Post by KC on Jun 14, 2006 22:35:39 GMT -5
June 14, 2006 - FAIRMONT — A defense lawyer for a Marion County Sheriff’s Department deputy arrested and charged with misdemeanor stalking of a woman last April said the charge against Deputy Criss A. Jimmie may be dropped.
A tentative agreement with a special prosecutor calls for Jimmie, 32, of Rivesville to not have any further contact with the alleged victim for six months, said Scott Radman. A Morgantown lawyer, Radman is Jimmie’s defense lawyer.
“If there is no further contact between Jimmie and the alleged victim, then the case will be dismissed in six months,” said Radman.
“There is nothing in writing yet” is all that Special Prosecutor Scott F. Reynolds would say Tuesday when asked about Radman’s statement.
“We have not come to any final decision about the case,” Reynolds stressed. A Harrison County assistant prosecutor, Reynolds was appointed as special prosecutor when Marion Prosecutor Patrick N. Wilson recused his office from prosecuting the charge.
A hearing on the charge is set for 2 p.m. June 28 before Harrison Magistrate Mark A. Gorby.
In another development Tuesday, Mayor Ed Mahalick of Rivesville said Jimmie has resigned as Rivesville’s chief of police.
Jimmie resigned June 6, with an effective date of July 1, Mahalick said. Jimmie is on paid administrative leave until then as part of a severance package, the mayor said.
Citing personnel privacy rules, Mahalick would say only that Jimmie resigned for personal reasons.
“He’s done a fine job for the community for the last three years,” Mahalick said.
While Marion Sheriff Junior Slaughter put Jimmie on unpaid administrative leave within several days after his arrest April 12, Mahalick kept Jimmie working as police chief.
The mayor first said Jimmie was innocent until proven guilty. Mahalick said then he would wait until an investigation was complete before he and council decided Jimmie’s status.
Later, Mahalick said he had checked with Marion Prosecutor Wilson. Wilson told him the charge “does not preclude Jimmie from doing his duties as police chief and carrying a weapon,” the mayor said.
County legal officials were concerned about having to defend many conflict-of-interest claims from defendants in cases where the deputy was the complaining officer, court officials said at the time.
Saying he didn’t want his decision to reflect negatively on Sheriff Slaughter, Mahalick said he believed that in the absence of a conviction, Jimmie could continue working as police chief.
On Tuesday, Sheriff Slaughter said Jimmie would remain on unpaid administrative leave “until the case is adjudicated.”
When there is a final resolution, Slaughter said he would then consult with Assistant Marion Prosecutor Charles A. Shields, the county attorney, on Jimmie’s status.
Shortly after Jimmie’s arrest, Radman said the alleged victim wanted to drop the charge.
On Tuesday, the defense lawyer again said the woman wants to drop the charge.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Fairmont Police Chief Steve Cain against Jimmie, the woman told city police that Jimmie had followed her in his own truck from Rivesville to the city police station.
Jimmie followed her and a woman friend who was a passenger in her car on U.S. Route 19 on the night of April 12, the complaint states.
When the vehicles reached Fairmont, Jimmie was tailgating her vehicle and “crossing the centerline ... and weaving side to side.”
The woman said she and Jimmie had a past relationship and that he was “continually” following her and harassing her, the complaint states.
Stalking is a misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction by up to six months in jail or a fine of up to $1,000, or both penalties. Jimmie was later released on a $500 personal recognizance bond.
Radman said Tuesday that Chief Cain and Reynolds do not want to dismiss the police complaint against Jimmie at this time.
“The prosecutor and the city police department do not feel comfortable about doing that now. They want to wait six months,” the defense lawyer said.
A tentative agreement with a special prosecutor calls for Jimmie, 32, of Rivesville to not have any further contact with the alleged victim for six months, said Scott Radman. A Morgantown lawyer, Radman is Jimmie’s defense lawyer.
“If there is no further contact between Jimmie and the alleged victim, then the case will be dismissed in six months,” said Radman.
“There is nothing in writing yet” is all that Special Prosecutor Scott F. Reynolds would say Tuesday when asked about Radman’s statement.
“We have not come to any final decision about the case,” Reynolds stressed. A Harrison County assistant prosecutor, Reynolds was appointed as special prosecutor when Marion Prosecutor Patrick N. Wilson recused his office from prosecuting the charge.
A hearing on the charge is set for 2 p.m. June 28 before Harrison Magistrate Mark A. Gorby.
In another development Tuesday, Mayor Ed Mahalick of Rivesville said Jimmie has resigned as Rivesville’s chief of police.
Jimmie resigned June 6, with an effective date of July 1, Mahalick said. Jimmie is on paid administrative leave until then as part of a severance package, the mayor said.
Citing personnel privacy rules, Mahalick would say only that Jimmie resigned for personal reasons.
“He’s done a fine job for the community for the last three years,” Mahalick said.
While Marion Sheriff Junior Slaughter put Jimmie on unpaid administrative leave within several days after his arrest April 12, Mahalick kept Jimmie working as police chief.
The mayor first said Jimmie was innocent until proven guilty. Mahalick said then he would wait until an investigation was complete before he and council decided Jimmie’s status.
Later, Mahalick said he had checked with Marion Prosecutor Wilson. Wilson told him the charge “does not preclude Jimmie from doing his duties as police chief and carrying a weapon,” the mayor said.
County legal officials were concerned about having to defend many conflict-of-interest claims from defendants in cases where the deputy was the complaining officer, court officials said at the time.
Saying he didn’t want his decision to reflect negatively on Sheriff Slaughter, Mahalick said he believed that in the absence of a conviction, Jimmie could continue working as police chief.
On Tuesday, Sheriff Slaughter said Jimmie would remain on unpaid administrative leave “until the case is adjudicated.”
When there is a final resolution, Slaughter said he would then consult with Assistant Marion Prosecutor Charles A. Shields, the county attorney, on Jimmie’s status.
Shortly after Jimmie’s arrest, Radman said the alleged victim wanted to drop the charge.
On Tuesday, the defense lawyer again said the woman wants to drop the charge.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Fairmont Police Chief Steve Cain against Jimmie, the woman told city police that Jimmie had followed her in his own truck from Rivesville to the city police station.
Jimmie followed her and a woman friend who was a passenger in her car on U.S. Route 19 on the night of April 12, the complaint states.
When the vehicles reached Fairmont, Jimmie was tailgating her vehicle and “crossing the centerline ... and weaving side to side.”
The woman said she and Jimmie had a past relationship and that he was “continually” following her and harassing her, the complaint states.
Stalking is a misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction by up to six months in jail or a fine of up to $1,000, or both penalties. Jimmie was later released on a $500 personal recognizance bond.
Radman said Tuesday that Chief Cain and Reynolds do not want to dismiss the police complaint against Jimmie at this time.
“The prosecutor and the city police department do not feel comfortable about doing that now. They want to wait six months,” the defense lawyer said.