Post by thecleaninglady on Jan 20, 2007 8:47:07 GMT -5
From The Post Standard:
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Prosecutors can no longer try the boyfriend of
Sheila Shortslef on charges that he beat her a
day before relatives found her dead because
the Oswego County District Attorney's Office
refused to press the case in a timely fashion,
a town justice says.
Shortslef, 40, of 434 Middle Road, was found
dead in her bed on April 25, 2006. The day
before, she had called authorities to accuse
Thomas A. Perrin, 41, of kicking her down a
flight of stairs, threatening her with a knife,
and punching her while throwing her around
"a rag doll" at their apartment.
If new evidence is offered, the abuse case can
be restarted, said Scriba Justice Kenneth Adkins.
No arrests have been made in the death of
Shortslef.
Oswego County prosecutors quickly tried
to dismiss misdemeanor assault, menacing
and criminal possession of a weapon charges
against Perrin after Shortslef's death, according
to court records.
When that request was denied, prosecutors
refused to move forward on the case, said
Scriba Justice Kenneth Adkins.
Nine months after his arrest, the domestic
violence charges against Perrin are stuck in
limbo because a speedy trial didn't take place,
the justice said. The U.S. Constitution guarantees
defendants a speedy trial.
"I don't see where it can proceed any further
at this point in time," Adkins said Thursday.
Meanwhile, Perrin's defense lawyer has charged
that the reason prosecutors tried to drop charges
against Perrin was to improperly remove her from
serving as his court-appointed attorney.
Assigned counsel Amy Hallenbeck represented
Perrin on the April 24 charges in Scriba Town
Court in May. Those charges were filed after
Shortslef called for help following the incident
in the couple's Scriba apartment, according to
investigators' records.
A report from an Oswego County sheriff's deputy
looking into the abuse allegations described
"multiple bumps and bruises of the victim, literally
from head to toe."
An autopsy concluded that her injuries,
including five broken ribs, bruises and
bleeding in the brain, were not lethal,
according to the opinion of an Onondaga
County deputy medical examiner.
The official cause of death is "undetermined."
The day after Shortslef's death, Oswego County
Chief Assistant District Attorney Donald Todd
wrote to Scriba's court requesting that all charges
from the domestic dispute against Perrin be dropped.
"The People's primary witness is unavailable . . .
and we would not be able to go forward affirmatively
with the prosecution at this time," Todd wrote on April 26.
He also asked that Perrin's records in that case be sealed.
But Justices Adkins and Douglas Crouse ruled
that more evidence might exist, and they
refused in a court hearing May 4 to dismiss
charges against Perrin, despite objections
from the county's district attorney.
In a letter the following day, District Attorney
Donald Dodd made clear his displeasure with
their decision.
"I serve as District Attorney of Oswego County,
and I alone am charged with the responsibility
of deciding the manner and circumstances under
which I will prosecute cases," Dodd wrote the town
justices on May 5.
But Hallenbeck, who had been assigned to represent
Perrin after his arrest, insisted that she be allowed to
stay on as Perrin's attorney during the criminal
investigation into Shortslef's death.
She responded quickly when Dodd requested
after the hearing that she be "un-assigned"
from the case. "It is very apparent from Mr. Dodd's
letter that his reason for seeking dismissal of the
charges is to arrange matters in order that the
defendant, who cannot afford to hire counsel,
be without counsel during that investigation,"
she wrote to the court May 8. "Clearly, such a
motivation is not a proper basis for a motion to dismiss."
Hallenbeck finished her letter with a warning to Dodd:
"My client is not to be interviewed by law enforcement
in regard to Ms. Shortslef's death or any related matters
without my consent."
Dodd did not return several phone calls
asking for comment.
Syracuse lawyer Craig Schlanger, of the New York
State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers,
said he hadn't heard of this set of circumstances
before, but said that as long as a case was open
against Perrin, he was entitled to a state-appointed lawyer.
And as long as he has a lawyer, Perrin can't be
questioned about Shortslef's death
without Hallenbeck's consent, Schlanger said.
Perrin has said police have not questioned him
since April in the days after Shortslef's death.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Prosecutors can no longer try the boyfriend of
Sheila Shortslef on charges that he beat her a
day before relatives found her dead because
the Oswego County District Attorney's Office
refused to press the case in a timely fashion,
a town justice says.
Shortslef, 40, of 434 Middle Road, was found
dead in her bed on April 25, 2006. The day
before, she had called authorities to accuse
Thomas A. Perrin, 41, of kicking her down a
flight of stairs, threatening her with a knife,
and punching her while throwing her around
"a rag doll" at their apartment.
If new evidence is offered, the abuse case can
be restarted, said Scriba Justice Kenneth Adkins.
No arrests have been made in the death of
Shortslef.
Oswego County prosecutors quickly tried
to dismiss misdemeanor assault, menacing
and criminal possession of a weapon charges
against Perrin after Shortslef's death, according
to court records.
When that request was denied, prosecutors
refused to move forward on the case, said
Scriba Justice Kenneth Adkins.
Nine months after his arrest, the domestic
violence charges against Perrin are stuck in
limbo because a speedy trial didn't take place,
the justice said. The U.S. Constitution guarantees
defendants a speedy trial.
"I don't see where it can proceed any further
at this point in time," Adkins said Thursday.
Meanwhile, Perrin's defense lawyer has charged
that the reason prosecutors tried to drop charges
against Perrin was to improperly remove her from
serving as his court-appointed attorney.
Assigned counsel Amy Hallenbeck represented
Perrin on the April 24 charges in Scriba Town
Court in May. Those charges were filed after
Shortslef called for help following the incident
in the couple's Scriba apartment, according to
investigators' records.
A report from an Oswego County sheriff's deputy
looking into the abuse allegations described
"multiple bumps and bruises of the victim, literally
from head to toe."
An autopsy concluded that her injuries,
including five broken ribs, bruises and
bleeding in the brain, were not lethal,
according to the opinion of an Onondaga
County deputy medical examiner.
The official cause of death is "undetermined."
The day after Shortslef's death, Oswego County
Chief Assistant District Attorney Donald Todd
wrote to Scriba's court requesting that all charges
from the domestic dispute against Perrin be dropped.
"The People's primary witness is unavailable . . .
and we would not be able to go forward affirmatively
with the prosecution at this time," Todd wrote on April 26.
He also asked that Perrin's records in that case be sealed.
But Justices Adkins and Douglas Crouse ruled
that more evidence might exist, and they
refused in a court hearing May 4 to dismiss
charges against Perrin, despite objections
from the county's district attorney.
In a letter the following day, District Attorney
Donald Dodd made clear his displeasure with
their decision.
"I serve as District Attorney of Oswego County,
and I alone am charged with the responsibility
of deciding the manner and circumstances under
which I will prosecute cases," Dodd wrote the town
justices on May 5.
But Hallenbeck, who had been assigned to represent
Perrin after his arrest, insisted that she be allowed to
stay on as Perrin's attorney during the criminal
investigation into Shortslef's death.
She responded quickly when Dodd requested
after the hearing that she be "un-assigned"
from the case. "It is very apparent from Mr. Dodd's
letter that his reason for seeking dismissal of the
charges is to arrange matters in order that the
defendant, who cannot afford to hire counsel,
be without counsel during that investigation,"
she wrote to the court May 8. "Clearly, such a
motivation is not a proper basis for a motion to dismiss."
Hallenbeck finished her letter with a warning to Dodd:
"My client is not to be interviewed by law enforcement
in regard to Ms. Shortslef's death or any related matters
without my consent."
Dodd did not return several phone calls
asking for comment.
Syracuse lawyer Craig Schlanger, of the New York
State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers,
said he hadn't heard of this set of circumstances
before, but said that as long as a case was open
against Perrin, he was entitled to a state-appointed lawyer.
And as long as he has a lawyer, Perrin can't be
questioned about Shortslef's death
without Hallenbeck's consent, Schlanger said.
Perrin has said police have not questioned him
since April in the days after Shortslef's death.
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