Copeland faces Dec. 12 trial in alleged neglect of sister

YOUNGSTOWN — A former city police officer charged with failing to properly care for her ailing sister pleaded innocent this morning to a single count indictment.

Barbara F. Copeland, 60, of Cordova Avenue, entered her plea in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to a fourth-degree felony charge of failure to provide for a functionally-impaired person.

Judge Shirley J. Christian released Copeland on her own recognizance but told her may not leave Ohio without permission of the court nor can she possess a gun.

The case was assigned to R. Scott Krichbaum with a jury trial date of Dec. 12. Copeland appeared with her retained lawyer Kim Akins.

The grand jury indictment, issued Sept. 29, says Copeland recklessly failed to provide treatment and care necessary to maintain the health or safety of her 67-year-old sister, Mary Louise Fields, resulting in serious physical harm to Fields.

The indictment says the offense occurred on or about Oct. 15, 2015, which the coroner’s report says was the date of Fields’ death.

The charge carries up to 18 months in prison and up to a $10,000 fine upon conviction.

The coroner’s office ruled Fields’ death natural, listing a stroke as the cause of death, with malnutrition, dehydration and mental illness as contributing factors.

Fields weighed only 70 pounds when she died, the coroner’s report said.