Attorneys at odds over access in murder case against Niles boy
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The criminal complaint and other filings in juvenile court in the aggravated-murder case of Jacob Larosa, 15, of Niles should be treated as public records, Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins says.
“It is the state’s view that the complaint ... and investigatory evidence of probable cause of the crime charged given at the [April 30] preliminary hearing ... is open to public access and disclosure unless good cause is shown to deny access or disclosure,” a Wednesday filing by the prosecutor says.
Watkins filed the comments with Family Court Judge Pamela Rintala in response to a motion by Atty. Rob Kokor on Tuesday that seeks to deny media access to documents in the case. Kokor is serving as public defender for Larosa.
Larosa is charged with aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery and attempted rape in the March 31 beating death of Marie Belcastro, 94, of Cherry Street in Niles. Larosa, of Lafayette Avenue, and Belcastro were neighbors.
Kokor’s filing says public access to the prosecutor’s complaint and other documents “could endanger the fairness of the adjudication process.”
Kokor noted that Watkins has sought to have the case transferred to the adult-level common pleas court, “but this matter has not been bound over. As such, any and all release of information is damaging, and the court should not entertain permitting media access until such time as the court rules to bind over.”
Family Court Judge Sandra Stabile Harwood, who is handling Larosa’s criminal case in juvenile court, will have a 1:30 p.m. April 30 hearing for testimony regarding whether she should transfer to the case to adult court.
Judge Rintala will have a hearing at 10 a.m. today to hear evidence to determine whether the case filings should be open to the public.
Watkins cited Ohio law that allows for “serious youthful offender proceedings” in some cases, and such proceedings “shall be open to the public.” He said he thinks that principle “should also be applied in transfer cases” to adult court such as the one involving Larosa.
Watkins and Kokor cited case law that they believe supports their position, Kokor saying Ohio law supports keeping juvenile court records confidential.
But Watkins noted that Larosa is three months shy of age 16, the “age of mandatory bindover [to adult court] for the crimes charged,” and Ohio law gives juvenile court judges the authority to release documents in such cases.
Judge W. Wyatt McKay of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court last week released two affidavits investigators filed with the court in support of two search warrants they were granted to gather evidence. They contained information about what Larosa told investigators when he was taken into custody the night of the killing.
They also described the clothing of Larosa and Belcastro when they were found that day, in explaining the reasons why Larosa was charged with attempted rape and other allegations.
The charges filed against Larosa were discussed at his first hearing last week in front of Judge Stabile Harwood.
“Since the charges have been made public at a prior hearing and since the affidavit contains facts collected by investigators ... the state firmly believes that these documents should be released,” Watkins wrote.
Watkins cited more recent case law than Kokor, saying a 2006 Ohio Supreme Court ruling compelled a Cuyahoga County judge to release information on juvenile court testimony and to provide rulings and information to the public regarding motions and the time and date of upcoming hearings.
If necessary, a defendant can ask for his adult trial to be moved to another county “to alleviate any unfairness that pretrial publicity may cause,” Watkins said.
Atty. David Marburger, a public-records attorney, who also represents The Vindicator and 21 WFMJ-TV, said he believes written pleadings, motions and rulings from a judge ought to be open to the public in a case such as this, and they should be open now, at the time the public cares a lot about the case.
There could be instances in which the judge should consider making certain documents unavailable if releasing them would harm the juvenile in relation to a potential jury or to protect his reputation, Marburger said.