PADDLING CASE Police chief is seeking dismissal of 27 counts

The prosecutor said he opposes the motions.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The Fowler Township police chief, accused of paddling numerous juveniles as part of a diversion program, is asking a judge to dismiss 27 of 52 counts filed against him.
Atty. Dominic Vitantonio, who represents Police Chief James Martin, filed the motions Tuesday asking for the dismissal of the counts.
Martin has pleaded innocent to all 52 counts.
Dave Toepfer, an assistant Trumbull County prosecutor, said he will oppose the motions.
The charges that Martin and his attorney want to be dismissed are 20 counts of dereliction of duty and seven counts of unauthorized photography of juveniles.
Judge Andrew Logan of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court said he will take the matter under advisement before issuing a ruling. Martin is scheduled to return to court July 27 for a pretrial hearing.
In his motion to have the seven charges of unauthorized photography of juveniles dismissed, Vitantonio explains that Martin videotaped the paddling of several juveniles.
State law mandates that no child should be fingerprinted or photographed in the investigation of any violation of law without the consent of the juvenile judge.
Vitantonio, however, states in the motion that the juveniles were not under investigation when they were videotaped.
"The evidence in this case, which has been obtained through discovery, establishes that all of the juveniles who were videotaped while receiving swats were already charged with minor offenses," Vitantonio stated.
"On the other hand, there is no evidence whatsoever that any of the these juveniles were the subject of any investigation whatsoever, especially at the time that they received the swats."
Other details
The motion further asks that the 20 counts of dereliction of duty be dismissed because the charges fail to reference any statute or law that expressly forbids Martin from operating a diversion program.
State and federal officials began investigating Martin's juvenile diversion program in March. The program, which diverted offenders from the court system, used corporal punishment and was being operated out of the Fowler Township Police Department.
Martin has been on unpaid leave from the Fowler Department since April.
Martin, free on a $2,500 bond, is also facing 11 counts of misdemeanor assault; 12 counts of using a sham legal process; and two felony counts of theft in office.
Authorities said the charge of sham legal process means Martin showed juveniles a document that appeared official but in reality had no legal standing and was not lawfully issued.
The indictment further states that Martin used a wooden paddle on several juveniles and adults numerous times as part of the diversion program. The adults were age 18 and 20. All the victims were male, officials said.
The theft-in-office charge states that Martin took a police file, videotapes, physical evidence and diversion program files from 1975-92 from the Howland Township Police Department. The records were stored in his basement, the indictment states.
Vitantonio said his client operated the diversion program in an attempt to help juveniles stay out of trouble.
sinkovich@vindy.com