FORMER SCIOTO COUNTY COMMON PLEAS COURT JUDGE WALTER LYTTEN APPOINTED SPECIAL PROSECUTOR BY VILLAGE OF NEW BOSTON

Judge Lytten asked to investigate Lovely arrest and other matters for New Boston

By Doug Deepe, Investigative Reporter

A former Scioto County Common Pleas Court Judge, Walter C. Lytten, has been called back to public service by the Village of New Boston. Judge Lytten was appointed as a special prosecutor on Friday, June 6, 2003, at a special session of the New Boston Village Council.

Two ordinances were prepared in the appointment of a special prosecutor by the Village of New Boston.

The first ordinance states that the special prosecutor is to investigate the arrest of a Melissa Lovely in December 2002 and report back to the New Boston Village Council any improprieties that may have occurred in the arrest of Lovely.

The second ordinance is to give the power to the special prosecutor to investigate any matter that the Mayor of New Boston or New Boston Village Council requests an investigation be performed.

The Village Council decided to tap a long time resident of New Boston, former New Boston City Solicitor and long time Scioto County Common Pleas Court Judge Walter Lytten as their special prosecutor. Judge Lytten was not at the special council meeting on Friday, but had been seen around the New Boston Village Offices in recent days.

Judge Lytten’s first order of business appears to be to investigate the Melissa Lovely matter. The Sentinel reported a few weeks ago that we had information that Lovely may have had her civil rights violated during her arrest for drug possession. This allegation leaked out to the public from the Portsmouth Police Department, after Chief Charles Horner began an investigation in to Sgt Matt Powell’s alleged misconduct in the Lovely case. Chief Horner has called in a drug informant and tried to persuade this person to lie on Sgt Powell. The drug informant gave a taped interview with the New Boston Police Department in May 2003, claiming that Chief Horner tried to get her to drop her lawyer Eric Wrage and lie on Sgt Matt Powell about the events surrounding the Lovely arrest. The informant told the Sentinel that she was offered cash to go to the Daily Times and tell the Times that Sgt Powell used illegal tactics in his undercover drug work with the New Boston Police Department.

It’s unclear what else Mayor Jim Warren or the New Boston Village Council will use Judge Lytten’s services for in the second ordinance. Mayor Warren told the Sentinel that the Village wanted an ordinance to allow Judge Lytten to be able to go wherever they needed him to go in investigating matters that current Solicitor Rick Brown may have a conflict of interest with. The Sentinel reported last month that the New Boston Village was not getting their fair share of seized drug money, a responsibility of Village Solicitor Rick Brown.

The Sentinel believes the choice of Judge Lytten is an excellent move on the part of the New Boston Village Council because of his experience as both a former Village Solicitor and as a Common Pleas Court Judge.

There is no deadline date set in the ordinances for Judge Lytten to complete his assigned duties.  D D

In an interview today with the Sheriff’s Captain of Detectives John Murphy, the captain modestly gave his detectives and other deputies credit for the outstanding work in the detection and arrest of the killer.

Scott Andrew Routt is well acquainted with the criminal justice system according to records from the Municipal and Common Pleas Court.

Municipal Court records show that Scott Andrew Routt has made many appearances there, beginning in April 1991 when he was charged with No Operators License.

In 1993 he was charged with Uttering a Forged Check and Robbery.

In 1994 he was charged in Municipal Court with Theft of a Motor Vehicle, Passing Bad Checks (two separate dates and charges) and Unauthorized use of a Motor Vehicle.

There was no record found in Municipal Court from 1994 until 2001 when he was charged with DUI.

In January 2003 he was charged with Passing a Bad Check. In March 2003 he was again charged with Passing a Bad Check.

Scioto County Clerk of Courts records explain the absence of criminal charges in Municipal Court from 1994 to 2001.

These records show Common Pleas Judge William T. Marshall sentenced him, in 1994, to serve 4 to 15 years in prison on a robbery charge. In this case Scott Andrew Routt was defended in Common Pleas Court by Attorneys Gary F. Billiter and Jack D. Young.(POSTED 10:44 p.m. Tuesday April 22, 2003)