Pubdate: Tue, 12 Dec 2000
Source: Plain Dealer, The (OH)
Copyright: 2000 The Plain Dealer
Contact:  1801 Superior Ave., Cleveland, OH 44114
Website: http://www.cleveland.com/news/
Forum: http://forums.cleveland.com/index.html
Author: Stephen Hudak, Plain Dealer Reporter

SHERIFF WANTS PATROL TO PICK UP INMATE'S TAB

Sheriff Wants Patrol To Pay Inmate's Medical Tab

MEDINA - Cynthia Brown carried cocaine, cash and an unborn child.

When a state trooper stopped her rental car on Interstate 71 near Lodi last 
April, the cocaine was Brown's problem.

Her pregnancy has become Medina County's, says Sheriff Neil F. Hassinger.

The bills for the Youngstown woman and her son, born Oct. 8, total more 
than $11,000, not including overtime for deputies assigned to watch her 
around the clock during a hospital stay.

"I don't think this is our county taxpayers' responsibility," said 
Hassinger, who wants the State Highway Patrol to pay the doctor bills with 
its share of $46,040 it seized from Brown.

The patrol has refused.

Hassinger said he believes it is morally and legally correct for the patrol 
to reimburse Medina County for Brown's bills, including nearly $7,000 for 
three days at Medina General Hospital.

Unless the patrol reconsiders, the sheriff said he may refuse to take 
custody of pregnant prisoners.

In a letter to Hassinger, Col. Kenneth L. Morckel, superintendent of the 
patrol, said he would like to pay Brown's medical bills, but the law does 
not allow it.

Patrol spokesman, Sgt. Gary Lewis, said state law limits how forfeited drug 
money can be split and spent. It can be used for law enforcement education, 
equipment and specialized training. He said there is no provision to 
reimburse a sheriff for prisoner expenses.

"We don't have the legal ability to do what the sheriff wants," Lewis said.

In 1999, prisoner medical bills cost Medina County $103,000. Through 
October, jail bills totaled $133,000 and will probably exceed $150,000, the 
amount Hassinger had budgeted.

Hassinger said the county pinches pennies where it can.

The jail's dentists can pull teeth or fill cavities but they are not 
permitted to do caps or crowns, root canals or other expensive procedures. 
It charges inmates $10 a doctor visit, $5 a prescription. But if a prisoner 
has no money, the sheriff pays the bill.

"Once they're here, they're our responsibility," he said.

Hassinger said judges saved the county money by postponing jail sentences 
for sick and infirm offenders. For instance, Medina Municipal Court Judge 
Dale H. Chase once put off a sentence for a drunken driver scheduled to 
have open-heart surgery.

Trooper Terry Helton arrested Brown, 41, after stopping her on I-71 because 
she was tailgating a truck. He said he intended to issue a simple warning 
but became suspicious when he saw 22 rubber-band wrapped bundles of cash on 
the front seat of her rental car.

Helton's drug dog, Alex, pawed at the vehicle, prompting a search. The 
trooper found nearly 1,000 grams of cocaine wrapped in "Hot Wheels" 
birthday paper and hidden in the trunk.

Brown and her passenger, Jamaica Nealy, were charged with trafficking 
cocaine after both refused a federal agent's request to deliver the drugs 
while wearing a police radio monitor.

Brown and Nealy were convicted and sentenced to prison. Brown's son, 
Terrell, was placed in foster care. The money was declared proceeds of 
illegal drug trafficking and seized.

The patrol got the biggest chunk of the money, $32,153; the Drug Enforcment 
Administration kept $9,208; and the Medina County prosecutor's office got 
$4,593.
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