The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 4

THISTATE under way it ill 1 1 REPORT dea bndg AND WIRE REPORTS of police officer Defendant charged with manslaughter I I- 0 r'li 1 I i i The Cincinnati EnquirerPatrick Reddy Shawnta Robertson is escorted Wednesday into Kenton Circuit Court in Covington before jury selection for his trial in the death of Covington Police Officer Michael Partin. BY CINDY SCHROEDER The Cincinnati Enquirer COVINGTON One day after a Covington police officer's name was engraved on the Northern Kentucky Police Memorial, jurors began hearing the case against the man Officer Michael Partin was chasing when he fell to his death. At issue is whether Shawnta Robertson, 21, "wantonly engaged in conduct" in the early morning of Jan. 4 that resulted in the death of the 15-month Covington police officer. The Avondale man whom police were chasing when Officer Partin fell 100 feet into the freezing waters of the Ohio River is on trial in Kenton Circuit Court on a charge of second-degree manslaughter.

The case inspired Kentucky's Partin law, which makes fleeing from police a felony in some cases. "Being a police officer is not a profession for procrastinators," Kenton Commonwealth Attorney Don Buring said in his opening statement Wednesday. "It's a situation of reaction. Reaction in this instance, is based solely on the conduct of Shawnta Robertson." Mr. Robertson's lawyer, Ken I 4 COMPILED FROM STAFF Lawyers seek time in Mary Love case Attorneys for Ralph L.

Lynch will wait two more weeks before asking a judge to move his murder trial out of Cincinnati. Mr. Lynch, 48, is accused of raping and murdering 6-year-old Mary Jennifer Love in June. If convicted, he could be sentenced to death. His attorneys want Judge Robert Kraft of Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to move the trial because they fear publicity about the high-profile case will make it impossible to select an impartial jury.

But they asked the judge Wednesday to delay a hearing on the matter until Oct. 1 so they would have more time to compile videos, newspaper clippings and other evidence that would support their argument. Mr. Lynch is not scheduled for trial until next year. Work almost finished on Pete Rose Way Traffic jams caused by construction on westbound Pete Rose Way shouldn't be an issue anymore.

Two new westbound lanes opened early Tuesday. The new eastbound lanes should open next week, said Steve Bailey, Cincinnati traffic engineer. The street needed to be reconfigured to make room for the new Paul Brown Stadium. The new Pete Rose Way curves around the stadium site. City budget director named to finance job Cincinnati Budget Director William E.

Moller has been promoted to assistant director of the city's finance division. Mr. Moller will be involved in several aspects of managing the department. His responsibilities will include accounts and audits, income tax, retirement systems, treasury and purchasing. During his 23 years with the city, Mr.

Moller has held several posts, including assistant director of research, evaluation and budget, and program coordinator for the health department. Five 'Most Wanted' arrested; total 544 Five more "Tristate's Most Wanted" suspects have been arrested, bringing the total to 544 out of the 896 suspects featured in The Cincinnati Enquirer. Moses Barker, 41, of Forest Park was arrested Monday on charges of felony probation violation, receiving stolen property and unauthorized use of a vehicle. Brian Hodge, 24, who has listed addresses in Summerside and Columbia Tusculum, was arrested Tuesday in Clermont County on charges of probation violation, carrying concealed weapons and resisting arrest. David McCoy, 42, of Middle-town who was accused of walking away from a work-release program in Kenton County, was arrested on an escape charge.

Richard Miller, 27, of Price Hill was arrested after a traffic stop in Richmond, Ky. Cincinnati police picked him up on charges of felonious assault and inducing panic. Bryant Vester, 34, formerly of Cincinnati, has been arrested in Richardson, Texas. He was wanted here on charges of parole violations and escape. The Enquirer publishes "Tristate's Most Wanted" each Monday.

Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information that leads to ROAD an to a i ri arrest. Callers to 352-3040 can remain anonymous. Boil-water notice issued in Warren Co. About 500 people in southeastern Warren County need to boil their water before using it for drinking, cooking or brushing their teeth until at least tonight. Three water-main breaks Wednesday afternoon could have contaminated the water supply for customers near the intersection of U.S.

22Ohio 3 and Ohio 48. The breaks likely were caused by a short power outage that turned the pumps off and on, building up pressure in the pipes, said Ray Nelson, operations superintendent for the Warren County Department of Water and Sewer. He expected the breaks to be repaired Wednesday night and testing to be completed tonight. For more information, contact the department at 933-1377. Man gets three years for courthouse fight A Cincinnati man was sentenced three years in prison Wednesday for starting a brawl last April at the Hamilton County Courthouse.

Larry Wright pleaded guilty last month to two counts of intimidating crime victim and one count of inciting violence. He was sentenced by Common Pleas Judge Arthur Ney. Prosecutors say Mr. Wright threatened Brendan Rice, the victim in an assault case, after one of Mr. Wright's relatives was sentenced for attacking Mr.

Rice. At that time, Mr. Wright began shouting in the courtroom. Within minutes, a fight involving more than a dozen friends, relatives and police officers erupted outside the courtroom of Judge Thomas Crush. Suit charges bias at gas station pumps CHICAGO A Chicago police officer filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday charging Shell Oil Co.

and dealers in five states including ones in Cincinnati and Covington with discriminating against black customers. Daron Hill said he videotaped instances of Shell dealers making a black customer pay before pumping gas. Moments later, a white customer was allowed to pump before paying, Mr. Hill said. Mr.

Hill, a 12-year patrol officer, said the main purpose of the lawsuit is to get Shell to make its stations stop the practice. He has a similar lawsuit pending against Amoco Corp. The lawsuit, which alleges a nationwide pattern, seeks to be declared' a class action. It also names Shell stations in Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. Widow sues over private-prison death YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio The widow of an inmate slain at Ohio's only private prison has filed a $110 million lawsuit claiming guards weren't properly trained and didn't protect her husband.

India Chisley of Beltsville, is seeking $10 million in compensatory damages and $100 million in punitive damages for the March 11 death of her husband, Bryson Chisley, at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Superior Court in the District of Columbia against the district, which had imprisoned Mr. Chisley, and Corrections Corporation of America, which runs the Youngstown prison. WATCH closed: Entrance to northbound 1-75 from southbound Dixie; exit ramp from northbound 1-7175, entrance ramp to southbound 1-7175 from northbound Dixie and the exit ramp from southbound 1-7175 to northbound Dixie. 1-75 Kentucky: From 9 a.m.

to 9 p.m. Friday, the exit-only lane to Ky. 236 and the right lane on northbound 1-75 will be closed for construction but traffic will be able to exit. The ramp to KY route 236 westbound (Donaldson Road) from 1-7175 northbound closed permanently. To gain access to Donaldson Road westbound, traffic must use the eastbound exit ramp.

ohio butler warren kentucky -54 boone Lawson, argued that it was Officer Partin's conduct, not his client's, that caused the officer's death. "This is a tragic case, no doubt about it," he said. "Mrs. Partin has lost her husband. Covington has lost a good officer the question is, did Shawnta's conduct cause (Officer Partin) to get out of the car, and not look before he leaped?" This morning, jurors will visit the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge where Officer Partin, 25, fell to his death after he tried to jump to a sidewalk where an officer was struggling with the suspect.

Officer Partin fell through an open space on the bridge. Mr. Buring said the evidence will show that Officer Partin joined the pursuit of Mr. Robertson, after another officer stopped the defendant near a Covington nightspot on suspicion of driving under the influence. Mr.

Robertson fled from police, Mr. Buring said. Mr. Lawson has argued that Kentucky's manslaughter law should not apply in his client's case because Mr. Robertson could not have known as he ran from police that his conduct could constitute manslaughter.

nr 7P, 9A The Cincinnati EnquirerGary Landers Ellen Peck speaks with her lawyer, Vincent Sanzone, in court Wednesday. Her bond wasn't lowered, said nothing in court Wednesday. Her attorney, Vincent Sanzone, asked Judge Sage to lower the bond which had been set by Middletown Municipal Court Judge Mark Wall. Ms. Peck, who has worked for AK Steel in Middletown for 18 years, has accused of bias lot, the whole environment is supposed to change.

The city has to remain neutral, and they certainly shouldn't be using taxpayer dollars to promote either side." Citing the Ohio Revised Code, Mr. Ehrstine said that "no officer or employee in the classified service of the city shall take part in politics other than to vote as he or she pleases and to express freely his or her political opinions." Concerned Citizens has accused City Manager Scot Lahrmer, among others, of violating Ohio law by using city time and resources to reserve a meeting place, prepare materials, provide road maps, and even contact the media for a press conference for Citizens for All of Mason on Sept. 2. "As public officials, city leaders cannot take a position on this and 1 The Cincinnati EnquirerPatrick Reddy A quiet moment: Brigette Beimesch, left, and Jenna Marckesano, both seniors at Boone County High School, were among more than 125 students to pray Wednesday at the school stadium before classes as part of "See You at the Pole," an annual prayer gathering. justice." -Lisa Partin, the officer's said that she will accept the jury's decision, whatever it may be.

She added: "No matter what the outcome of this trial, I don't feel there ever will be enough justice served for Michael dying. Shawnta will go home one day. Michael won't." Official to step down at Jewish BY TIM BONFIELD The Cincinnati Enquirer Warren Falberg, longtime top executive for Jewish Hospital, announced Wednesday that he will resign, effective Sept. 25. Mr.

Falberg was the chief executive at the city's fourth-largest hospital and nation's oldest Jewish hospital for 22 years, including the most tumultuous years in its 148-year history. Most recently, he was senior executive officer of the Jewish Hospital and a senior vice president of the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati. Mr. Falberg, 60, is leaving in anticipation of a sweeping management reorganization at the Health Alliance. "It was time," Mr.

Falberg said. "The organization is in a major mode of change and I did not see myself having a role in that change." The Health Alliance, formed in 1995 as partnership between The Christ and University hospitals, has grown to include the Jewish, St. Luke and Fort Hamilton-Hughes Memorial hospitals. With more than 12,000 employees, the Health Alliance is Cincinnati's fourth largest employer. Jack Cook, president and chief executive of the Health Alliance, said: "We are very sorry to lose Warren, but I understand and support his choice." Mr.

Falberg "deserves a lot of credit," Mr. Cook said, for successfully guiding Jewish Hospital through troubled times and for managing the shift to Jewish Hospital in Kenwood without a big job loss. Mr. Falberg took tremendous pride that all but six of more than 300 employees bumped in the transition were placed in other Health Alliance jobs, Mr. Cook said.

But it was not realistic to expect Mr. Falberg to play a lesser role in the new organization, Mr. Cook said. That plan envisions running the Health Alliance through eight product lines: cardiology, oncology, women's health, orthopedics, neurosciences, emergency care, behavioral medicine and community services. The new managers and business plans are expected to be in place by year's end.

But it will be a year before the plan is fully implemented, Mr. Cook said, "It is a bold stroke and a needed stroke," Mr. Falberg said. "It is the right direction for this organization to take." During Mr. Falberg's tenure, Jewish Hospital in Avondale became its own health system by acquiring the former Otto C.

Epp Memorial Hospital in Kenwood in 1988, forming a physician practice organization and opening outpatient centers in Mason, Evendale, and downtown In 1993, Mr. Falberg took the High bail kept for mother accused of helping to dispose of body parts However, Mr. Buring said the evidence will prove otherwise. Assistant Covington Police Chief Bill Dorsey said Wednesday he supported Mr. Buring's decision to charge Mr.

Robertson with manslaughter. He pledged that Covington police "will serve as Michael's representative and voice, as (they) approach the court in search of no prior criminal record, has been as cooperative as possible with the police investigation and didn't cause her son to flee, he said. "She doesn't know where he is," Mr. Sanzone said. "She is not a flight risk.

She has nowhere to go." But John McCracken, assistant prosecuting attorney, argued against it. He noted the seriousness of the allegations and said she is a flight risk. "She took body parts to certain areas in Ohio and Indiana and buried them," he said. "This conduct is outrageous." Mr. McCracken said the evidence against Ms.

Peck, including a statement she gave to police, is overwhelming. Judge Sage said he saw no evidence that warranted changing Ms. Peck's bond. She has been held in the Butler County Jail since being transferred from Middletown's municipal jail Friday. If convicted, Ms.

Peck could be sentenced to 10 years in prison. on ballot issue spend city time and resources to fight this. I'm just astounded that they would do this," Mr. Ehrstine said. Mason Mayor Betty Davis vehemently denied accusations that city officials used city time and resources to support anyone.

"There is no basis for their allegations, and they are totally inaccurate," she said. City Law Director Ken Schneider said city officials have done nothing wrong. "First of all, Scot (Lahrmer) is not a classified servant as the codes states you must be," he said. "Second, even if he were, he still wouldn't be in violation because the code states that the word 'politics' refers to partisan politics, as in Republican or Democrat." ,0 24-hour traffic information: SmarTraveler-Olal 211 from any touchtone or wireless phone; outside Cincinnati area call (513) 333-3333 or visit our Web site at: www.goeiminnati.comAralfie BY STEVE KEMME The Cincinnati Enquirer HAMILTON Ellen Peck, accused of helping her son get rid of a 34-year-old woman's body parts, pleaded not guilty Wednesda to obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence. Judge Michael Sage of Butler County Common Pleas Court refused during Wednesday's arraignment to lower her $1 million bond, and set her two-day trial for Nov.

12. Authorities are conducting a nationwide manhunt for her son, James Lee Lawson, 29, of Middletown, who is accused of killing Cheryl Ann Dur-kin around Feb. 25. A torso was found along the Great Miami River in Hamilton in mid-April and was identified as Ms. Durkin's in mid-May.

Police say Ms. Peck, 46, of Middletown, helped her son dispose of Ms. Durkin's body parts. She was arrested on Sept. 1 after she and another relative led police to the buried body parts in Ohio and Indiana.

Ms. Peck, in a prison jump suit, Mason officials BY KEVIN ALDRIDGE The Cincinnati Enquirer MASON Leaders of Concerned Citizens of Mason are alleging that city officials' actions might have unfairly tipped the scales in favor of a group opposed to Issue 10. Issue 10 would halt the planned widening of Tylersville and Stitt roads. Concerned Citizens of Mason says the widening would imperil schoolchildren's safety. Bill Ehrstine, president of Concerned Citizens, said Monday that city officials violated state law by actively backing the Citizens for All of Mason's campaign against the ballot issue.

"We consider this to be a very serious matter," Mr. Ehrstine said. "When an initiative lands on the bal 1-75: Northbound and southbound 1-75 outside lanes closed north of Tylersville Road. Today, between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., north and south I-75 will be closed Completely for 30-minute intervals to place the beams tor the new bridge.

It will repeat on Sept. 23-24 between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The Hamilton-Mason Road bridge over I-75 in Liberty Township closed until December. DOWNTOWN Closed for OMoberfest From 6 p.m.

Friday until 5 a.m. Monday, Fifth Street between race Street and Pike Street. Vine, Walnut, Main, Sycamore and Broadway streets between Fourth and Sixth streets. Also, Vine Street will be made a two-way street between Fourth and Fifth and between Fifth and Sixth streets. Note: At 3 p.m.

Sunday northbound Broadway will be closed at Pete Rose Way, and traffic will be directed east to Eggleston Ave. to facilitate stadium traffic for the Bengals game. Columbia Parkway viaduct: Fifth Street viaduct to Columbia Parkway Is open one lane In each direction. River Road: Eastbound and westbound lanes restricted to one lane between Ben- der and Muddy Creek Pump Station i i irtfa i no luvp lump ii win uuim 71 OS Tha "Innn" nmn frnm crtnth. bound 1-7175 to southbound Dixie Highway closed for one month.

Northbound I-7175 restricted to two lanes at Dixie Highway to Kyles exit ramp and three lanes of southbound 1-7175 open. The following ramps are heat when Jewish Hospital decided tp end its policy permitting abortion oh demand. The decision was an effort to make the hospital more attractive in alliance talks with other local hospitals. I Since 1993, Mr. Falberg was deeply involved in the fast-paced hospital talks that forged the Health Alliance and the competing TriHealth hospital groups.

i.