MAHONING COUNTY Prosecutors appeal release

The law is unclear and needs to be clarified, prosecutors said.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Prosecutors are appealing the early release from prison of a Salem-area man who defrauded Ponderosa Park patrons out of some $13,000.
They say the window of opportunity had closed for 33-year-old Jeffrey Best to request judicial release, so it should not have been granted by Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
The appeal was filed this week with the 7th District Court of Appeals.
Timothy Franken, chief assistant prosecutor, said the appeal is intended to clear up confusion over the law.
"We had one opinion and the judge had another," Franken said. "The language is kind of ambiguous, so we just want to get it clarified."
Best's sentence
Best was sentenced to 30 months in prison in June 2003 after he pleaded guilty to theft, misuse of credit cards and passing bad checks. He had served just more than a year of his sentence before being released last week and placed on three years' probation.
He accepted $13,382 from park patrons while he worked as Ponderosa's concert promoter. The money was intended for concert tickets, but Best used it to pay other park-related expenses. The patrons got neither the tickets nor a refund.
Assistant Prosecutor Patrick R. Pochiro objected to the release, arguing that under Ohio law, such requests can only be filed between 30 and 90 days after a defendant begins his or her prison sentence.
Best filed a request within that time frame, but it was denied without a hearing.
Time limit
The latest request was filed 288 days after Best was incarcerated, which Pochiro said was beyond the time limit.
Best's lawyer, Paul Scarsella, said he believes the law allows judicial requests to be made after the 90-day limit as long as the first request is made within that time frame. If the request is denied without a hearing, a defendant can continue filing requests no matter how much time has passed, he said in court documents.
Judge Krichbaum sided with Best and granted the request.
bjackson@vindy.com