MAHONING COUNTY COURT Suspects in Campbell kidnapping found innocent

One defendant's mother said it was a poor police investigation.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Joseph Gonzalez and Jose Placeres should never have been in court in the first place, Gonzalez's mother said.
Standing outside the Mahoning County Courthouse shortly after a common pleas court jury cleared the two men in a kidnapping scheme, Sonia Vazquez of Campbell said she believed in her son's innocence.
"The biggest problem is that it was a poor investigation by the Campbell police," said Vazquez. "It's so sad."
She said Gonzalez and Placeres know each other but have never liked each other, so would not have conspired to commit a crime together.
Gonzalez, 21, of Ninth Street, Campbell, and Placeres, 29, of Glenwood Avenue, Youngstown, were charged with conspiracy to kidnapping, conspiracy to attempted aggravated murder and four counts of kidnapping.
The jury deliberated nearly six hours before finding them both innocent of all charges late Friday afternoon.
Reaction: Assistant Prosecutor Patrick R. Pochiro said he was not surprised because he had little evidence to go on.
"I can see how the jury reached the decision it did, with the charges we indicted these guys on," Pochiro said.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum criticized the prosecutor's office Thursday for what he said was a confusing assortment of charges. Pochiro said the indictment was prepared by another assistant prosecutor.
Attorneys Louis DeFabio and Jeffrey Limbian, who represented Gonzalez and Placeres respectively, said they were grateful for the jury's verdict.
DeFabio agreed with Vazquez that the trial never should have gotten off the ground in the first place because the evidence was so flimsy.
"It was just a rush to judgment by the [Campbell] police," he said, noting that officers never interviewed any of the defense's alibi witnesses.
What happened: The charges stemmed from the May 2 kidnapping of Maria Rosario Romano of Campbell and her three children, ages 7, 4 and 2. They were abducted at gunpoint while getting into their minivan on 13th Street in Campbell around 9 p.m.
They were taken to an apartment on Glenwood Avenue and kept in a closet for six hours while their captors telephoned Romano's husband and demanded $100,000 ransom. The family was later taken to a Campbell gas station and released.
Romano was shot in the hip and now must use a walker. She left the courtroom immediately after the verdict and was not available to comment.
Pochiro argued that Placeres helped plan the kidnapping, but did not actually take part. Gonzalez was suspected of helping by putting duct tape over Romano's eyes and mouth and carrying her into the Glenwood apartment.
But neither Romano nor her 7-year-old son, who both testified during the trial, could identify Placeres or Gonzalez as being involved.
Relative: At the beginning of the trial, Pochiro said police believe Placeres' uncle, Wilfredo Placeres, was the actual kidnapper. He has fled the area, though, and cannot be found.
Limbian said in his opening statements that Wilfredo Placeres and another man, known only as Cuba, actually planned and carried out the crime, though neither has been charged.
Vazquez said she thinks Wilfredo Placeres is in Puerto Rico, where she has relatives who are police officers.
"They are looking for him everywhere," she said.
bjackson@vindy.com