Thieves bare guilt to public Two men choose humiliating signs over jail time
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
BROOKFIELD — Stopping by Hartford Cemetery for 20 minutes on June 1, 2006, on their way home from Lake Erie to commit a theft at the cemetery cost two men more than just money.
It has cost them a lot of time — and now a bit of their pride.
John D. Ward, 47, of New Cumberland, W.Va., and Ray G. Flint, 32, of East Liverpool, were looking for a way to complete the last 25 days of the 30-day jail sentence imposed by Eastern District Court Judge Ronald Rice and asked their lawyer to see whether some method away from the Trumbull County Jail could be devised.
Judge Rice, whose court is in Brookfield, came up with a way.
To avoid more jail time, he gave the men the option of standing along a public road holding a sign that reads: “I am a convicted thief. I stole flowers and statues from Hartford Cemetery. This public humiliation is part of my punishment. I apologize to the community. I volunteered to do this instead of going to jail.”
They accepted.
On Friday, along state Route 7, in front of Brookfield Cemetery, the men said holding the signs two hours per day for 25 days will be better than jail.
How bad it was
Ward said his five-day stay in the county lockup was unpleasant: He couldn’t stand the smell of urine; the breakfast bagels were as hard as rocks; he slept on the floor rather than use the hard plastic cot he was given; and he didn’t like having to live in a jumpsuit without underwear or socks.
Flint said they each paid a $500 fine and court costs, served 200 hours of community service, and a relative of Ward’s is on a payment plan of $300 per month to pay off the $10,000 it cost each man to post bond.
It also has cost them a great deal of gas money to come back to Trumbull County numerous times since their arrest.
“I know I’m a criminal, but this seems a bit stiff,” said Flint, who said he and Ward were caught stealing three hanging planters and a statue. “We wasn’t in town more than 20 minutes.”
A witness to the thefts called 911, and a Brookfield police officer caught the pair a short time later as they drove through the township.
Nonetheless, Flint said he thinks the alternative sentencing he got is appropriate and prefers it to jail time.
“You’d think they would do more of this to save money,” he said.
In his judgment entry, Judge Rice said the sign-carrying would save county taxpayers about $70 per day, or $3,500 overall. The cost to house an inmate in the county jail is about $70 a day.
Judge Rice wrote in the entry that the men had not completed their jail sentences “due to jail crowding,” but Chief Deputy Ernie Cook of the sheriff’s department said no one sentenced to the county jail is being turned away.
Central District Court records say Flint was convicted on misdemeanor charges of theft and receiving stolen property, and Ward was convicted on misdemeanor theft.
Keith Gunther, the probation officer for Rice’s court, will supervise the men during their two-hour stints at various cemeteries. Gunther dropped the two off at the cemetery Friday morning and left.
runyan@vindy.com