Preliminary hearing held for Chief of Staff Lorain County Prosecutor facing criminal charges

ELYRIA, Ohio (WOIO) – Lorain County Prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson and Chief of Staff James Burge are scheduled for a preliminary hearing Friday morning. according to court records.

The arraignment comes just days after Tomlinson was ousted as Lorain County Prosecutor in the last election.

RELATING TO: Lorain County Decided: Incumbent prosecutor faces criminal charges, loses seat

On Oct. 16, Tomlinson and Burge appeared side by side in Elyria Municipal Court Wednesday afternoon.

The October hearing was held before Visiting Judge Patrick Carroll.

“I realize this case has taken on a life of its own by being politically charged,” Carroll said.

Tomlinson is charged with tampering with evidence, intimidation and attempted bribery.

Burge is charged with tampering with evidence and intimidation.

Former Franklin County Prosecutor Ronald O’Brien was appointed as the special prosecutor in this case.

The charges stem from allegations made by former employee Jennifer Battistelli, according to a twenty-two-page Lorain County Sheriff’s Office report.

Battistelli started working for the prosecutor’s office in January 2021 and began dating Tomlinson later that spring, according to the report.

Battistelli claimed that Tomlinson became obsessed with her and called her a hundred times a day.

In the summer of 2023, Battistelli filed a formal complaint against Tomlinson and resigned.

He said Tomlinson and Burge tried to make false statements to get him to withdraw his complaints.

During the hearing, Battistelli’s lawyer requested a no-contact order for him and his client.

“The defendants made numerous false statements about me. In fact, it is libelous,” Lowder said.

Neither Tomlinson nor Barge entered a plea.

19 News reached out to both Tomlinson and Burge for comment but did not hear back.

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