The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
City hires special prosecutor for Arroyo case
A Lorain attorney will serve as a special prosecutor for the court case involving a Lorain city councilman.
Attorney Wayne Nicol will be hired to handle the case of Ward 6 Councilman Angel Arroyo Jr., who faces charges including disorderly conduct for an incident Dec. 2, 2017.
Arroyo has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
On Jan. 3, the city Board of Control, made up of Mayor Chase Ritenauer and Safety-Service Director Dan Given, approved the expenditure.
Nicol will be paid $100 per hour, not to exceed $2,500 without further approval of the city, according to the records from the Board of Control.
Law Director Pat Riley requested a special prosecutor handle the case, said city Assistant Law Director Joe LaVeck.
“The reason for the request, of course, is that the Law Department is responsible for representing members of Council,” LaVeck said. “Because of that conflict of interest, Law Director Riley thought that it would be prudent and actually necessary to hire outside counsel for the
prosecution of Mr. Arroyo.”
“More or less, just make an unbiased review and presentation of it,” Given said. “I agree.” Arroyo declined to comment on the case. He deferred comment to his attorney, J.D. Tomlinson,
who was not available for comment late Jan. 3.
Arroyo was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstructing official business, disorderly conduct by intoxication and disturbing the peace Dec. 2, according to a Lorain police report.
The night before, Arroyo went out with friends to celebrate his birthday at an Oberlin Avenue restaurant, according to the Lorain
police report.
Eventually, that led to an encounter with Arroyo and police outside the Jenee Drive home of a friend of Arroyo, the report stated.
Arroyo claimed he was not intoxicated, but when he refused to cooperate with police, officers took him into custody, according to the report.
A pretrial conference for Arroyo is scheduled for 1 p.m., Jan. 17.