Ponitz graduation 2012
Cars and Parts Swap Meet
2012 senior class photos
Home > Blogs > Dayton Courts: Legal and crime news > Archives > 2010 > January > 13 > Entry
Man charged with dumping kids in trash found sane and competent to stand trial
DAYTON — Tommie Johnson, Jr., accused of putting two small children in a trash can last year, has been found competent to stand trial and was not insane at the time of the alleged crime, a Montgomery County Common Pleas judge ruled Wednesday, Jan. 13.
Johnson, 39, is charged with two counts of attempted murder, three counts of domestic violence and one count of tampering with evidence. He appeared before Judge Michael L. Tucker, who ruled after both prosecutors and assistant county public defender Carl Goraleski stipulated to the results of an examination done at the Forensic Psychiatry Center for Western Ohio.
Tucker also set a Feb. 3 date for a motion to suppress hearing pertaining to statements Johnson allegedly made to investigators.
Johnson pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity on Dec. 9. A person is legally insane if, at the time of an offense, he has a mental defect that is severe enough that he is unable to the nature or wrongfulness of his or her actions. Mere mental disease or defect is not enough to meet the legal definition.
Competency relates to the defendant’s ability to understand the legal proceedings around him and to assist his attorney in preparing a defense.
Johnson’s daughter, 23-month-old Ashonti Johnson, and her 8-month-old brother, Tommie Johnson III, were plucked out of a city-issued trash bin behind a building at 902 E. Second St. on July 27 by two electricians.
The children had been in the bin for about 13 hours, Dayton police said. They were treated at Children’s Medical Center.
Johnson took the kids after a domestic dispute with their mother. Johnson said he put the kids in the bin, but intended to retrieve them, according to police.
Montgomery County Juvenile Court Judge Nick Kuntz placed the children in the custody of Children Services.
All of the charges are felonies. Attempted murder is a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Permalink | |
