Judge rules detention of teen was sufficient

Walter Phibbs III gave a friend two morphine pills, and he died accidentally.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Walter R. Phibbs III is making a fresh start in Dayton with a new job and college enrollment.
Mahoning County Juvenile Court Judge Theresa A. Dellick ruled Tuesday that Phibbs, 19, of Boardman, has spent enough time detained for the 2003 drug overdose death of a friend.
"Needless to say, we're ecstatic," said Anthony Meranto, the lawyer for Phibbs. Meranto made his case for Phibbs' release Sept. 29 in Mahoning County Juvenile Court. He said Phibbs was distraught over the death of his friend, and the 2 1/2 years his client was held is penalty enough.
He said Phibbs "more than paid for whatever he did wrong -- legally, morally, however you look at it."
Meranto said Phibbs has moved to Dayton where a brother lives, has a job and will attend Wright State University.
He said youth services workers testified that Phibbs' remorse was genuine, and sending him back to the Department of Youth Services would serve no useful purpose.
Victim's father unsatisfied
The family of the youth who died, Paul Graham II, 17, of Boardman, argued that Phibbs should fulfill his original four-year sentence. Phibbs committed an adult crime and should do adult time, said Graham's father, also named Paul.
Paul Graham said his son, who would be 20 years old, was an artist who had big plans.
In February 2003, Phibbs took two morphine pills from his mother and provided them to Graham. Graham died in his home Feb. 5. The Mahoning County coroner ruled the death was caused by drug toxicity.
Phibbs and his attorney stipulated to taking the morphine pills and providing them to Graham, essentially pleading guilty to those charges. Phibbs and his attorney also agreed to forgo a trial on an involuntary manslaughter charge -- which they denied -- and instead submitted briefs arguing facts of the case.
"We did the plea because we wanted to get him out as soon as possible," Meranto said.
Judge Dellick found that Phibbs committed all the offenses, and sent him to juvenile detention for a minimum of four years.
Early last month, an appeals courts threw out all the convictions. The appeals court ruled that the judge should have directly informed Phibbs of his rights on two occasions during the proceedings, but didn't.