Parents face charge of child endangering

Two men were indicted in the attack on an Ohio
Avenue man.

YOUNGSTOWN — Police say the death of a 58-day-old baby in his parents’ house last June appeared to be the result of neglect by the parents because of his malnourishment,

They waited, however, until the Mahoning County coroner confirmed that suspicion before taking the case to a grand jury.

On Thursday, a grand jury indicted Tiffany Berger, 25, and Jesse B. LeFlore, 24, both of North Evanston Avenue, on a charge of endangering children, a third-degree felony.

Their fourth child, J’Berto Leflore, was pronounced dead sometime after Berger and LeFlore called an ambulance the morning of June 19 to report that the baby was not breathing in his crib at the West Side address.

Capt. Kenneth Centorame, chief of detectives for the Youngstown Police Department, said a coroner’s investigation determined the baby died from sickness and malnourishment, possibly brought on by disease.

Because the child was underweight, Centorame said it appeared to investigators and the coroner that the parents had not provided adequate medical care for the baby.

The parents knew the child had some sort of medical problems, Centorame said, but “apparently didn’t act on that information.”

He added that the house in which the child and three siblings lived with the couple was clean and that the other children appeared to be healthy.

If convicted of the charge, Berger and LeFlore both face up to five years in prison.

Meanwhile, two men have been indicted on charges of attempted murder and two counts of felonious assault for the attack on 29-year-old Robert Walton at his Ohio Avenue home Nov. 23.

Walton suffered injuries to his back, side, torso and face and went to St. Elizabeth Health Center. A hospital official said Walton is no longer a patient.

William Rotan, 30, of Youngstown-Hubbard Road, Hubbard, and Jose Reyes Jr., 29, of Romaine Avenue, Boardman were indicted. Police said they were called to Walton’s home and found signs of an attack, including overturned furniture and a broken pool cue.