Home health aide is sentenced for theft from patients

By Peter H. Milliken

The thief cares little about honor, dignity or respect, judge said.

YOUNGSTOWN — A home health aide who stole jewelry and guns from an elderly Craig Beach couple’s home, where she was a caregiver, has been sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to make full restitution.

Cynthia L. Russell, 45, of Canary Drive, Lake Milton, drew that sentence Friday from Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, despite her daughter’s arrival in court with $4,000 in restitution for the couple’s homeowner’s insurance deductible.

“I don’t know that there’s any way I could forgive somebody for something like that,” the judge said of Russell.

“She just doesn’t really care much about honor, dignity and respect, and she doesn’t deserve any of those things from this court,” Judge Krichbaum said.

The judge added that the offenses were worsened by Russell’s position of trust and by the victims’ age and condition.

The judge imposed nine-month consecutive prison terms on each of three theft counts pertaining to a handgun, a rifle, and between $5,000 and $100,000 in jewelry and collectibles.

Russell had earlier pleaded guilty to the thefts, which occurred between Oct. 1 and 25, 2007.

“My father spent years and years accumulating these items. This was his legacy to us,” said the victims’ son, who added that a conservative estimate of the stolen items’ value is $280,000 and asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence — 111‚Ñ2 years in prison.

The 27-month prison term the judge imposed on Russell was identical to the one he imposed earlier this week on Russell’s accomplice, Keith A. McGarvey, 41, who lived with her.

McGarvey had pleaded guilty to three counts of receiving stolen property, which referred to the same items, in the same indictment.

In the Craig Beach residence, Russell cared for an ailing 84-year-old man, while his wife, also an octogenarian, was undergoing surgery and rehabilitation. The elderly man died while the theft case was pending.

Russell apologized for her actions, offered condolences to the family, and promised a full effort to make restitution.

Her lawyer, Ross Smith, said Russell has no prior criminal record and that she admitted her crimes from the beginning of this case.

“There’s hardly any position of trust greater than to ask someone to care for a loved one who’s helpless; and to violate that sort of trust is what makes this reprehensible,” said J. Michael Thompson, assistant county prosecutor.

Much of the stolen property in this case has been recovered and returned to its rightful owner, Thompson said.

milliken@vindy.com