Man who fired shots at Tuscarawas County deputies put on court supervision
NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ A judge has found a 70-year-old Bolivar-area man not guilty by reason of insanity for shooting at law enforcement officers two years ago.
Donald E. Whiting Jr. will spend 14 years under court supervision as a result of the ruling, according to Assistant Tuscarawas County Prosecutor Fred Scott. The time period is the same as the maximum allowable prison sentence for the most serious crime with which he was charged, attempted murder, Scott said. He had also been charged with felonious assault and two counts of failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer for an ensuring vehicle chase.
Competency restored: Donald E. Whiting, Jr. found competent to stand trial, getting sanity evaluation
Initial finding: Donald E. Whiting, Jr. found not competent to stand trial for attempted murder
Charged: Bolivar-area man, 68, indicted on attempted murder charge, shooting at law enforcement
Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos issued the verdict following a short trial Monday afternoon. She heard brief statements from Scott and Public Defender Nicole Stephan after Whiting waived his right to a jury trial.
The prosecution and defense agreed to the allegations in the indictment and the evidence presented in court. The evidence consisted of reports from the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office. There was no witness testimony.
Two separate psychological evaluations found Whiting suffered from mental disease at the time of the offenses, May 18, 2021, and was not capable of understanding that his actions were wrong. He was initially found incompetent to stand trial, but was restored to competency through treatment at Heartland Behavioral Healthcare in Massillon.
Donald E. Whiting's arrest in 2021
The was arrested after a deputy responded to a complaint from a neighbor who said Whiting put a disturbing letter in her mailbox. Deputy Ray Cottrell went to Whiting's home at 1337 Russell Drive NW in Lawrence Township.
After no one answered a knock at the door, the deputy saw two spent shell casings outside the door and walked back to his cruiser, according to a letter from Scott to Special Agent Ed Staley of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Whiting fired at the dirt near Cottrell, who then took a defensive position behind his cruiser and called for backup, Scott said.
"Eventually he comes out of his house after ... a few hours with a rifle, and he fires one shot and then there were several officers who returned fire at that point," Scott said. "Mr. Whiting goes back inside his house. At that point, they were able to get into his car and they took a (loaded) Hi-Point pistol out of his car."
Whiting had fired at sheriff's Sgts. Ryan Hamilton and Joseph Jones, according to Scott's letter. Jones, Hamilton and Bolivar police Sgt. Chad Hilty all returned fire. Hilty had yelled commands at Whiting before the shots were fired.
A chase and crash
Nearly four hours after Cottrell first arrived at Whiting's home, Whiting went to his garage and walked to his truck. Whiting ignored commands from Deputy Robert Mecomonaco, got into his truck and drove around the cruiser Mecomonaco was using for cover, and began leaving the driveway by turning toward other parked police cruisers.
"At this point, Deputy Mecomonaco saw Whiting remove his right hand from the steering wheel, heard what he believed to be a gunshot, and saw the passenger window of Whiting's truck shatter," Scott's letter said. "Deputy Mecomonaco then fired one round with his handgun at the truck. Deputy Mecomonaco later learned that Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Lt. Brian Alford had actually fired a tear gas canister at the truck which had shattered the driver's side window."
Whiting drove away and led officers on a high-speed chase that ended when he crashed into a guardrail on state Route 800 in Fairfield Township.
The defendant sustained a leg wound from being hit with one round, County Prosecutor Ryan Styer said when Whiting appeared in New Philadelphiua Municipal Court.
Scott's letter also said his office would not prosecute Hamilton, Jones, Hilty or Mecomonaco because they were justified in using deadly force.
The next step in Whiting's case is an assessment to determine where he should be kept based upon his needs and the safety of the community, Thomakos said. It is expected within 10 days.
Whiting has been in custody since his arrest.
Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.
On Twitter: @nmolnarTR
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Donald Whiting found not guilty for 2021 law enforcement confrontation
