YOUNGSTOWN Mom found guilty in death of infant

Prosecutors recommended probation and counseling, which didn't satisfy the baby's grandfather.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- For Janell Thomas, it was a deal too good to refuse.
For Carl Jones and his family, it was a deal too hard to accept.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court will have the final say in how it all turns out.
Thomas, 19, was found guilty Wednesday of reckless homicide, to which she pleaded no contest. She will be sentenced after a background check.
Authorities say the North Garland Avenue woman struck her 11-month-old son, Leroy Huff Jr., in the head and caused his death in October 2001.
Thomas insists that the baby was hurt by falling off a bed and hitting his head on the floor.
Thomas, who was 17 at the time, was bound over to common pleas court for trial as an adult. A grand jury indicted her for involuntary manslaughter earlier this year, and her case was set for trial Wednesday.
In an agreement with the prosecutor's office, the charge was reduced to the reckless homicide charge, a third-degree felony.
Possible sentences
Thomas could be sentenced to up to five years in prison, but assistant prosecutor Patrick R. Pochiro recommended Thomas be placed on probation.
Under Ohio law, judges can either accept the recommendation in a plea agreement or impose a different sentence. Judge Krichbaum ordered a background check on Thomas before sentencing her.
Defense attorney Mark Lavelle has insisted all along that Thomas is innocent and that she wanted to go to trial. The plea agreement changed her mind.
"They made an offer we couldn't refuse," Lavelle said, noting that a no contest plea is neither an admission of guilt nor a denial of the charge.
Prosecutor explains
"This matter is not a slam dunk," Pochiro said in explaining the reduction. "If it goes to trial, a jury could very well find her not guilty."
Pochiro said the blows that caused the baby's death could have been inflicted one or two days before he became ill and was taken to a hospital. But because Thomas was not home at the time the baby began showing signs of illness, it would be difficult to prove she was the one who hit him.
He said the bed Thomas says the baby fell from was actually a mattress that had been placed on the floor, with no frame or box spring.
It's doubtful that the baby could have suffered such serious injuries from a fall that far, but with no witnesses, it would be difficult to prove, he said.
He recommended that while Thomas is on probation, she be ordered to complete anger management counseling.
Family reaction
That did not sit well with Carl Jones of Youngstown, the baby's paternal grandfather. He and other family members agreed to the reduced charge but didn't know prosecutors would recommend probation.
"We definitely don't want no probation," Jones said after the hearing. "A baby's life was taken and justice would not be served."
Jones said he will attend the sentencing hearing and plead for Thomas to be incarcerated.
bjackson@vindy.com