Longtime Richland County sheriff challenged by 2 former employees in March primary
The Richland County sheriff and two longtime former Richland County Sheriff's Office employees are competing in the March 19 Republican primary for a four-year term in office. There is no Democrat in the race. That means the primary winner will earn the seat in November, barring successful challenges from independent and write-in candidates.
Former sheriff's office employees Matt Mayer and Donald Zehner want to unseat J. Steve Sheldon, who is running for his sixth term.
One of the key issues facing the next sheriff of Richland County is jail safety.
Three federal lawsuits have been filed in connection to the deaths of inmates Alexander Rios, Maggie Copeland and Zachary Marshall at the Richland County Jail.
Copeland, 29, of Mansfield, was found unresponsive at 7:08 a.m. May 11, 2022, lying naked with her hair cut off, with vomit coming out of her mouth. She was pronounced dead 34 minutes later at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital. Copeland's cause of death was listed as dehydration with renal failure, according to her autopsy report from the Montgomery County Medical Examiner's Office. The death was contributed to by drug abuse, the report indicates.
In 2023, a federal lawsuit was filed against Richland County Jail medical staff ― Advanced Correctional Healthcare Inc. ― over a Bucyrus man's death. Marshall, 35, died Dec. 22, 2021, in the intensive care unit. Marshall was diagnosed at the hospital with sepsis. "Because defendants' actions and inactions had allowed his condition to become so severe, doctors were unable to save Zach," the lawsuit, filed Nov. 27, 2023, in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, in Cleveland, said.
Also, in January, the News Journal reported that the Ohio Attorney General's Office is taking over the case of a former Richland County corrections officer accused of causing the death of Rios.
Mark Cooper, 57, is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, one a first-degree felony, the other a third-degree felony; and reckless homicide, a third-degree felony.
His charges are in connection with the death of Rios, 28, after the inmate was subdued by several corrections officers Sept. 19, 2019. Rios was in the county jail on a warrant. Following the confrontation, Rios was taken to OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, but he never regained consciousness. His family took him off life support eight days later, on Sept. 27, 2019, the News Journal earlier reported.
A $4 million wrongful death settlement was reached with Rios' family in December 2021 on behalf of the Richland County Sheriff's Office from the County Risk Sharing Authority for the County Commissioners Association of Ohio. The settlement set $1,333,2000 for attorney fees, which is one-third of the total settlement amount, with the net proceeds of $2,647,691.12 after other fees and expenses distributed to Rios' three children and two parents, according to probate court records obtained by the News Journal.
Sheriff candidate Matt Mayer
Running for sheriff had been Mayer's goal since he started at the sheriff’s office on March 21, 1988. He retired in 2013.
He said he wants to restore Integrity and honor to the sheriff’s office. "I feel a change is needed," said Mayer, who has 36 years in law enforcement, 18 years as a supervisor, with 28½ years at the Richland County Sheriff's Office and more than two decades as a major crimes investigator.
For the past nine years he has worked for the Richland County Common Pleas Court, and for the past seven years at the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District police officer, currently serving as the northern Ohio regional supervisor directly under the chief of police.
The 63-year-old Mansfield resident has run against Sheldon before. Mayer sought the office as a Democrat in 2016, losing to Sheldon in the November general election.
A graduate of The Ohio State University and the Ohio State Patrol Academy, Mayer is a 1979 Madison High School graduate. Mayer received the 2020 Ohio Distinguished Law Enforcement Lifetime Achievement Award from Attorney General Dave Yost.
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During his tenure at the RCSO, Mayer worked in the crime lab, as a dispatcher, corrections officer, patrolman, detective and detective in charge of major crimes.
If elected, he plans to address three top issues:
increase focus on our community’s drug problem, assign more detectives to the METRICH drug task force;
increase covert and overt operations of the major crimes and patrol bureaus; and
address the number of corrections officers in the jail.
Mayer said he plans to improve the safety of inmates by recalling and staffing the jail with knowledgeable, experienced correction officers.
Mayer said he will "continue to investigate the recent inmate deaths, all of which were preventable including Alexander Rios, Maggie Copeland and Zachery Marshall.
He also plans to employ a drug/alcohol and mental health counselor in the jail.
In 2018, Mayer walked away from the Democratic party and in 2020, he officially registered as a Republican "to keep myself aligned with my God-given values and my Christian beliefs."
Running for re-election: J. Steve Sheldon
Sheldon, 69, has served four terms as sheriff and is now in his fifth term. He ran unopposed for his second and third terms, in 2008 and 2012.
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Sheldon worked at the Mansfield Police Department before coming to the sheriff's office. He also worked at the Crestline Police Department. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in behavioral science from Grand Canyon College and an associate degree in law enforcement from North Central Technical College.
Sheldon's accomplishments as sheriff include construction of a new jail and implementing the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force in Richland County and more.
If re-elected, he wants to
continue to pursue funding for medical care to ensure inmates’ medical needs are evaluated and met within two hours of entry into our facility;
continue to address the drug pandemic in Richland County; and
to continue to expand our state-of-the-art 911 center, I plan to implement (Next Generation) 911.
How Sheldon plans to keep inmates at the jail safe
"All jails deal with many variables to keep their jails safe. Our staff is trained in de-escalation and how to interact with inmates who are in crisis. Most of the inmates who enter the jail are alcohol and/or drug addicted, mentally ill or are in very poor health, if not a combination of each or all. We have a medical staff that assesses their needs and treats them accordingly. Since I have become sheriff, mental health services were added to the jail as well as additional medical staff to include 24-hour nursing," Sheldon said.
Sheldon said he and his jail staff have been working on introducing a Medical Assisted Treatment Program for drug-addicted inmates for the past year and have sought funds to provide the jail program.
Sheldon is a graduate of Northwestern School of Staff Command and has attended number other schools and trainings over the past 40-plus years.
Sheriff candidate Donald Zehner
Zehner, 55, a Shelby native, served more than 30 years with the Richland County Sheriff’s Office and last held the rank of captain of the Operations Bureau, overseeing all road patrol deputies, community policing deputies, major crimes detectives, METRICH detectives, Northern Ohio Fugitive Task Force detectives and the school resource officers.
He earned a degree in fish and wildlife management from Hocking Technical College before earning an Ohio peace officer commission.
A resident and farmer in Lucas, Zehner is making his first run for public office.
He began his career with the sheriff's office as a corrections officer and worked up to a corrections supervisor before going to the Law Enforcement Division starting as a road deputy.
Zehner was "unlawfully fired" on Oct. 27 for no disciplinary reason at the Richland County Sheriff's Office, his attorney says, adding that Zehner is entitled to return to the rank he previously held as lieutenant, based on the union agreement, the News Journal reported earlier.
In a letter sent by certified mail dated Nov. 26 to Sheldon, Marion lawyer J.C. Ratliff said the sheriff must re-employ Zehner pursuant to the bargaining agreement between the sheriff's office and the Fraternal Order of Police Ohio Labor Council Inc.
If elected, Zehner said he would add an office to work from at the jail building next to the Richland County Courthouse while also maintaining an office at the People’s Building, which would also improve the safety of inmates at the Richland County Jail by having a working office at the jail.
The majority of the sheriff’s office employees work at the jail. The inmates also would benefit from the sheriff being able to see who they are and that the necessary services are provided such as enhancing mental health services and adding to medical and substance abuse screening for the inmate book-in process which would assist in identifying potential at-risk inmates during the book-in procedures, Zehner said.
If elected, he plans to create a behavior response team. This would comprise working with various agencies throughout the county. This would involve a response into the community to find the root cause of the behavior causing individuals who come in contact with the sheriff’s office, Zehner said.
If elected, he wants to add an explosive detection dog to the existing K-9 program so the explosive- and gunpowder-detecting capability of the K-9 team would be available to all local area agencies. The K-9 team would enhance security within our local educational facilities through preventative detection sweeps.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Richland County OH sheriff challenged by 2 former employees in primary
