Wednesday, December 19, 2001
Chief Ellis said his department acted in a timely manner during the investigation.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- The Mahoning County prosecutor and the Austintown police chief give different answers when asked why it took nearly six weeks to file child endangerment charges against Neda Brimhall.
Police Chief Gordon Ellis says the prosecutor's office didn't tell police until after Oct. 12 that the charges against Brimhall, 22, of North Raccoon Road, were ready to be signed and filed.
Prosecutor Paul Gains said, however, that police were told the charges were ready Sept. 20.
Police didn't sign the charges until Oct. 24, however.
Police found Brimhall's 1-year-old son playing unsupervised on North Raccoon Road at 2:30 a.m. Sept. 9. They also found her 2-year-old daughter unattended on the road Oct. 11, and both children were said to be playing unsupervised on the road Nov. 25.
Gains wrote a letter Dec. 11 to Ellis stating that his office was ready to file child endangerment charges against Brimhall on Sept. 20. Township police, however, did not sign the charges until Oct. 24. Police had to sign the charges because they were making the allegations about Brimhall.
In his Dec. 11 letter, Gains asks Ellis to explain the delay in filing the charges.
Cites report: On Friday, Ellis wrote a letter responding to Gains' request. The letter states that a supplement report written by Detective Sgt. Ray Holmes proves detectives didn't know the charges existed until after Oct. 12.
In the supplement report, dated Oct. 12, Holmes pleads with the juvenile prosecutors to charge Brimhall.
"The suspect needs to be charged before [her] children are run over by a vehicle," Holmes stated.
"It is apparent from his statement that he has not been notified of any pending charges to be signed," Ellis wrote in his letter.
The supplement written by Holmes also tells juvenile prosecutors that a report of a similar case involving Brimhall and her children had been sent to their office before Oct. 11. A copy of the Sept. 9 report was included with the Oct. 11 report when it was sent to Mahoning County Juvenile Court on Oct. 12.
Ellis added in his letter that he thinks his department acted in a timely manner when investigating
Improving communication: Both Gains and Ellis stressed that they don't want to argue about the Brimhall case. They added that they hope the issues raised by the case will help them address communication problems that could occur in future child endangerment cases.
"I'm not here to cast stones," Gains said. Ellis added, "All of us our looking at ways to improve the system."
Ellis said he hopes to meet with Gains to discuss the case soon. Gains noted that he recently told his secretaries to notify police by phone and fax when charges are going to be filed.
Gains' letter to Ellis states that on Sept. 20, Karen Penwell, a secretary for the prosecutor's office at the juvenile court, called the township police department to ask that the charges be signed.
Penwell told Gains that she left a message on the police department's voice-mail system. She added that she does not remember who was supposed to receive the messages.
On Oct. 11, police found Brimhall's 2-year-old daughter in the middle of North Raccoon Road, where she was almost hit by a car.
Pleaded innocent: The charges were signed Oct. 24 by Holmes. The Sept. 9 and Oct. 11 cases were combined, and Brimhall pleaded innocent to three counts of child endangerment Nov. 20.
Despite the charges, Brimhall retained custody of the children.
On Nov. 25, local residents found the children running unsupervised on North Raccoon Road. Brimhall was charged with an additional two counts of child endangerment, and she signed an agreement giving CSB custody of her children for 30 days.
Juvenile Court Judge Theresa Dellick later extended the custody pending further court action. Brimhall pleaded innocent to the latest charges Dec. 7, and a pretrial hearing for all cases has been set for Jan. 9.
hill@vindy.com