Stunned father returns to court

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A judge said the deputies standing by were prepared to act quickly.

By ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

WARREN — The Youngstown man who was subdued by a deputy sheriff with a stun gun Friday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court has pleaded innocent to misdemeanor inciting to violence.

Deputies had to subdue Michael A. Sause, 37, as he charged a Girard man who was acquitted of raping Sause's daughter. Sause was released from the Trumbull County Jail on Friday after posting $1,000 bond.

Sause was jailed after a deputy in Judge Andrew Logan's courtroom stunned him — to bring him under control — after the last of four "not guilty" verdicts were read in John H. Herrick's rape trial.

Sause had jumped from his seat and charged toward Herrick. One deputy attempted to restrain Sause, who weighs about 250 pounds, while another deputy used a stun gun. Sause was then handcuffed and removed from the courtroom.

Sause's plea on the first-degree misdemeanor came Monday in Warren Municipal Court. He is scheduled to return to the court Friday for his next hearing. If convicted, Sause could be sentenced to up to six months in jail.

Girl's testimony

A 15-year-old girl testified during the trial that Herrick had committed a variety of sexual offenses against her from the time she was eight years old until she was 13. The girl was living in the same house in Girard with Herrick and her mother at the time. She reported the assaults several months after she had moved out of the house, so no physical evidence of the offenses was present.

Meanwhile, Judge Logan commended the actions of courtroom deputies, and said it appears that the recent addition of two deputies to full-time courthouse security coverage paid off.

Judge Logan, the court's administrative judge; and the four other judges had ordered additional full-time security last November, after defendant Jason Howard was attacked by family members of a slain former Warren woman.

In that episode, only one deputy was in the courtroom as Howard awaited the start of a hearing. Two men repeatedly assaulted Howard in front of a television camera and observers until additional deputies entered the courtroom to assist.

Judge Logan said there were four deputies in the courtroom Friday because a verdict is a highly emotional time for participants and family members on both sides of a case.

Prepared

What made the difference this time is that deputies were prepared for an outburst from Sause and others. Deputies had been in the courtroom at various times during the weeklong trial and knew which people to watch, Judge Logan said.

"They were standing right by the person who was about to explode," Judge Logan said.

There were other deputies standing near other people in the courtroom, he said, because there is no way of knowing which way the verdict will go.

If this case had been heard several months ago, relatively few of the deputies would have been familiar with people involved in the case, Judge Logan said. That's because there were only three deputies working courthouse security before November, with additional deputies brought to the courthouse from road patrols when extra help was needed.

runyan@vindy.com

Tuesday, February 6, 2007