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Judge Sweeney opts not to hold Youngstown cop in contempt
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Kelty
By JOHN W. GOODWIN Jr.
YOUNGSTOWN
The city police detective who headed a murder investigation that ended in a mistrial because of missing evidence will not be held in contempt of court, but changes to court procedure will be made.
Youngstown police Detective Sgt. John Kelty, with his attorney J. Gerald Ingram, appeared Tuesday before Judge Maureen Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for a contempt-of-court show-cause hearing. The hearing resulted from Kelty’s not turning over evidence in the Paul Brown murder case.
Brown was on trial earlier this month, accused of killing 17-year-old Ashten Jackson in 2009, but the case ended in a mistrial because evidence from Kelty’s investigation had not been given to prosecutors or the defense.
Robert Andrews, assistant county prosecutor handling the case, and Atty. Anthony Meranto, representing Brown, first learned that a witness statement collected by police had not been turned over to the court. It was later discovered that a videotaped interview between the victim’s mother and Brown was also not turned over to the court.
Ingram told the court that Kelty’s failure to produce the documents before trial was an error and not intentional.
“The problems in this case were unfortunate, but they were not intentional,” said Ingram.
He assured the court that all needed notes and evidence now have been supplied to prosecutors and the defense.
Judge Sweeney chose not to hold Kelty in contempt of court, but reminded the department that prosecutors and defense counsel are to be given all police reports, not just those that investigators choose to produce. She said those materials are to be handed over at the first pretrial hearing in any given case.
“This is totally unacceptable in this court and any court of law,” the judge said. “The court will not tolerate such inept and irresponsible handling of criminal matters.”
The judge also noted how costly the error in disclosure will be to the county. She said the county will have to pay additional jurors’ fees, attorney fees, court reporting fees and security fees.
Judge Sweeney ordered that from now on police, prosecutors and defense counsel must meet four weeks before any trial in her court for a discovery hearing where all evidence is discussed and handed over to the appropriate individuals. She also ordered Kelty to sit down with Andrews and Meranto and go over the investigative material from the Brown case page by page before the next trial date, which is June 18.
Lt. Mark Milstead said the police department is looking into computer software and methods of operation that would avoid similar confusion in the future.