STRUTHERS Raid of wrong home scares innocent family

There was a breakdown in communication, a major said.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
STRUTHERS -- The Mahoning County Sheriff's Department knew more than two years ago that 441 Spring St. was not the residence of sex offender Timothy Franks, but that didn't stop deputies from publicly listing the address as his home and raiding it last week.
Mandy and David Barone live at 441 Spring with their daughters, Tori, 2, and Leah, 7 months. The Barones -- she's 28, he's 27 -- bought the house in February 2002.
Mandy Barone described what happened after The Vindicator published a story Feb. 22 about eSORN, the Ohio attorney general's sex offender Web site.
The site, gleaned from information supplied by sheriff's departments' sex offender Web sites throughout the state, shows offenders' names, photos and addresses.
Two days after the story ran, Mandy Barone received a call from a woman who, out of concern, said she had already called Struthers police and the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department after checking the eSORN site and seeing Franks listed at 441 Spring St.
David Barone said the woman who called had Struthers police escort her to his house Feb. 23, but no one was home.
What happened
"Then, Thursday morning, around 8, there's cop cars everywhere outside my house," Mandy Barone said. "Cops in black vests and masks were peeking in the windows. I opened the door, they said, 'Where's Timothy Franks?' I started crying."
Barone said she became hysterical when one of the deputies took Franks' picture and held it next to a Barone family photo to see if her husband was the 34-year-old fugitive.
She explained to the deputies that she doesn't know Franks. She said she stood, frightened and embarrassed, as the black-clad deputies searched the entire house -- upstairs and down.
Sheriff's Maj. Michael Budd said deputies assigned to the U.S. Marshals task force had "warrant teams" out last Thursday hunting for fugitives and had a warrant for Franks that erroneously listed his address as 441 Spring.
Budd said a sheriff's detective determined more than two years ago that Franks no longer lived at 441 Spring.
Franks, convicted of sexual conduct with a minor, registered as a sex offender in May 2001 with the sheriff's department but has failed to re-register annually as is required by law. In June 2003, a warrant was issued for Franks, said Detective Charles Emery, who registers sex offenders at the sheriff's department.
"It was a breakdown in communication," Budd said. "Emery should have made sure the address was changed."
Budd said the 441 Spring St. address should not have been on the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department or eSORN Web sites linking it to Franks, who remains at large. The major said Emery could face discipline for what happened to the Barones.
Deputy David Aey said it was his team that entered the Barone house. He said a neighbor had called, anonymously, saying she had seen Franks on the porch. Aey said the tip put Franks' warrant to the top of the pile.
"If you put a ball cap on the husband, from a distance he could look like Franks," the deputy said.
Effect on family
Aey said Mandy Barone convinced him they were in the wrong house and he told her they won't be back. He said what happened was unfortunate.
He said warrants frequently have what turns out to be the wrong address because the person moved, but no one advised him beforehand that the address on the warrant wasn't valid.
"I was hysterical. It was so horrible," Mandy Barone said, clutching her daughters close as she talked Tuesday. "It's embarrassing; people don't want their children to walk past our home."
David Barone said he tried to contact Emery all day last Wednesday about 441 Spring's being listed on the Web sites as Franks' residence. Barone said he finally reached Emery last Thursday, ironically just minutes before deputies showed up at 441 Spring.
Barone said that last summer, he and his wife would frequently see Struthers police driving slowly by their house and he finally confronted officers in July to find out why.
"I met them outside. They asked about Franks. I said he doesn't live here," Barone said. "I said, 'You've got to get this straightened out.'"
What's next
Emery said Tuesday that it will take two weeks to change Franks' address on the eSORN Web site and Franks will be shown on the Mahoning County Web site as "address unknown" and "warrant issued."
Barone, employed at the Trumbull County Department of Jobs and Services, said the work involves his being with kids. He said his employer wants a letter stating the sheriff's department made a mistake.
"My reputation has been damaged," Barone said. "It makes my stomach sick."
The Barones, who were to meet today with a civil rights lawyer, said they've been the talk of the town. They said it's too much of a coincidence that right after The Vindicator published the Web sites for sex offenders, someone reported seeing Franks on their porch.
meade@vindy.com