TRUMBULL COUNTY Ex-jailer sentenced to prison

A prosecutor recommended the former corrections officer receive five years in prison.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A former Trumbull County corrections officer convicted of a bribery charge has been sentenced to two years in prison.
Judge Peter Kontos of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court sentenced Michelle Miller, 40, to the prison term during a brief hearing Monday.
Miller, who has been held in the county jail since being convicted last month, apologized to her family, the court and the sheriff's department before sentencing.
Chuck Morrow, an assistant Trumbull County prosecutor, had recommended that Miller receive the maximum sentence, five years in prison.
"Quite simply, the defendant, merely to fill her pockets with cash, was willing to allow a hardened criminal to walk out of the Trumbull County jail onto the downtown streets of Warren, Ohio," Morrow stated in his sentencing brief given to the court Monday.
The federal inmate, Alex Martin, no age or home address available, was being held in the county jail on federal drug charges.
Miller maintains her innocence.
A jury convicted Miller last month after deliberating about four hours.
Miller quit the sheriff's department in September 2003.
Co-defendant
Sheriff Thomas Altiere said the FBI handled the investigation into Miller's case.
Last month, a co-defendant in Miller's case, Michael Battee, 35, a former jailer, pleaded guilty to one count each of complicity to commit escape and dereliction of duty and seven counts of bribery.
He will be sentenced after a background check by the county adult probation department. He could face a maximum of 40 years in prison on all the charges.
Battee testified against Miller at her trial.
His charge of dereliction of duty stems from his relationship with a woman who served time in the county jail, officials say.
Officials say the inmate told the jailers he would give them $40,000 if they helped him escape, officials said.
sinkovich@vindy.com