Teen who admitted burning down Uncle Vics ordered into counseling

ELYRIA — A teen who set the fire that burned down the former home of several popular Elyria nightspots in February 2021 has been ordered to get counseling, find a job and obtain social services, and be monitored by probation officers after recently admitting to the crime in court. The teen, who was 17 at the time of the crime and turned 18 midway through 2021, recently admitted to felony attempted aggravated arson in Lorain County Juvenile Court. A magistrate ordered him to be monitored by probation officers to ensure he complies with court-ordered counseling, records show. The building at 11 Kerstetter Way, which formerly housed the Uncle Vic's and Mardi Gras nightclubs, burned for hours while firefighters worked to contain the flames on Feb. 24-25, 2021. It later was demolished to make way for future development downtown. Elyria police charged the 17-year-old Elyria resident and a 17-year-old co-defendant, also from Elyria, the following day. Though he has since turned 18, The Chronicle-Telegram typically does not name juveniles charged with crimes. Attorney Steve Albenze, who defended the teen in court, confirmed the status of the case and his client's admission, but declined to comment specifically about his client. Chief Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Nick Celebrezze, who oversees that office's Juvenile Division, likewise said rules of juvenile law forbade him from commenting or releasing any information about the teen. It wasn't immediately clear what the status of the charges were against the teen's co-defendant, who initially was charged with breaking and entering. A message seeking comment was left for an attorney who was believed to be representing him in juvenile court. The Chronicle was able to piece together the status of the case mostly through records of proceedings it requested and obtained from the county's Domestic Relations/Juvenile Court. In December, the defendant admitted to attempted aggravated arson and was found to be delinquent by Juvenile Court Magistrate Donna Freeman. The breaking and entering charge was dismissed, and the teen was referred for interviews with juvenile probation officers on the Investigation and Referral, or I&R, team. I&R team members interview delinquent youths and their family members and make sentencing recommendations to the court. On Tuesday, the parties involved accepted a case plan recommended by the I&R team after a hearing before Freeman. While his client will be monitored by probation officers, Albenze said the term "probation" when used to refer to juveniles can be misleading. Without confirming specifics of his client's case, he said juveniles placed on "probation" typically are directed to social and community services that can help them. "It's essentially like probation, but with recommendations specific to each juvenile," he said, again declining to go into specifics as it related to his client. In this case, Freeman ordered the teen to participate in counseling, get services from the Ohio Healthy Transitions Project, find a job or enroll in an educational program and get counseling to address his ability to communicate. The Ohio Healthy Transitions Project is "an initiative through the state of Ohio and local agencies to improve access to mental health treatment and support services for youth and young adults ages 16-25," according to its website. Furthermore, he was encouraged to spend time with "positive friends/family" and "refrain from associating with negative, pro-criminal peers," according to his case plan. Background After being charged in Juvenile Court last year, the teen spent several months in the Lorain County Detention Home. Court records showed both his mother and the court had concerns that he might run away if not supervised. "Mother reported concerns that child may abscond if released from detention. She reports he has a history of running away from home and has been gone in the past for up to 2 weeks," the court determined during his initial appearance on Feb. 25, 2021. "Mother reports juvenile has an 'attitude' and that her 'hands are full.'" The teen already had a past history of counseling and had been enrolled in a diversion program for unruly children, according to court records, and Albenze asked the court to determine if his client was competent to stand trial in March 2021. A month later, Judge Frank Janik denied the teen's release from the Dentention Home, finding that he "poses a safety risk to the community, that the juvenile has allegedly committed a serious crime, that mother has concerns that the juvenile will run away from her home as he has done in the past, and that the court has not received the juvenile's competency evaluation even though he has undergone the competency evaluation," according to court records. In June 2021, Janik ruled the teen competent to stand trial. That same month, Juvenile Court prosecutors declined to seek a "serious youthful offender" label for the teen. Serious youthful offenders can receive blended or dual sentences from a judge. If the offender does not abide by the rules of a juvenile sentence, the judge has the discretion to impose an adult sentence on them. The teen eventually was released from the detention home after a "safety plan" was developed in cooperation with the court and his mother, and he was ordered fitted with an electronic in-home detention monitor. That same month, the teen had his 18th birthday. On July 9, 2021, Elyria police arrested him on adult charges including misdemeanor domestic violence and assault. "Child assaulted brother and sister allegedly," according to a July 13, 2021, entry in the juvenile court record. "Mother does not want him home. He has been charged. Prior safety plan did not work." He was taken to Lorain County Jail. Informed of the arrest, Freeman ordered that if the teen were to be released from the jail, deputies should transport him directly back to the Detention Home. Freeman also wrote that court officials further were working on getting the teen help or services through The Nord Center or the county Board of Developmental Disabilities. "Parent does not want child home," Freeman wrote in a subsequent entry in the court record. "Child has nowhere to go." Eventually, social services and the court worked out another safety plan, and the defendant was placed at a different residence in Elyria with further appointments scheduled with social service providers, according to court records. A hearing on the misdemeanor charges in the domestic violence and assault case is scheduled to take place in Elyria Municipal Court on Tuesday, according to Municipal Court records. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @daveobrienCT.