Suspect in group home killing refused his meds
The staff once described the accused as becoming too violent.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The mentally disturbed man with a history of violence accused of choking another Illinois Manor resident to death had been refusing to take his medication.
Detective Sgt. John Kelty said caregivers at the facility for mentally ill men at 135 Illinois Ave. are not permitted to force residents to take their medications.
Melissa Novits, a city health department nurse who inspects group homes, said residents have a right to refuse medication. She said it's not desirable because most of the medicines are psychotropics that help with psychological disorders.
Kelty said his investigation into the choking death of 34-year-old Stephen A. Lawson shows that the accused, James R. DiCioccio, known as Dusty, had not been taking medications that would have allowed him to function. The detective declined to discuss what had been prescribed for DiCioccio, 49.
Past disturbances
Police have been sent to Illinois Manor several times over the past two years for disturbances caused by DiCioccio, including once in February 2006 when staff wanted him removed to the psych ward of a hospital, saying he was becoming too violent. He has been found guilty of disorderly conduct involving a maintenance worker and has an assault trial pending in municipal court.
Lawson died March 11 at St. Elizabeth Health Center shortly after a fight at the group home. DiCioccio remains in the Mahoning County Jail in lieu of 1 million bond. He is due in municipal court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing on the murder charge.
Boardman attorney Walter D. Ritchie represents DiCioccio in the assault case that was filed Jan. 31. DiCioccio is accused of punching and choking a 43-year-old resident of the group home. DiCioccio told police he was tired of the man bothering him.
The case, which had been set for trial Monday, has been delayed.
Ritchie requested a mental competency evaluation for his client, whom he described as schizophrenic. The lawyer said the evaluation will likely take about 50 days.
Each group-home resident has a case manager responsible for a health-care plan. Mike Rogich, a case manager at Turning Point Counseling's Struthers office, declined to discuss DiCioccio's care plan Monday, citing privacy laws.
State requirements
Sara Mormon, Ohio Department of Health public information officer, said a mental-health care plan should outline a resident's problems. She said anytime there are behavioral or health problems at a facility, incident reports should be filed for review by state inspectors, called surveyors.
"I can't say for sure that an incident report would be entered into a resident's file, but by rule, the facility is required to enter an incident report into the resident's file," Mormon said.
Illinois Manor was last inspected by a state surveyor in October 2006 and found to be in compliance with license rules, Mormon said. An inspector was again at the adult-care facility after the homicide, and that report should be available in a few weeks.
Mormon said the decision on whether a resident should no longer stay in a group home is based on resident's needs, which are in the mental-health care plan. Facility staff have some training for working with mental-health problems but are not licensed mental-health workers, she said.
Illinois Manor is also licensed by the city. Novits last inspected the place in January and found only a few environmental problems that were corrected such as water pressure, unclean bathrooms and rust on shower curtains.
She said there is no set number of caregivers for the facility, which typically houses 15 men. There were reportedly two caregivers on duty the night Lawson was choked.