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LISBON -- A man sentenced to 24 months in prison for endangering children related to the death of his son, plus an unrelated drug charge, filed an appeal over the denial of his request for more jail time credit.
Aaron Delo, 30, whose address was listed as the Belmont Correctional Institution in St. Clairsville, filed the appeal on his own with the Seventh District Court of Appeals to challenge a judgment entry dated May 4.
Since being sentenced to prison, he had filed a motion in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court claiming that he was entitled to an additional 65 days for time in jail from Feb. 18, 2022 through April 24, 2022 and an additional 34 days from Jan 12, 2023 through Feb. 15, 2023.
Judge Megan Bickerton denied both requests, noting that Delo was not indicted until Aug. 10, 2022 for the case, so any time served prior to that would have been served on another charge or case. As for the 34 days, she also denied that because the time was already credited to another case that's being served concurrent to the endangering children case.
Delo pleaded guilty in October 2022 to endangering children as part of a plea deal which included dismissal of an involuntary manslaughter charge against him that alleged he caused the death of his son, 4-month-old Dallas Delo.
The infant, along with two other children, had been left in his care overnight at the Frola Motel outside Lisbon between Dec. 31, 2017, and Jan. 1, 2018. He allegedly told investigators that he had taken the children into bed with him to watch the ball drop on the television on New Year's Eve and fell asleep. When he awoke, the baby was unresponsive.
He also pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge of aggravated possession of drugs, another third-degree felony, with a forfeiture of money from a drug case, for possessing methamphetamine that exceeded the bulk amount but was less than five times the bulk amount on Feb. 18, 2022. The money for the forfeiture totaled $1,297.
Delo failed to appear for his original sentencing on Jan. 6, then was picked up on a bench warrant and sentenced on Feb. 10. As part of the sentencing, he received credit for 94 days served in jail and on the drug charge was fined $5,000 and ordered to forfeit the $1,297.
Also filing an appeal with the Seventh District Court of Appeals was Derrick Orrell, 46, Morton Street, East Liverpool, to challenge his conviction and sentence issued on April 21. He was sentenced to a prison term of three to four and a half years for possession of cocaine, a second-degree felony, with a forfeiture specification for money in a drug case. He received credit for two days served, with $1,866 to be forfeited. Orrell possessed cocaine in an amount equal to or exceeding 20 grams but less than 27 grams on April 14, 2021.
mgreier@mojonews.net