State finds flaws in training at Ytown facility

YOUNGSTOWN — Other than calling police and an ambulance, the staff at a North Side adult care facility where a resident was choked to death wasn’t told what else to do in an emergency or crisis, a state health surveyor discovered.

An unannounced inspection at Illinois Manor, a home for mentally ill men, was conducted by the Ohio Department of Health on March 12 and 13, after the death of Stephen A. Lawson, 34. A caregiver at the group home at 135 Illinois Ave. told police that Lawson and another resident, 50-year-old James R. DiCioccio, had been fighting and Lawson was choked around 5:30 p.m. March 11.

DiCioccio was charged with murder and his lawyer entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. He remains in the Mahoning County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond. A pretrial in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court is set for May 3.

For the complete story, see Sunday's Vindicator and Vindy.com.