Friday, February 24, 2006
The defense wants more information from the informant.
By DEBORA SHAULIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The 7th District Court of Appeals will reach a "reasonably quick decision" in a case that has a criminal trial in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on hold and an assistant county prosecutor facing a contempt-of-court charge, says presiding Judge Gene Donofrio.
Judges Donofrio, Cheryl L. Waite and Joseph J. Vukovich heard arguments regarding the state of Ohio vs. Franky E. Deltoro and Armando C. Rodriguez-Baron, who are charged with possession of marijuana and trafficking in marijuana. Trial was scheduled to begin Feb. 13.
Prosecutors filed an appeal Feb. 9, a day after Judge Maureen A. Cronin of common pleas court ordered Martin P. Desmond, an assistant county prosecutor, to reveal the identity of a confidential informant in the case. Judge Cronin wanted Desmond to be jailed until he abided by her order. The appellate court issued an emergency temporary stay, also on Feb. 9.
A "personality clash" exists between Judge Cronin and Desmond, but "we're trying to separate personal from judicial," assistant county prosecutor Jon Michael Thompson said.
About the case
Deltoro, 20, and Rodriguez-Baron, 35, both of Arizona, were arrested last May along with Daniel Morales, 48, at Morales' home on Cherry Hill Avenue in Youngstown. An agent from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives obtained a search warrant for Morales' home after the informant told him that Morales was dealing drugs there.
Agents found more than 60 pounds of marijuana, including a 35-pound cellophane-wrapped brick in a duffel bag with an airline sticker for Deltoro, Desmond wrote in his brief to the appeals court.
Atty. Douglas King, who represents Deltoro, said Deltoro was merely a guest in Morales' home and knew nothing about marijuana. Audio tapes of conversations between the informant and Morales suggest that other individuals may have been responsible for bringing marijuana to the house, King said. Because the quality of other audio tapes is poor, the defense believes further information can be obtained from the informant, he added.
Neither Deltoro nor Rodriguez-Baron has been charged with transporting marijuana to the house, Thompson said. The informant's information was used only for probable cause to obtain a search warrant. The defendants were charged with what agents saw once the warrant was served. Under those circumstances, he said, the informant's identity should not be released.
"The revealing of a confidential informant's name is the exception, not the rule," Thompson said.
Another issue
The appeals judges also will consider whether Judge Cronin abused her discretion by ordering the informant's identity to be revealed without having a hearing to let the prosecution respond. King said the parties discussed the matter after the judge issued her order.
Attorneys also argued whether the appellate court has jurisdiction in this matter, based on how motions were filed with the trial and appeals courts.
Morales had been charged with the same crimes as Deltoro and Rodriguez-Baron, but he pleaded guilty last October to a reduced charge of conspiracy to trafficking in marijuana. Prosecutors offered to recommend probation as long as he cooperates in the prosecution of the other men. He will be sentenced after their trial concludes, court records say.
shaulis@vindy.com