Pair arraigned in child endangering case
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
The Elliot Lane couple accused of withholding food from two children and locking them in a room for punishment are both in the Mahoning County jail.
Tamara Julious, 30, and Albert Barnette, 40, each had their bond set at 10 percent of $50,000 Tuesday by Magistrate Eugene Fehr of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. They entered pleas of not guilty to four counts each of endangering children, a third-degree felony.
A grand jury indicted them on the charges last week.
Julious turned herself in Saturday at the jail when she learned of the warrant for her arrest. Barnette came to the arraignments Tuesday and surrendered to authorities.
Investigators said the two children, age 8 and 9, were abused from November of last year until January.
Julious told Fehr she has a warrant out for her arrest because she missed a court date in juvenile court Monday because she was in jail.
Barnette is trying to regain custody of the two children, who were taken by children services during an investigation of the abuse allegations. Julious is their mother.
Barnette, who came to court clutching several photographs of what appeared to be young children, told Fehr that Julious is not his girlfriend, but before he could say more, he was warned by the attorney representing him at arraignments, Ross Smith, to stop talking.
Smith asked for a bond of 10 percent of $25,000 for Barnette, saying that Barnette has ties to the community and also has health problems that require a pacemaker, but Fehr said he would keep the bond the same as what he set for Julious.
Both are to appear for trial April 20 before Judge Maureen Sweeney.