News
Millfield Man Gets Bond Reduction After Pleas From Victim
By: Susan Tebben | The Athens Messenger
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After a new indictment adding firearm specifications to an abduction and assault case, a Millfield man saw his bond reduced so he could get mental health care. The bond reduction came after the request of his mother, listed as a victim in the case.
Derrick Dunlevy, 23, of Main Street, was arraigned last week in Athens County Common Pleas Court on a superseding indictment which added firearm specifications to two counts of abduction.
Dunlevy is also charged with grand theft, a third-degree felony, misdemeanor assault and two counts of misdemeanor domestic violence.
The charges stem from an incident that allegedly happened on Jan. 8. Dunlevy is accused of holding a loaded 9mm handgun while not allowing a member of his family and another man to leave 16155 Main Street.
He also allegedly assaulted the man and caused or attempted to cause physical harm to members of his family, including his mother, Melinda Dunlevy.
According to reports, Melinda Dunlevy called the Athens County Sheriff’s Office saying her son had assaulted four people. She called from another residence.
His mother appeared in court and pleaded for a reduced bond so she could pay to get him out of jail.
“He has a lot of problems,” Melinda Dunlevy said after asking to speak. “That’s why I wanted to get him help.”
She told Judge L. Alan Goldsberry that she had never seen a gun before she fled to call law enforcement. She said he was “not in his right mind” that night.
Defense attorney James Wallace said Derrick Dunlevy’s bond had been modified after his arraignment on the first indictment, which was Jan. 22. The bond had been changed from $50,000 with no 10 percent allowed to $35,000 with 10 percent allowed.
In court for the second arraignment, Wallace asked for the bond to be reduced further, to $10,000 with 10 percent allowed.
“The (previous) bond is not possible for Mr. Dunlevy,” Wallace said. “He’s been in jail since Jan. 8.”
Wallace said because Derrick Dunlevy has been incarcerated, he has not been able to contact the mental health professional he has been working with for years. The medication his client needs is also not available in jail, Wallace said.
Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth Pepper asked that Judge L. Alan Goldsberry consider the facts of the case.
“He brandished a firearm at people to prevent them from calling law enforcement,” Pepper told the court.
Law enforcement also found that Derrick Dunlevy had a knife on a bed in the home, Pepper said, and was belligerent when deputies attempted to take him into custody. It was reported that he began hitting his head on the window of the cruiser, so hard that deputies though he would break the glass, according to Pepper.
“He obviously poses a great danger to the public,” Pepper told the court.
Pepper said she sympathized with Melinda Dunlevy in wanting to get her son mental health assistance, but considered Derrick Dunlevy a danger to the public who should remain incarcerated on the same bond.
Goldsberry granted the defense’s request to reduce bond after Wallace said it was not realistic to request the mental health professional come to the jail.
“There is no dispute that he is mentally ill,” Goldsberry said. “He’s not going to get better without medication.”
Pepper tried again to ask the court to reconsider, but Goldsberry maintained his ruling.
“Mr. Dunlevy, don’t make the court sorry,” Goldsberry said to the defendant.
Another pretrial is set for March 25 in the case. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail records showed that Derrick Dunlevy was no longer incarcerated.