Thursday, February 03, 2000
Booby-trap case heads for trial
BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
INDEPENDENCE — A booby-trapping case against an Independence councilman is headed for trial, with a fellow council member and other city officials to be witnesses for the prosecution.
Councilman Steve Feldhaus has rejected a plea deal, saying he's not guilty of putting carpet-tacking strips on a building in Sterling Staggs Park to deter youths from jumping up on and hanging from the gutters. Anyone who had jumped up and grabbed the gutters could have sliced their hands, police said.
County Attorney Garry Edmondson was willing to let the councilman avoid a criminal record if he would admit what he'd done was “stupid and dumb.” Mr. Feldhaus declined that offer.
“It was stupid and dumb,” Mr. Edmondson said. “Nobody was hurt, thank God.”
The prosecution's key witness is Jeff Smith, the city's public works director. But he
also faces a charge himself — for allegedly tampering with evidence against Mr. Feldhaus. Investigators think he destroyed leftover tack strips after being told police needed them for the case, Chief Ed Porter said.
The felony lodged against Mr. Smith could bring more jail time — one to five years — than what Mr. Feldhaus faces. The councilman is charged with wanton endangerment and criminal mischief, both misdemeanors for which he could be sentenced to up to a year behind bars.
City Administrator Gary Scott was listed as an original witness in the case. But that list has now grown to include city Clerk Pat Taney, Councilwoman Donna Yeager, recreation worker Nita Brake, parks volunteer David Arlinghaus and road department employee George Pegg. All of them have been subpoenaed to testify for the commonwealth.
Mr. Feldhaus' attorney, David Steele, has not filed subpoenas for his witnesses. A jury trial is scheduled April 19.
Mr. Steele doesn't want jurors to see the model of the park building developed by police investigators. He thinks it's misleading. He also wanted the case dismissed. Both requests were overruled.
The 3-foot-long strips went up about the middle of August and stayed up three weeks, according to court records. Some people told police the tacks were supposed to prevent birds from nesting in the gutters. Investigators don't believe that.
Voters returned Mr. Feldhaus, 47, to council last year. He had been a council member for nine years previously and has been active with the city's Recreation Committee.
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