Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Daniellela Leigh to her boss, Prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson: 'Resign.'

ELYRIA — One of Lorain County Prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson's assistant prosecutors has publicly called on the first-term Democrat to resign. Daniellela Leigh, an assistant prosecutor who handles major felony cases in Lorain County Common Pleas Court, sent a letter to the editor Oct. 19 to The Chronicle-Telegram. In it, she calls on Tomlinson to resign for the good of his office, his staff and the community. "This letter is to my boss, Lorain County Prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson. J.D. — Please resign," Leigh wrote. "Your indiscretions have destroyed the integrity of the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office, regardless of whether you are guilty of the charges you are facing. While you hide, it is the assistant prosecutors and staff that have to face victims, witnesses, law enforcement, court staff and other members of the public daily. The chaos you chose to bring into our office impedes our ability to do our jobs and ensure justice for our community. Please do the right thing, J.D., and resign." Leigh confirmed Wednesday that she authored the letter, which " stands for itself," she said. In response to a request for comment on Leigh's letter, Tomlinson on Wednesday provided the following statement to The Chronicle-Telegram: "If attorney Leigh is making this request because of the baseless allegations against me that will be exposed as such at preliminary hearing, I understand. I just wish she had the confidence in me that I placed in her by appointing her to the Major Trial Division of our office," he said in the statement. "During my term of office, attorney Leigh has worked in an office with an environment that has permitted her to thrive professionally and otherwise. If you were to ask her whether she is better off professionally now than she was four years ago, she would have to reply that she is. I wish she felt differently. But I have no intention of resigning. And I hope attorney Leigh plans on staying with the office," Tomlinson wrote. Tomlinson, 43, of Amherst, is facing felony charges of intimidation, tampering with evidence and attempted bribery in Elyria Municipal Court. Also charged with intimidation and tampering with evidence is his chief of staff, former Common Pleas judge James Burge, 77, of Avon. Both men have declared their innocence, and are free on bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled Nov. 8 in front of visiting Judge Patrick Carroll. Three days before that is Election Day, and Tomlinson, a Democrat, is being challenged by Republican Tony Cillo. Burge and Tomlinson are accused of trying to intimidate Tomlinson's former employee and girlfriend, Jennifer Battistelli, 51, into recanting physical abuse allegations she made against Tomlinson. The Lorain County Sheriff's Office, FBI and the State Auditor's Office investigated the case and the sheriff's office brought the charges in Elyria Municipal Court. Tomlinson and Burge have denied any wrongdoing. Tomlinson has alleged that Cillo, Sheriff Phil Stammitti and his other political rivals are trying to prevent him from being reelected. Leigh said Wednesday that Cillo did not put her up to writing the letter. She said she expected that would be Tomlinson's immediate reaction to seeing it. "I did it because it's the right thing to do, and I understand the consequence could be I lose my job," Leigh said. Leigh's eighth anniversary with the Prosecutor's Office is coming up in January. She began doing criminal prosecutions in 2019, and became a supervisor in June 2022. She said the hardest part of possibly being fired would be the effect it has on her coworkers. "If I'm terminated, it puts more work on them," Leigh said. She also said she has spent months and years developing professional relationships with crime victims and witnesses. It was hard to think that she "might not be part of their journey" going forward, Leigh said. Cillo on Wednesday called Leigh's statement "powerful." He said he didn't put her up to it, and was surprised when a reporter called him for comment about the letter on Wednesday. "I applaud the fortitude she has to stand up for what she thinks is right," Cillo said. A former chief assistant prosecutor in Tomlinson's office, Cillo said he and Leigh tried a case together before he left in 2022 and that she had "great potential" as a supervisor. "I'm sorry the office is going through that hard a time," Cillo said. Leigh has a track record of successful prosecutions in high-profile criminal cases. She oversaw the murder convictions earlier this year of defendants Chi'Sean Oglesby, Canaan Sullivan and Bonita Wright in separate cases, succesfully prosecuted Brian Fazio for attempted murder and rape in 2023, and in 2023 prosecuted martial arts instructor Erin Stephens for sexually abusing a former student. In 2021, she was part of the prosecution team that secured a conviction against Austin Altomare for killing his girlfriend, Cyarah Vince. Background Battistelli, who was Tomlinson's director of public relations/community outreach coordinator, resigned in August 2023. Two months later in October 2023, Tomlinson paid $100,000 in taxpayer money to Battistelli in what was described as an employment settlement. The Board of Commissioners approved the payment. Questions soon arose about how the settlement was arranged, as it wasn't done through the county's insurance provider. Records sought by The Chronicle-Telegram and other private individuals were denied because Tomlinson said they could be embarrassing to him and Battistelli. James Barilla of Avon Lake sued Tomlinson in February in Common Pleas Court for public records related to the settlement he alleged had been withheld. That case is still making its way through court, assigned to visiting Judge Thomas Teodosio. Videos of Tomlinson and Battistelli together and statements she made to law enforcement also have been made public. One of the videos purports to show Tomlinson "smacking" Battistelli in the head during an argument in his office, though no physical contact can be seen. Tomlinson has denied ever hitting Battistelli, or any woman. Both Tomlinson and Burge's defense attorney, Michael Camera, and Special Prosecutor Ron O'Brien, who is handling the felony case against Tomlinson and Burge, have filed hundreds of documents in Elyria Municipal Court laying out what they say are the facts. Those include hundreds of text messages, transcripts of two interviews Battistelli gave to investigators this year, a statement Burge allegedly tried to get Battistelli to sign recanting her accusations, and others. If Carroll finds probable cause that Tomlinson and Burge committed a crime, he can order the case bound over to a grand jury for consideration. The grand jury will then determine if there is enough evidence for felony charges to be brought in Common Pleas Court. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.