ER - Marsh denies letting 2-year-old toddler walk unattended in road

Marsh denies letting 2-year-old toddler walk unattended in road
by Kara D. Machado, 2/2/2007

Ferndale Police Chief Lonnie Lawson alleges Sean Marsh failed to keep his toddler from danger when Marsh allegedly let his child walk off the curb of Main Street and 18 inches into the roadway at the intersection with Brown Street.

Marsh, however, has stated in media reports that he was calling his 2-year-old son Everett to come back to him — as Marsh walked about 15 feet behind the toddler — and that Everett got only as far as the curb of the intersection.

Thursday was Marsh’s second day of jury trial.

Marsh, 38, has been charged with two misdemeanor counts — child endangerment and delaying a peace officer in the performance of his duties — stemming from the incident, which occurred at about 3:30 p.m. on March 31, 2006, Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Jose Mendez said.

If convicted, Mendez said Marsh could face a maximum of two years in the Humboldt County Correctional Facility.

Marsh has pleaded not guilty to both counts.

Lawson was the first witness on the stand Thursday, after whose testimony Mendez rested the prosecution’s case.

Following Lawson’s testimony, the defense called the first four of its witnesses: Polly Stemwedel, owner of Lentz Department Store in Ferndale; Marilyn Benemann, a book dealer; Brett Boynton, the manager of Abraxas Shoes and Leather; and Marsh’s wife, Allison Marsh — who held the couple’s 6-month-old daughter while she testified.

Marsh is being represented by Humboldt County Public Defender Angela Fitzsimons, who declined to comment on the case.

According to the police report, Mendez said, Lawson saw the Marsh toddler slightly going into the roadway at the intersection of Main and Brown streets, so he stopped his patrol unit. That is when Sean Marsh — who Lawson claims was out of the vicinity of the child’s presence — walked up, picked up the child and walked away.

When Lawson tried to investigate why the child was out in the street “without supervision,” he felt he couldn’t properly do so because Marsh continued to walk away despite Lawson’s attempts to contact him.

Marsh, Lawson claims, then became uncooperative when Marsh failed to submit his identification upon Lawson’s command.

In court Thursday, Mendez asked Lawson if — in all of Lawson’s 30 years of experience as an officer — he’s ever dealt with someone as uncooperative as Marsh. Lawson said he hadn’t.

“I can never remember anyone just brushing me off, just walking off,” Lawson said, “(without) some contact.”

Lawson testified that he did not see the Marsh child fall down or get injured before, during or after the incident.

The chief also testified that he does not get emotional — he will, however, “change his (tone of) voice” at times — and does not get angry, but frustrated, while dealing with people on the job.

Stemwedel testified that she was in her store, behind the counter near the door, when she heard a car racing up to the curb at about 3:30 p.m. on March 31.

Outside, Stemwedel said she saw that the first car was a police car and was followed by another unit.

Stemwedel said she then saw Marsh being handcuffed as he held his son.

Lawson, Stemwedel said, was about 3 feet away from her, looking at her with “such hatred” and anger that it scared her.

“I got the impression from him not to say anything,” Stemwedel said.

Stemwedel testified that she did not see what happened prior to the incident.

Sometime after the incident, Stemwedel said, she filed a complaint to the Ferndale City Council because she “totally felt (Lawson) overreacted and didn’t feel he should go on without being reprimanded” for his behavior.

Benemann testified that as she was walking back from the post office on Main Street March 31, she came upon Lawson, Marsh and Marsh’s toddler.

Benemann, who said she was on the same side of the street, testified that she heard Lawson tell Marsh in a “severe” voice, “Do you understand me?” before poking his finger into Marsh’s shoulder. And, at one point, Lawson told Marsh he was under arrest.

Marsh asked what he should do with his child, Benemann testified, and woman named Jake Drake took the child.

Boynton testified that Marsh’s then-eight-month-pregnant wife was shoe shopping at his store when Marsh and Everett went outside.

Boynton said he, himself, walked in and out of the store to chat with Marsh.

Marsh’s wife had worked at the shoe store previously, Boynton testified, and Boynton said he had known the couple both through having Marsh’s wife as a prior employee and as friends.

It was about a five- to 10-minute time frame, Boynton testified, from the time the Marshes entered the store to the time Sean Marsh was arrested.

“(Marsh) was definitely following his child” at the time of the incident, Boynton testified. “He was always consciously aware of what his child was doing, in my opinion.”

Boynton said he was inside the shoe store when the incident between Marsh and Lawson happened, but Boynton said he saw Marsh being handcuffed and described the scene as “chaotic.”

The day after Marsh was taken to jail, Boynton said he sought Lawson to discuss the incident.

Boynton found Lawson at Papa Joe’s restaurant having breakfast.

Boynton said he asked why the incident happened and that Lawson replied, “(Marsh’s) body language said ‘F you.’ What else was I supposed to do?”

Sarcastically, Boynton said back to Lawson, “I don’t know, arrest him?”

Allison Marsh testified that she didn’t know what was going on at the time her husband was being arrested until she heard the words “whose kid is this?”

She then went outside, picked up Everett and took him back into the shoe store because the toddler kept putting up his arms up, saying, “Dad? Dad?”

No one asked Allison Marsh if she was Everett’s mother, she testified.

Sean Marsh is scheduled to testify today in Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Timothy Cissna’s courtroom.

Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.

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