Mahoning prosecutor seeks to stay order calling for prisoner's release

YOUNGSTOWN — An assistant Mahoning County prosecutor is asking the Ohio Supreme Court to urgently stay a 7th District Court of Appeals decision to dismiss charges against a defendant in a pizza shop robbery case, while the assistant prosecutor appeals the decision to the top court.

If a stay isn’t granted, the robbery suspect, Jeffrey Shorter, 45, of Orange Avenue, will immediately be released from the Mansfield Correctional Institution, said Ralph Rivera, the assistant prosecutor.

That’s because Shorter has already finished serving his three-year prison term for a drug-store robbery, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s Bureau of Sentence Computation, Rivera explained.

An ODRC spokeswoman confirmed Rivera’s statements concerning ODRC, but said Shorter’s release will require a written court order.

The top court gave Shorter’s lawyer, Jan R. Mostov, a noon deadline Friday to file a response to Rivera’s motion for a stay.

For the complete story, read Friday's Vindicator and Vindy.com