MAHONING COUNTY Judge suspends man's jail sentence

The man pleaded guilty to two first-degree misdemeanors.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Deerfield man was placed on probation Wednesday for helping move a woman's body away from a fatal car crash five years ago.
Randal Walden, 39, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted obstruction of justice, first-degree misdemeanors. Judge Jack Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court sentenced him to six months in the county jail for each count, then suspended the jail terms and placed Walden on probation for one year.
The judge said Walden has no other criminal record and he did not believe Walden intended to get in the way of police investigating the crash.
Walden, a carpenter and father of two, had nothing to say before sentencing.
About the case
The charges stem from an accident on state Route 534, Milton Township, in October 1998. Stephanie Phillips, 30, of Sebring, was the driver of a car that went off the road slammed broadside into a tree, killing the 35-year-old passenger, Jamie S. Jones of Ravenna.
Phillips pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to a year in prison in July 2000. She was released on shock probation after serving about five weeks of that sentence.
Lori Shells, an assistant county prosecutor, said Phillips contacted Walden immediately after the accident and had him come to the scene. Once there, Walden helped Phillips move Jones' body out of the passenger seat to an embankment along the side of the road.
Left the scene
Walden and Phillips then left and did not notify authorities of the accident, Shells said. Walden was not charged until 2000, when he was indicted for tampering with evidence and obstructing justice. Those charges were reduced as part of the plea agreement.
Shells said when police eventually did find and question Walden, he did not provide "the whole truth" about what he knew.
"It was certainly misguided," defense attorney J. Gerald Ingram said of Walden's behavior, explaining that Walden was trying to protect Phillips, not stall the investigation. "He is truly remorseful."
Ingram said Phillips and Walden moved Jones' body out of the car intending to help her.
Judge Durkin said it's clear that Walden was not in the car at the time of the accident and did not contribute to Jones' death.
bjackson@vindy.com