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Reprinted from Glenville
Democrat/Pathfinder,
June 23, 2005:
(Reporter's Response
follows below)
Slow chase through
Gilmer leads to concerns about Calhoun’s preparedness Early Sunday
morning a week ago, a potentially dangerous youth runaway episode was
defused in Grantsville with the help of Gilmer County Sheriff Mickey
Metz and Glenville City Police Lieut. Sam Cutlip who were part of a
four-county, slow-speed chase after the two troubled teenagers in a
stolen tractor-trailer.
The good
news was that no one was injured or no taxpayer-owned vehicles were
damaged during the apparently hairy 70-mile chase, but the bad news was
that the
Calhoun
County
authorities didn’t seem to be prepared to deal with this emergency case
involving two juveniles. That is both inexcusable and deplorable!
Strangely, a
frustrated Lieut.
Cutlip
describes that neither the
Calhoun
County
magistrate’s court wanted to arraign the youths and remand them to a
juvenile detention center nor did the Calhoun Dept. of Health and Human
Services case worker want to take custody of them. In fact, according to
the Glenville City Police Report, the DHHR employee refused to transport
them back to the
Pressley
Ridge
Detention
Center
in Harrison
County
or to that distant county’s magistrate court.
As a result,
Lieut.
Cutlip,
who works on the small city of
Glenville’s
“nickel,” so to speak, was saddled with the time-consuming and expensive
chore of returning the boys to
Harrison
County
for a magistrate’s court arraignment. This incident, no doubt, turned
into a costly “good deed” for the taxpayers of this city, not to mention
the uncovering of the apparent confusion, or possible dereliction, of
duty in that neighboring county.
It seems
bad-enough that a DHHR case worker would reportedly shirk that agency’s
responsibilities in this particular emergency child care incident, but
more shocking that neither Calhoun County Sheriff Carl Ballengee nor
that county’s State Police would step forward to insure that those teens
were safely returned to
Clarksburg.
The two apprehended
15-year-olds, who were charged in
Gilmer
County,
in part, with joyriding, were purportedly confused, tired and ready to
cooperate. Their runaway attempt from Pressley Ridge had failed and they
just wanted to go home.
It’s a great shame that
Calhoun
County’s
authorities couldn’t deal with this problem. And, maybe they had better
learn how to--just in case it happens again. Kids will be kids, and
troubled teens will be troubled teens! _
DHC [David
H.
Corcoran],
Sr., Publisher-Editor
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* *
Dear
Mr.
Corcoran,
In reviewing
your concerns and complaints about the handling of the juveniles who
recently stole a tractor trailer (and after discussing the evening with
those involved in Calhoun County), I feel compelled to defend Calhoun
officials’ actions on the night in question.
The
statement that “neither the
Calhoun
County
magistrate’s courts wanted to arraign the youths,” is both misleading
and incorrect. In fact, magistrate Rick Postalwait was in town
immediately following the incident, but West Virginia State Law §49-5-8
requires him to wait for a juvenile petition before addressing the issue
in magistrate court. He waited, in person, for officials from all
counties involved to make a decision on filing such a petition, and
finally went home to wait for their decision and phone call. No such
petition was ever filed. Magistrate
Teresa
Robinson
was not contacted at all that evening.
The comment
that Calhoun’s
Health and Human Services case worker didn’t “want to take custody” of
the juveniles is insinuating an attitude that did not exist. The case
worker called was a small female, who could have been easily overpowered
by two juveniles. There were also concerns that a female adult with two
male juveniles could be construed as inappropriate, as well as unsafe
for the case worker.
As for
Glenville police officer Cutlip being “saddled” with the “chore” of
transporting the juveniles--it was, after all, officer Cutlip who first
came behind the tractor trailer with his lights flashing as the vehicle
traveled through Gilmer County. In essence, he initiated the physical
chase;
Harrison
County
officials merely tracked the vehicle via satellite.
Both officer Cutlip and
Gilmer
County
sheriff
Mickey
Metz
crossed the county line, outside their jurisdiction, to continue the
chase, even though sheriff
Carl
Ballengee
and Calhoun State Trooper Jeff Hunt were by then involved in the chase
and on hand.
Thus,
officer Cutlip initiated police involvement, and, on
Gilmer’s
“nickel,” both Gilmer
officers continued to participate in the chase as it progressed in
Calhoun
County.
If they did not want to share some responsibility for the call, why then
did they continue to be involved outside their jurisdiction? I have also
been told that officer Cutlip volunteered to transport the juveniles, or
at least accompany the case worker in the transport, if needed.
Readers
should be reminded that these juveniles, upon their capture in
Calhoun,
were merely charged with laws broken in
Calhoun--mainly
traffic citations. Charges concerning the theft of the vehicle and
escaping detention--much more serious charges-- were filed within
Harrison
County.
How unfortunate that
Harrison
County
officials, who work on that area’s “quarter,” (as opposed to “the small
city of Glenville’s
nickel” or
Calhoun
County’s
“penny”) could not come to retrieve their wayward children.
Instead of
suggesting that Calhoun
officials “shirked” their responsibility, one should wonder why Pressley
Ridge or
Harrison
County
did not send someone to get the juveniles entrusted to Pressley Ridge’s
custody who were now facing serious charges in
Harrison.
Again,
returning to W.Va. State Law §49-5-8, “Upon taking a juvenile into
custody, with or without a court order (in this case, without) the
official shall (among other things): release the juvenile into the
custody of his or her parent, guardian or custodian . . .”
Calhoun
County’s
DHHR case workers are not specifically trained or prepared to deal with
such situations, nor should they be expected to deal with such. The
ultimate responsibility for the custody of these children was the
courts, and specifically, Pressley Ridge.
I understand
your concerns about safety, of both the juveniles and of officer Cutlip,
who drove miles on little sleep. Perhaps you were not aware that
Calhoun
sheriff
Carl
Ballengee
had already made one trip to
Clarksburg
that evening, on a mental hygiene transport. Would he have been a safer
driver? Or would it have been better for a small female to spend two
hours with male juveniles, opening herself up to possible danger or
unfounded scrutiny?
Or would you
prefer that Grantsville’s only police officer be unavailable to our town
for hours on end to address issues of crime and safety here. Perhaps you
forget that even after the chase ended and the juveniles were
“captured,” a tractor trailer was left blocking part of
Main Street
in Grantsville.
Your words noting that
Calhoun
County
officials “shirked” their responsibility, and “wouldn’t” or “couldn’t”
deal with this problem are unfair.
Calhoun
County
officials did the best they could within state law and with resources
available.
It is also a
shame that officer Cutlip would begrudge working with Calhoun County, as
it has in the past been common practice for the two counties to work
together--especially in transporting those in custody, juvenile or
adult. Besides, if the juveniles were also charged in
Gilmer,
they had to be transported there for processing as well anyway.
In
Calhoun
County,
we were pleased to see officials from several counties working together.
It is disappointing to find that in the end, the lamentations of a
single frustrated officer can taint such cooperation.
If anything,
your suggestion that
Calhoun
County
officials learn to deal with such problems should be issued to all
counties involved. After all, the truck was permitted to travel through
four counties before it ever arrived in
Calhoun.
(Editor’s Note: This
column was also printed in The Glenville Democrat/Pathfinder as a “guest
editorial.”)
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