TRUMBULL COURT Ex-chief's paddling case will go to trial

The judge denied a motion to dismiss 27 counts.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A jury trial has been scheduled for Jan. 24 for a former part-time police chief accused of paddling juvenile offenders.
Judge Andrew Logan of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court also denied defense motions to dismiss 27 of the 52 counts filed against James Martin, the former Fowler Township police chief.
"Obviously, I'm very pleased," said Dave Toepfer, an assistant county prosecutor, who opposed the dismissal of the criminal counts.
Atty. Dominic Vitantonio, who represents Martin, could not be reached to comment.Martin faces misdemeanor assault charges for the alleged paddlings.
Martin has pleaded innocent to all 52 counts. A pretrial has been scheduled for Nov. 30.
The charges that Martin and his attorney wanted dismissed were 20 counts of dereliction of duty and seven counts of unauthorized photography of juveniles.
Dereliction charges
The motion asked that the 20 counts of dereliction of duty be dismissed because the charges fail to reference any statute or law that expressly forbids Martin to operate a diversion program.
Toepfer said, however, state law specifically grants the authority to establish a pretrial diversion program only to prosecuting attorneys.
Toepfer added that law police officers must file traffic citations with the proper court.
Court documents state that participants in Martin's program who received traffic tickets were told that if they attended the program they would not have to go to court. The tickets those participants received were never filed in court, officials said.
Photography charges
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 court judge.
Vitantonio, however, states in the motion that the juveniles were not under investigation when they were videotaped.
Settlements
Civil cases have been filed against Martin by four juveniles.
Court motions also say that last month the chief was willing to pay $20,050 to Michael W. Harrington, 18, of Trumbull Drive, Niles; Robert J. McCrystal, 18, of Stillwagon Road, Howland; and Richard Thomas Woolf, 16, of Vienna.
Martin also was willing to settle the case filed by Scott C. Villio, 20, of Oak Forest Drive, Niles, for $11,050. Villio was not paddled.
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 retired from the part-time police chief's job last month. He retired from Howland Township, where he was a police captain, in May.
Martin remains free on a $2,500 bond.
sinkovich@vindy.com