Sunday, July 18, 2010
Five months ago, the clash was over the reduction in court-ordered bond that resulted in Jamar Houser’s release from county jail and his subsequent arrest for the brutal murder of 80-year-old Angeline Fimognari of Youngstown. City Prosecutor Jay Macejko and Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gain went public with their disagreement over the reduction in bond — and residents were dismayed and disgusted.
Why can’t Macejko and Gains and their staffs work together? That question came up as the debate raged over the murder of Fimognari, who was found shot to death in her car in the parking lot of St. Dominic Church on the city’s South Side.
Last week, the question became even more pointed: Will the two prosecutors ever be able to set aside whatever differences may exist and work for the protection of the people and the betterment of our community ?
At issue this time is the seven-year sentence Common Pleas Court Judge R. Scott Krichbaum handed to Steve Gardner for armed robbery. Gardner had previously been sentenced to three years in prison for fatally shooting Larry Robbins, a former Youngstown Pride professional basketball player in March 2003.
Had he been convicted of all charges and specifications in the new indictment, and had maximum, consecutive sentences been imposed, Gardner would have been sentenced to 46 years in prison.
“When you encounter an individual like Steve Gardner, you always hope that a very substantial sentence will be imposed ... He’s a dangerous fellow,” Macejko said.
But assistant county prosecutors Robert J. Andrews and Jennifer McLaughlin-Smith say that seven years was justified given that witnesses disagreed on some of the facts in the case, the three victims of the armed robbery were satisfied and there was no guarantee of victory had the case gone to jury trial.
Different viewpoint
Mayor Jay Williams, Police Chief Jimmy Hughes and Macejko said that going to trial with all the charges against Gardner would have been preferred to the seven-year sentence. “I, as mayor, would have been willing to take the risk of letting the jury decide,” Williams said.
So, why are the two criminal justice systems so far apart on a case that seems pretty straightforward with regard to the accused’s record? Because they aren’t talking to each other.
When the initial charges were filed in municipal court, the prosecutor believed he had a strong case. But then it went to the common pleas court and the complexion of the case changed.
It is ironic that both prosecutors have first-hand knowledge of the workings of both offices. Gains was a Youngstown police officer before he became county prosecutor; Macejko worked as an assistant county prosecutor for seven years before going across the street.
It’s time they joined forces.