Friday, January 08, 1999
Plea in Devin's case decried
Judge says he didn't know of objections
BY JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — A Butler County judge says he didn't know police and a crash victim's family would have objected to a plea agreement for a motorist accused of speeding past another vehicle in a no-passing zone and striking a middle-schooler.
“If the family was unaware of what was going on, then I don't know if I would've done what I did yesterday,” J.B. Connaughton, judge for Butler County Area II Court, said Thursday.
Judge Connaughton on Wednesday allowed Leaton D. Isaacs, 33, to plead guilty to a reduced charge of reckless operation in connection with the Oct. 29 crash that left Devin Carr with severe brain damage.
Devin, 12, has made a remarkable recovery, but still faces a long rehabilitation after his expected release from Children's Hospital Medical Center today, his mother said.
Judge Connaughton fined Mr. Isaacs $250, suspended a 30-day jail sentence and put him on two years' probation.
Total situation cited
Devin's family expressed outrage and said they considered those penalties too lenient. But Michael Gmoser, Mr. Isaacs' lawyer, said he considers the penalties appropriate, considering the total circumstances. No drugs were involved, and Mr. Isaacs stopped his vehicle, then helped perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Devin.
Mr. Gmoser, who said he instructed his client to resist the desire to contact the family and express his sorrow, said Mr. Isaacs “feels terrible” about what happened.
“He's just a man who stares into space and says, "I'm not going to be right until that boy is right,'” Mr. Gmoser said.
Mr. Isaacs originally was charged with a fourth-degree felony, aggravated vehicular assault, which carries a sentence of up to 18 months in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.
Devin's mother, Deanna, said the decision to accept Mr. Isaacs' plea to a reduced charge was made without her knowledge.
Family lawyer present
It's true that no specifics of the plea arrangement were discussed before Wednesday's conference, Judge Connaughton said. But the Carr family's lawyer, Michael D. Shanks, was present in court to represent the family's interests — and if the family strongly objected, Mr. Shanks should have said so, the judge said.
Mr. Shanks “never said that the only thing the family would go along with was a felony,” the judge said. “All he said was that his clients were supportive of the sheriff's deputies.”
Mr. Shanks confirmed he did say the deputies had done a very thorough investigation. “But that doesn't mean you can conclude we would be supportive of (the plea),” he said.
“I couldn't say what the Carrs felt about that because I didn't get a chance to talk to them about that.”
Sheriff's Capt. G. Michael Grimes, who oversees traffic investigations, said he was surprised to learn of the judge's decision Thursday and didn't feel justice was served.
However, the judge said he didn't think deputies would have objected to the plea, based upon a December conference that included two traffic crash investigators.
At that conference, which also included Mr. Shanks and Mr. Gmoser, “it seemed to be the consensus of everybody there that there wouldn't be enough evidence to prove a felony — at least the information that was given to me then,” Judge Connaughton said.
Scott Blauvelt, an assistant county prosecutor who only recently became involved in the case, referred questions to Prosecutor John F. Holcomb.
Mr. Holcomb said it was his understanding that the Carrs and the deputies had no problem with the plea agreement. “We wouldn't do it without the victims' consent,” he said. “We always ask the victim.”
Mr. Holcomb said he had ordered a transcript of the proceeding in hopes of learning more details about the plea and clarifying any possible misunderstandings.
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