and expanded eligibility to attract more lawyers to these communities. The need is real Auglaize County Common Pleas Court Judge Frederick Pepple answered with an emphatic "yes" when asked if a shortage of attorneys is affecting courtrooms in that county. "Just look at the size of our bar," Pepple said of the shrinking number of local attorneys. "The practice of law has become less attractive in recent years, and fewer people are going to law school. Those who do graduate are increasingly choosing to live in larger metropolitan areas." The Ohio Bar says a ratio of one lawyer for every 700 residents is ideal for rural counties. Using that formula, Auglaize County would need nearly 65 practicing attorneys to keep pace. Pepple said state lawmakers could ease the current shortage by changing one key state mandate. "The General Assembly statutes don't allow a deputy public defender from one county to help out other counties when a conflict of interest arises. That needs to change," Pepple said. According to Kerber, who became a magistrate in the local court in 1998, membership in the Allen County Bar Association currently stands at around 175 and is on the decline. Some members are willing to take court-appointed assignments, but many are not. "Back in the 90s we had maybe 40 attorneys that were willing and eager to take court-appointed work. Now there might be a half-dozen. And their workload is increasing greatly due to the smaller pool of attorneys we can pick from," Kerber said. "The numbers of attorneys are definitely declining, and the reasons are varied," he said. "Becoming a lawyer is an expensive undertaking, and attending law school is a stressful time. In our bar, we are seeing members that are getting a little older and taking on less work. All of the courts in the county are flexible in working with the available attorneys and trying to accommodate their schedules." Cost-prohibitive? Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge Terri Kohlrieser agreed that the current economic climate nationwide may be making a law degree less attractive than it once was. "What I'm seeing is that the current educational crisis, especially when it comes to student loans, is having an effect on the number of attorneys out there. It's expensive to get a law degree — like $25,000 to $30,000 annually. And that's just tuition. And it's not as easy to get student loans as it once was," the judge said. Kohlrieser is an adjunct professor at Ohio Northern University. When walking the halls of the law school, she sees class photos of graduating classes through the years. "My class had about 82 graduates," she said. "Now class sizes are down to about 25. Small towns and rural areas across the state are seeing a crisis. Private practice in a small town is hard work. You end up taking all kinds of cases just to make ends meet, and it can get overwhelming." Kohlrieser agreed the pool of attorneys willing to take court-appointed assignments is dwindling significantly. "I have maybe three attorneys I can reach out to ... then I have to go searching," she said. Why come here? Lima Municipal Court Judge John Payne came to Lima from Youngstown, and he's glad he did. But Payne is uncertain how many new attorneys will follow that path. "I've been blessed to be in Lima, but unless you're from Lima, why would you come here?" Payne said. "I think a lot of new graduates are heading to the larger metropolitan areas. They can probably make more money, but I'm not sure they're taking into account the high cost of living." In the mean time, the pool of local attorneys is contracting due to retirements and deaths. "I've got about six people who are willing to take court appointments," Payne said. "And even those take a lot of urging." Payne was happy to report that the poorest of Allen County residents are suffering the least, even as local attorney numbers decline. "I think we have the best public defender representation we've ever had. The full-time county public defenders office is representing indigent clients very adequately. I think it's the best it's ever been," Payne said. In that vein, Kohlrieser gave a shout out to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who she said has "really tried to make indigent defense a priority." But without enough lawyers, people will still struggle to navigate the legal system, according to the state bar association. "This shortage doesn't just inconvenience Ohioans — it denies them their legal rights," Augsburger said. Featured Local Savings
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Yahoo
Lima man admits to making poisonous drink in police interview
Feb. 18—LIMA — In a police interview played for a jury Tuesday, a Lima man admitted to mixing together chemicals in a plot to poison the mother of his cousin's children. The incident that occurred in March 2024 caused Daniel Elliott, 27, to be charged with a first-degree felony count of attempted murder in the Allen County Common Pleas Court. In opening statements, Assistant Prosecutor Joshua Carp said the defendant was involved in "taking matters into your own hands, believing that you're above the law" because he didn't believe Gloria Triana was a fit mother to the children of his cousin, Charleston Elliott. Daniel Elliott's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Stephen Chamberlain, deferred his opening statement, so he could make an opening statement after the prosecution has presented its case. In an interview with Lima Police Detective Sgt. Steven Stechschulte, the defendant became emotional when he told Stechschulte he believed Triana's two daughters were being physically abused. He said he and his mother, the kids' grandmother, have been taking care of them. Triana was initially living at 204 S. Roberts Ave. in Lima with Daniel Elliott and his brother but was kicked out while the children stayed at the residence. "It was a complete difference without her there," Daniel Elliott told Stechschulte, saying the kids behaved while she wasn't there. "They're just young kids that have been through hell." Regarding the poisoning incident, the defendant's story changed from not being involved, to being a little involved, to being the one to mix chemicals together for Triana to drink, but claiming the whole time that his aunt and Charleston Elliott's mother, Sonya Elliott, was the mastermind behind the plan, and she and her son were trying to force Triana to drink the chemicals. He said his aunt asked him for rat poison and when he didn't have any she handed him a water bottle and said "Do what you gotta do." "She said 'I'll take care of Gloria,'" the defendant said about his aunt in the interview. "I just willingly did it because I was intoxicated, I was easy to manipulate, but I was also kind of on board. "Even if I was the one to make the whole drink, I didn't make her drink it," he said. He said he poured the original concoction down the drain when the incident was over and the next day he tried to make the mixture again to prove he made it because his brother was trying to convince him he didn't. This new mixture was found by police officers in a cabinet in the bathroom and taken for testing. He said the drink contained floor cleaner, Clorox and bug spray. "I don't want her dead. I would never try to do that again," Daniel Elliott said. At the end of the interview, Daniel Elliott was alone in the interview room when he started praying, asking God for forgiveness and to give his family and the kids comfort. Jadyn Meyer, a former investigator for Allen County Children Services, testified to following up on a report made to the agency that Triana was being physically abusive to her two daughters and was possibly using cocaine and methamphetamine. Meyer privately interviewed the kids, who were both under 10 years old, about the allegations and asked if they felt safe. She said she didn't notice any visible marks on the kids as the allegations indicated and the girls denied physical abuse but couldn't articulate if they felt safe or not. She noted one of the girls looked like she had pink eye and was sent home from school because of it. Meyer said Daniel Elliott and his mother told Triana through texts that she couldn't take her daughter to the doctor while she was sitting in the children's services office. Meyer didn't feel there was an immediate safety threat to take custody from Triana. She also said Triana was willing to take a drug test while at the office. The defendant and his mom came to the children's services office and Meyer said the defendant was aggravated and "very diligent in making sure I was failing as a case worker" due to not acting on the allegations. She said she was never shown pictures of the abuse from the Elliott family but she took pictures of possible drug residue. Daniel Elliott has been in the Allen County Jail since March 20, 2024, with a $500,000 bond but he was permitted to wear civilian clothing throughout the trial. Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451. Featured Local Savings
