MOUNT VERNON — On Jan. 21, Marcie Cantu’s 15-year-old son was beaten unconscious by a 19-year-old man at a house party on West Pleasant Street, according to police reports. The assault was captured on video from a cell phone and shows Justyn Harris punching and kicking Robert Cantu, as other teenagers cheer him on. In the video, no one present did anything to stop the attack.
Although the alleged assault occurred in January, city prosecutors did not file charges against Harris until April 1 — 70 days after the beating. To date, no arrests have been made.
When asked by the News why no arrest was made, Mount Vernon City Law Director William Smith responded, “Are we going to arrest somebody on April 1 for something that happened back in January? We’re talking misdemeanors here.”
Smith said it was up to the initial investigating officer whether to arrest Harris after the alleged incident.
“[Police] arrest them at the time if they feel there could be further violence,” said Smith. “We don’t go around looking to arrest people. It depends.”
MVPD Capt. George Hartz said that Ptl. Andrew Burns initially investigated the case and that Burns told him he tried to find Harris at two locations the morning after the alleged assault.
In providing a timeline of the events leading up to charges being filed, Smith said his office logged the offense on Jan. 31. He said official charges were prepared on Feb. 26.
Criminal charges are drafted by the prosecutor’s office but are not officially filed until either signed by the victim or a police officer. The charges are then filed with the Clerk of Courts office.
According to Smith, the reason no further action was taken until April was because his office was waiting for Marcie Cantu to come in and sign the charges.
“Had she contacted us and said she didn’t want to sign [the charges], we would have had a police officer do it,” said Smith.
When asked if his office ever called Cantu to have her come in to sign the charges, Smith said, “I don’t know if we called her or not.”
Smith added that he received several calls from Cpl. Mark Perkins of the Mount Vernon Police Department, who eventually signed the charges himself on April 1.
Smith also said the initial investigating officer, Ptl. Burns, was sick for 10 days, adding to the delay. The case was eventually assigned to Perkins, who filed his official report with prosecutors on Feb. 14, nearly two weeks before Smith’s office drafted the official charges.
Cantu said that on Feb. 7, someone from Smith’s office told her that if she went to the media regarding her son’s case, the charges against Harris would be dismissed.
Smith denies the accusation.
“It’s absolutely false,” said Smith. “There’s no way that would ever happen.”
Since the day of her son’s alleged assault, Cantu kept a journal and claims she documented every conversation she had with law enforcement. A portion of her Feb. 7 entry reads, “She said you don’t want to do that [go to the press]. If you want anything to come of this you need to be quiet. What do I do? I need a lawyer. I can’t believe this is happening.”
“It was [Cpl. Perkins] who told us to get the story out,” said Cantu. “Without him, nothing would have been done.”
The alleged assault took place Jan. 21. According to the police report, Cantu, his 12-year-old brother, and at least nine other youths, aged 12 to 16, gathered at the home of Shirley Ward for a sleepover. Witnesses at the scene reported that Ward, Harris, Tara Ward (Harris’ girlfriend and Shirley’s daughter) and at least three juveniles were consuming alcohol during the night. Several witness statements state that Harris was drinking heavily and was intoxicated at the time of the assault.
According to Perkins’ report, shortly after 11 p.m. Harris pulled Robert off the couch and began punching him in the face. According to witnesses, during the attack, Robert’s cell phone fell out of his pocket and was picked up by another teen, Jake Heagren, 15. Heagren is charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly filming the initial assault on Robert’s cell phone and cheering Harris on during the attack.
After Robert freed himself, Harris attacked him a second time, approximately 20 minutes later. According to the report, “Robert said that he was trying to get away and eventually kicked [Harris’] beer out of his hands.” Robert stated that as Harris went to get another beer he was able to get away.
Police reports state that Robert left Ward’s house shortly after the second alleged assault. Robert’s 12-year-old brother, however, stayed and slept on Ward’s couch. According to witnesses, at approximately 3 a.m. Harris allegedly punched the sleeping 12-year-old in the face for “snoring too loud.”
Witnesses state that Harris allegedly assaulted a third person during the night. A 16-year-old boy was punched “approximately 20 times in the face and head,” according to the police report. The victim in this assault claims that Harris didn’t stop his attack until Tara Ward convinced Harris to stop. No charges have been filed against Harris for this alleged third assault.
Although in his report Perkins found no motive for Harris’ alleged attacks, Marcie Cantu claims the assaults were racially motivated. Robert said that during the beatings he was called a Mexican and other slurs in reference to his Hispanic heritage.
On Feb. 12, Cantu called the FBI and told an officer her story. Special Agent Quentin Holmes came to Mount Vernon to investigate whether the assault rose to the level of a hate crime. Smith confirmed that Holmes came to his office.
“Our involvement was limited,” said FBI Special Agent Harry Trombitas of the Columbus bureau. “It didn’t rise to the level of a federal violation.”
On April 8, Harris pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault; he is scheduled for a jury trial on May 21. If convicted of both first-degree misdemeanors and sentenced consecutively, Harris could face up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. He remains free at this time.
Shirley Ward, owner of the house where the assault occurred, was originally charged with allowing an underage person to remain on her property while consuming alcohol. However, she pleaded guilty on March 25 to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct. She was sentenced to pay $150 fine plus costs, 30 days in jail suspended and two years of reporting probation. Once her fines are paid she will be transferred to non-reporting probation, according to court records.
Heagren, the boy who allegedly filmed the assault, pleaded guilty in juvenile court on Thursday to one count of disorderly conduct. He was sentenced to pay $60 plus court costs, ordered to undergo a drug and alcohol assessment and comply with any counseling recommendations, placed on court supervised probation, and is prohibited from obtaining a drivers license until he receives court approval.
None of the other adults or juveniles present the night of the assault have been charged with any crime.
“I just want justice for my boys,” said Marcie Cantu. “Why wasn’t [Harris] arrested? I can’t believe that an adult can beat a child like that and he’s still out there on the street. I saw Harris walking around today.”
