MAHONING COUNTY Teen faces juvenile trial in drug death of another

Trial is scheduled for Friday before the juvenile judge.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Boardman teen-ager will be tried next week as a juvenile, not as an adult, in the February death of a 17-year-old Boardman High School student.
Walter R. Phibbs III, 17, of Oregon Trail is charged with involuntary manslaughter, trafficking in drugs, corrupting another with drugs and theft in the drug-overdose death of Paul Graham II, who was found dead in his Glenwood Avenue home.
Mahoning County prosecutors had asked that Phibbs be bound over to common pleas court for trial as an adult, but Judge Theresa Dellick of juvenile court denied that motion this week. The matter now is set for trial Friday in juvenile court.
Phibbs' attorney, Denise Demmitt of Huron, Ohio, said she considers the ruling a victory because it spares Phibbs the possibility of being locked up in an adult prison if he is convicted. If he is convicted as a juvenile, he could be incarcerated in a juvenile detention facility until he is 21.
What happened
Graham died in his home Feb. 5 and was found by his father. In early April, the Mahoning County coroner ruled that the death was caused by drug toxicity.
Police said they later determined that Phibbs had given Graham morphine pills he had stolen from his mother.
Demmitt said Phibbs has already admitted the theft and trafficking of drugs but adamantly denies the manslaughter charge.
"That charge is a stretch," Demmitt said. "I am confident he will be acquitted of that charge."
Prosecutor Paul Gains said his office pursued adult charges against Phibbs because he has a history of drug abuse that would have justified binding him over to common pleas court.
"The court obviously delved more into his background and we accept the ruling," Gains said.
Demmitt said she is prepared for trial, even though it is less than one week away. She said Phibbs has been held in the juvenile detention center since May.
"We're ready to go on this," she said.
bjackson@vindy.com