ELYRIA, Ohio — In a dramatic turn of events, a criminal case against the Lorain County Prosecutor has been dismissed.
Friday, visiting judge Patrick Carroll dropped the charges against JD Tomlinson and his chief of staff, James Burge, after a key witness failed to appear for a second consecutive week.
“This was a terrible attempt at framing us. And it ended exactly the way I anticipated it ending – failure,” Tomlinson said outside the courtroom, flanked by supporters.
The prosecutor and his chief of staff were both charged with witness intimidation and tampering with evidence. Tomlinson faced an additional charge of attempted bribery.
All of the third-degree felonies were filed on Oct. 1.
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The charges stem from a settlement with a former employee whom Tomlinson dated. The woman filed an employment discrimination complaint when she left the prosecutor’s office in August 2023, claiming Tomlinson unfairly disciplined her and used physical force on several occasions.
The criminal charges allege both Tomlinson and Burge tried to convince the woman to rescind her accusations. They also claim the prosecutor offered his ex-girlfriend money to go out to dinner with him.
The defense attorney filed a response on behalf of his clients, questioning the motivation behind the criminal investigation:
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The state planned to use the woman’s witness testimony as its primary evidence in the case. When she failed to appear for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 8, the hearing was continued. On Friday, special prosecutor Ron O’Brien requested the court to issue a warrant compelling the witness to cooperate.
“Despite repeated emails, instant messages, phone calls and other efforts to reach out, she has found a way not to contact me,” O’Brien told the court.
A detective with the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office testified FLOCK cameras detected the woman’s car in town in mid to late October when a subpoena was issued. This week, the same system found her vehicle in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The judge told O’Brien there was insufficient evidence to know who was driving the car and whether the witness ever received the subpoena. He denied the warrant request.
Without other evidence to present in the case, it was dismissed.
“I’m a little disappointed. I wanted a hearing. That would’ve been more satisfying for me. But this would have been the result no matter what happened,” said Tomlinson after the hearing.
He and Burge have maintained their innocence.
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Tomlinson and his supporters believe the criminal case was politically motivated. It was filed about one month before the Nov. 5 election as the prosecutor was seeking re-election.
He questioned the motivations of his political rivals and investigators in the case. Both have denied any accusations of wrongdoing.
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Tomlinson lost the election to challenger Tony Cillo. Friday, the outgoing prosecutor said the case influenced the election outcome.
“This was a concerted conspiracy to smear us. And they were successful in the sense that it worked prior to the election,” he said.
Tomlinson told News 5 his defense was presented with evidence after the election that he believes would have exonerated him. He shared screenshots of apparent messages from the key witness to the chief investigator, in which the woman denied Tomlinson and Burge acted criminally.
The case could be re-filed at a later date, though Tomlinson believes another attempt to prosecute him would be unsuccessful. The municipal court judge did not bind the charges over to Lorain County Court.
