Corrections officer faces felony charge of threatening prosecutor
The near 16-year veteran was due to serve a 55-day suspension for a separate incident in May.
By Allison Dunn / The Blade
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 14:26:16 GMT
A Lucas County corrections officer who already faced suspension for wrongdoing while on duty is now accused of threatening a county prosecutor in an attempt to get the prosecutor’s office to dismiss criminal charges against his son.
Reginald Arrington, 59, of South Byrne Road is charged with intimidation or threat of harm or influence of a victim or attorney, a third-degree felony. Authorities believe Mr. Arrington — while in uniform — approached an assistant prosecutor at the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday. Records indicate Mr. Arrington demanded the assistant prosecutor dismiss a pending case against the corrections officer’s son, Nazear Jackson, 18, of Pinewood Avenue.
Mr. Arrington indicated that the prosecutor would “need to dismiss these charges before the end of the day or you will have serious problems,” according to a written statement by Will Dailey, who oversees Mr. Jackson’s case. The teenager is charged with a fourth-degree felony of carrying a concealed weapon for allegedly having a concealed, loaded .40-caliber handgun while at Hoag Street and Woodland Avenue on Oct. 16, according to court records.
According to courthouse deputies, Mr. Arrington arrived at the Lucas County Courthouse about 7:50 a.m. Wednesday in uniform and indicated he was there to meet with a prosecutor, according to a courthouse incident report. Mr. Arrington did not walk through the metal detector because he was in uniform.
The prosecutor arrived about 8 a.m. and saw the corrections officer standing outside the locked office. Mr. Dailey assumed the deputy was there as a witness for a case and invited the corrections officer into his office.
“He told me his son was going to play football at OSU, and that ‘you are going to dismiss his charges before the end of today,’” the prosecutor wrote, noting he had already made an offer for the diversion program.
Mr. Arrington continued making similar statements, telling the prosecutor that the corrections officer is a “very powerful person” and threatened the prosecutor’s office with a lawsuit, according to the incident report. The corrections officer stood over the prosecutor with the door closed, records show.
Courthouse deputies noted in their reports seeing the same man come downstairs and exit the building approximately 15 to 20 minutes later, records show.
The prosecutor immediately reported the incident.
Charges were filed against Mr. Arrington and he was booked in the Lucas County jail. He appeared before a Toledo Municipal Court judge on Monday. Mr. Arrington was ordered to have no contact with the prosecutor.
Bond was set and later posted at $10,000.
Mr. Jackson was scheduled to appear before Judge Gary Cook for the weapons offense on Monday, though he failed to appear, court records show. Judge Cook set bond at $50,000.
Wednesday’s incident occurred two days before Mr. Arrington was to begin a 55-day unpaid suspension for a separate incident when a supervisor caught him in a relaxed position while on duty May 25, according to county sheriff’s Capt. Richard Grove.
He currently remains on that unpaid suspension while the threat allegation is under investigation both internally and criminally, Captain Grove told The Blade. The captain said he could not comment on the latest allegations due to the ongoing investigation.
Mr. Arrington hung up on a Blade reporter when contacted by phone Tuesday.
Mr. Arrington, a near 16-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, is to return to work from his unpaid leave March 23, according to Captain Grove, though this is not the only time Mr. Arrington has faced discipline through his employer. In 2018, Mr. Arrington was placed on unpaid 45-day suspension for using a cell phone at work and for making racial and sexual remarks to another employee.
At the time, Pat Mangold, president of UAW Local 3056, told The Blade the suspension was a settlement in lieu of termination.
Mr. Arrington is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 9.
Reginald Arrington