Deputies trial to resume after delay, as defense sought to remove Beacon reporter

July 28, 2008
By Phil Trexler, Akron Beacon Journal

Opening statements in the trial of a Summit County Jail deputy charged with murder in the death an inmate were delayed this morning after a Beacon Journal reporter resisted efforts to be subpoenaed as a defense witness.

Attorneys will begin their cases at 1:15 this afternoon after an agreement was reached that allows Beacon Journal reporter Ed Meyer to remain in the courtroom until a Tennessee medical examiner testifies later this week.

Jailer Stephen Krendick is on trial before visiting Judge Herman F. Inderlied Jr. of Geauga County. He is accused with five other deputies in the 2006 death of inmate Mark D. McCullaugh. McCullaugh Jr., 28.

Krendick, who waived his right to a jury trial, faces the most serious charge.

The other deputies who were indicted — Brett Hadley, Brian Polinger, Dominic Martucci and Mark Mayer — are scheduled to go to trial before Inderlied later this year.

This morning, legal arguments between the newspaper's attorney and Krendick's defense lawyers delayed the trial for more than an hour.

Meyer, who is reporting on the trial for the newspaper, was named a witness by the defense and is being asked to testify about his phone interview in May with Dr. Bruce Levy, Tennessee's chief medical examiner.

The interview came after a judge overruled Summit County Medical Examiner Lisa Kohler's finding that the use of a Taser contributed to McCullaugh's death.

Levy told Meyer by telephone from his office that he was shocked and disagreed with Judge Ted Schneiderman's decision.

Krendick's lawyers, Robert C. Baker of Akron and James M. Kersey of Cleveland, wanted Meyer removed from the courtroom in an effort to bar him from listening to other testimony.

Witnesses are generally precluded from watching the trial.

Brouse McDowell attorney Karen Lefton, representing the newspaper, reached a compromise with the attorneys that allows Meyer to stay in the courtroom and cover the trial for the paper.

Meyer agreed to leave the courtroom only in the event Levy testifies later this week.

McCullaugh, 6-foot-2 and 306 pounds, according to autopsy evidence, died from sudden heart failure brought on by excited delirium from a psychotic condition for which he was no longer being treated, the defense contends.

Opening statements in the trial of a Summit County Jail deputy charged with murder in the death an inmate were delayed this morning after a Beacon Journal reporter resisted efforts to be subpoenaed as a defense witness.

Attorneys will begin their cases at 1:15 this afternoon after an agreement was reached that allows Beacon Journal reporter Ed Meyer to remain in the courtroom until a Tennessee medical examiner testifies later this week.

Jailer Stephen Krendick is on trial before visiting Judge Herman F. Inderlied Jr. of Geauga County. He is accused with five other deputies in the 2006 death of inmate Mark D. McCullaugh. McCullaugh Jr., 28.

Krendick, who waived his right to a jury trial, faces the most serious charge.

The other deputies who were indicted — Brett Hadley, Brian Polinger, Dominic Martucci and Mark Mayer — are scheduled to go to trial before Inderlied later this year.

This morning, legal arguments between the newspaper's attorney and Krendick's defense lawyers delayed the trial for more than an hour.

Meyer, who is reporting on the trial for the newspaper, was named a witness by the defense and is being asked to testify about his phone interview in May with Dr. Bruce Levy, Tennessee's chief medical examiner.

The interview came after a judge overruled Summit County Medical Examiner Lisa Kohler's finding that the use of a Taser contributed to McCullaugh's death.

Levy told Meyer by telephone from his office that he was shocked and disagreed with Judge Ted Schneiderman's decision.

Krendick's lawyers, Robert C. Baker of Akron and James M. Kersey of Cleveland, wanted Meyer removed from the courtroom in an effort to bar him from listening to other testimony.

Witnesses are generally precluded from watching the trial.

Brouse McDowell attorney Karen Lefton, representing the newspaper, reached a compromise with the attorneys that allows Meyer to stay in the courtroom and cover the trial for the paper.

Meyer agreed to leave the courtroom only in the event Levy testifies later this week.

McCullaugh, 6-foot-2 and 306 pounds, according to autopsy evidence, died from sudden heart failure brought on by excited delirium from a psychotic condition for which he was no longer being treated, the defense contends.