Judge orders defendant’s mouth taped shut

By Peter H. Milliken

Judge orders defendant’s mouth taped shut

‘He acted like an animal,’ the judge says of the defendant.

YOUNGSTOWN — A disruptive defendant charged with aggravated murder was subdued by deputy sheriffs, and his mouth was duct-taped shut after he shouted obscenities at a judge.

Michael W. Lee, 20, of Cordova Avenue, is scheduled to go on trial Monday.

But he was sentenced Thursday to 30 days in jail for contempt of court when he became disruptive during his final pretrial hearing.

Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court imposed the time on Lee, who was already being detained in Mahoning County Jail awaiting his trial.

Lee is one of three men indicted last December on aggravated-murder, aggravated-robbery and kidnapping charges with gun specifications in the Nov. 18 shooting death of James E. Dow, 28, of South Lakeview Avenue. Dow was found dead in the basement of 145 Thornton Ave., his feet bound with tape. Police said the motive was robbery and drug-related.

Lee, who was arrested in Allentown, Pa., and returned to Youngstown, faces 23 years to life in prison if he’s convicted on all counts.

When Lee refused to enter the courtroom, sheriff’s deputies dragged him into the courtroom, where he shouted obscenities at the judge.

Deputies had to subdue and restrain him and hold him upright before following the judge’s order to put duct tape over his mouth, Judge Krichbaum said after court.

After his hearing, Lee was writhing on the courtroom floor with duct tape over his mouth, surrounded by deputies.

“I would hope you can talk to him because I don’t want him treated like that,’’ Judge Krichbaum told Lee’s mother, Tonya Lee, of Youngstown, in court.

“But I’m not going to allow him to act as he acted today. He acted like an animal,” the judge added.

“That was as outrageous conduct as I’ve ever seen,” he said.

“I can’t let that happen in front of a jury.”

Lee’s mother told the judge her son has “been in and out of mental hospitals his whole life since he was 4,” adding that he needs mental health treatment — and she can document that he has schizophrenia.

“He just absolutely doesn’t want to listen to what anybody has to say,” Judge Krichbaum said.

“He just doesn’t want to face the music. I think he perfectly understands everything that’s going on here.”

The judge made his comments to Lee’s mother in a separate court hearing after deputies briefly detained and handcuffed her.

That’s because she tried to enter the courtroom through the chambers hallway during the disruption, instead of through the public entrance.

After court, the judge said he would, if necessary, place Lee in a separate room, where Lee can monitor his trial.

The judge ordered the Forensic Psychiatric Center of Northeast Ohio in Austintown to perform “an emergency competency evaluation” to determine whether Lee is competent to stand trial and allowed the center to provide him with an oral report by noon today, followed by a written report.