BRIBERY TRIAL Selection of jury to continue

The trial is expected to last about a week.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN - Jury selection was to continue today for a former Trumbull County corrections officer facing a bribery charge.
Attorneys for both sides began interviewing possible jurors for Michelle Miller's case Monday afternoon in the courtroom of Judge Peter Kontos of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. The trial is expected to last about a week.
Miller also had been facing a charge of complicity to escape, but prosecutors dismissed that count Monday. Chuck Morrow, an assistant county prosecutor handling the case, declined to comment on the dismissal.
Miller, who quit the sheriff's department in September, is free on $50,000 bond.
About the case
Officials say Miller may have been bribed by a federal inmate in the county jail who wanted to escape. The sheriff's department houses federal inmates on the jail's fourth floor.
The sheriff said the investigation was handled by the FBI. John Kane, agent in charge of the Youngstown FBI office, said the agency is assisting the prosecutor's office.
Last week, 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 also has promised to testify in Miller's trial.
Officials say the inmate told the jailers he would give them $40,000 if they helped him escape, officials said.
Battee's charge of dereliction of duty stems from his relationship with a woman who served time in the county jail, officials say.
sinkovich@vindy.com