Franklin County's wanted parole violators include man convicted of harming child

A Franklin County man who served more than a decade in prison after being convicted of seriously harming a child is considered missing from the state's parole agency supervision.

But Robert L. Hudson Jr. isn't alone.

According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, more than 2,400 people statewide are wanted for violating the terms of their release or failing to report to their parole officers as required.

Hudson is one of 139 people from Franklin County who are being sought for violating the terms of their post-release control, according to information provided by JoEllen Smith, spokeswoman for the ODRC, which oversees the Adult Parole Authority.

The Adult Parole Authority supervises two types of release: parole and post-release control. A person is considered on parole if released before the end of a sentence. Post-release control is supervision that's imposed after a person has completed an entire prison sentence.

The Adult Parole Authority supervises 27,300 people statewide, according to Smith. Of those 27,300 people on supervision, nearly 9% are considered violators at large, amounting to about 2,400 people as of Nov. 30.

The APA office communicates with police about violators, Smith said, including specialized task forces, like the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Task Force, that look for offenders.

SOFAST has come under scrutiny in the past two years after two fatal shootings involving task force members. On Dec. 4, 2020, 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr. was shot and killed by former Franklin County Sheriff's deputy Jason Meade, who since has been charged with murder and is awaiting trial.

Related coverage:Family of Casey Goodson releases new evidence as murder trial of Jason Meade continued

The Franklin County Sheriff's office no longer is a SOFAST member agency, Sheriff Dallas Baldwin told The Dispatch in 2021.

On Dec. 8, 2021, 18-year-old Donta Stewart was killed by SOFAST officers during an exchange of gunfire at a Southeast Side home, wounding a U.S. marshal. On Nov. 4, a Franklin County grand jury declined to indict any officers in connection with Stewart's death.

Related coverage:Franklin County grand jury decides not to charge officers who fatally shot Donta Stewart

"Individual parole officers work on their own cases that are at large," Smith said. "Parole officers also share intelligence among themselves and with local law enforcement to ensure that all entities have the most up-to-date information on wanted violators."

One of those violators is Hudson, now 48, who was given a 12-year prison sentence in 2000 after pleading guilty to assaulting his girlfriend's baby so severely that the child had only a 50% chance of survival.

The Dispatch reported at the time that Hudson had been babysitting the 11-month-old boy at a North Linden home while the boy's mother, Hudson's girlfriend, was at work. After a bath, the baby became fussy.

Witnesses told police they could hear the baby crying and then a thud. One witness said Hudson had handed the baby to her a few moments later, with the baby's lips turning blue.

Hudson was released from prison in March 2017, according to ODRC records.

Other people from Franklin County who are currently wanted as post-release control violators include:

• Earl Casey, 42, who was put on supervision in 2017 after completing his 20-year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter and other charges. Casey was convicted for his role in the Jan. 15, 1998, stabbing death of 15-year-old Sara Wollett.

• Deaunte Clanton, 30, who was put on supervision in June 2022. Clanton served eight years in prison for his role in an August 2014 robbery of two teenagers at gunpoint. One of the teens was forced at gunpoint to drive to an ATM to withdraw money.

• Andrew W. Clark, 37, who was put on supervision in May 2019 after serving a nine-year prison sentence for stabbing a Columbus police officer May 11, 2010.

• Robert Nowlin, 42, who served 13 years in prison for attempted aggravated murder and receiving stolen property before being released in 2014. Nowlin was convicted for his role in the February 2002 murder of Curtis Wyche.

• Jonathan Thomas, 39, who served a 10-year sentence after being convicted of rape. He was released from prison in March 2021. Thomas had been convicted of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl while being HIV positive.

Two other men who had been on PRC from Franklin County were arrested in November after The Dispatch asked questions about their status as violators at large.

One of them, Chad Andrews, was released from prison in December 2019 after serving an 18-year sentence. He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment after his 6-month-old daughter was found to have starved to death in 2001 while he was on a "crack binge."

In reporting on Andrews' sentencing in 2003, The Dispatch reported that for four days in late December 2001, Andrews had been with a friend, drinking and smoking crack cocaine for hours, leaving his 6-month-old daughter at home alone. On the morning of Dec. 31, 2001, Andrews returned home and found his infant daughter dead. The girl's mother was incarcerated in another state at the time of the baby's death.

Andrews' 2-year-old son also was found inside the home and had serious dehydration and malnutrition, as well as diaper rash. Prosecutors noted at the time Andrews was sentenced that a bag with formula and diapers was inside the home where the children were found.

Read the story from 2007:Man gets 15 years for killing girl

Ohio prison records show that Andrews was placed on post-release control Dec. 27, 2019. He was listed as being an absconder Sept. 22, 2021, and arrested Nov. 10, after The Dispatch asked about his status.

Rickie Layton, now 36, was being sought for violating his post-release control after serving a 15-year prison sentence for killing his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter in February 2007.

Layton had beaten the girl and choked her, causing severe brain injuries that led to her death, The Dispatch reported at the time he was sentenced. A 20-month-old also was assaulted by Layton but survived.

Layton was released from prison Feb. 13, according to Ohio prison records, and was deemed to be violating the terms of his release May 3. He was arrested by state officials Nov. 9, after The Dispatch asked whether Layton was still at large.

Once a person is arrested for violating post-release control, the violator could be prosecuted for felony escape, according to Marla Farbacher, the head of the grand jury unit for the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office. The APA sends a packet of information to the prosecutor's office for review for potential indictment. Offenders also could go back before the judge who originally sentenced them to get additional prison time imposed.

"For many years, we were notified by the Ohio Adult Parole Authority about offenders who have been declared violators at large," Farbacher said, adding that information related to those violators stopped being provided in late 2020.

Court records show neither Andrews nor Layton has a hearing scheduled or had new charges filed as of Nov. 21.

In March 2020, Gov. Mike DeWine implemented several changes to the APA's processes, designed to keep better tabs on offenders in part by reducing the caseloads for parole officers, which at the time was about 76 offenders per officer.

Previous coverage:Gov. Mike DeWine seeks tighter parole supervision following deaths

The ODRC says on its website that the average caseload for a parole officer is 56 people, including parolees, those on post-release control and probationers.

Other changes include adding more officers to fugitive task forces across the state, tasked with finding violators, and streamlining the process for parole officers to enter warrants into law-enforcement databases so they are visible to officers from agencies across the country.

Smith said 13 full-time and 29 part-time officers have been added to task forces in the past several years, bringing the number of APA officers on task forces across the state to 37 full-time and 52 part-time officers.

Those with information on the whereabouts of any parole or post-release control violator at large should call their local law-enforcement agency.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Franklin County wanted parole violators include man convicted of harming child