Deputy awaits verdict in ice-melt salt case

The deputy, who suffered a back injury, lifted eight 50-pound bags.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
AUSTINTOWN -- Mahoning County Deputy Sheriff Jeffrey L. Haney II said it "simply didn't occur" to him to find a store that was open instead of taking eight 50-pound bags of ice-melt salt from the sidewalk of a closed Sears store on Thanksgiving Day.
Why not Walgreen's? Why not Kmart? Why not Giant Eagle?
Those stores were open on Nov. 25, and all of them sold rock salt, Kenneth Cardinal, an assistant county prosecutor, said in court Thursday.
Haney, on the witness stand in Mahoning County Area Court, answered that he's a "creature of habit." He shops at Sears on Mahoning Avenue, not the three stores Cardinal mentioned.
The 36-year-old deputy is charged with the theft of the eight bags worth $85.52 with tax. If convicted, he faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Under advisement
After a 90-minute trial Thursday, Judge Diane Vettori took the case under advisement. She said her decision would be prompt.
Haney's defense lawyer, James S. Gentile, said in court that his client's intent was not to steal the rock salt and that he didn't lie about taking it. "It's not the smartest thing he ever did, but he's not a thief," Gentile told Judge Vettori.
Gentile objected and asked for a mistrial when Cardinal said to the Sears manager who quoted the price of the rock salt: "If you steal there's no sales tax." The judge denied the request for a mistrial but sustained the objection.
Haney testified that it had been a hectic morning, preparing for guests at his home for the Thanksgiving holiday, when he saw ice spots on his steep driveway where his wife slipped. He had many errands to run and added rock salt to the list.
"I truly thought stores were open," he said.
An odd decision
Once at Sears, which was closed, he sat in his truck and thought about what to do for two or three minutes. He testified that he decided to get enough salt to last the winter and have his wife pay for it the next day.
Austintown Patrolman Joseph Wojciak testified that he worked a private detail that day at Wal-Mart, 6001 Mahoning Ave., and saw a full-size pickup pull in front of the closed Sears store nearby and a man -- later identified as Haney -- toss items into the truck bed. Wojciak pulled his car closer and saw that the items being loaded were bags of ice-melt salt.
Austintown Patrolman Robert Hutch testified that he was called to the scene and followed the pickup, stopping it on Fairview Road. Wojciak followed behind Hutch.
Both officers said Haney displayed his deputy identification before getting out of the truck. They said Haney told them he would return the rock salt then said he would pay for it the next day, adding, "We all do stupid things."
Haney testified that he told the officers they were making a mistake.
"You're the victim, not Sears?" Cardinal asked.
"That's correct," Haney answered from the witness stand.
Cardinal asked Hutch if police policy would allow Haney to take the salt and pay for it later. "No," the officer answered.
Haney said Hutch told him, "You guys are always in trouble down there [at the sheriff's department], getting indicted."
Cardinal, through his questioning of Haney, established that the deputy didn't leave his name on the bags of rock salt that remained on the sidewalk or tape a note to the door at Sears to let the store know he took eight bags and would pay later.
The prosecutor asked Haney if he remembered from classes at the police academy the elements of a theft offense.
"Barely," came the answer.
Cardinal then asked Haney if he knowingly picked up the bags and put them in the truck. Haney answered yes.
The prosecutor asked Haney if he had consent from Sears to take the bags. "No," the deputy answered.
In early December 2004, Haney began taking sick leave. He has since used up all his sick days and is off the payroll, the sheriff's department said.
In court Thursday, Haney said he suffered a lower back injury in June 2004. Cardinal asked if he had any problem lifting the 50-pound bags of salt from the Sears sidewalk.
Haney said the back pain comes and goes and he had no discomfort the day he lifted the bags because he picked them up at waist level.
meade@vindy.com