Prosecutor wants probe in teen’s escape from state hospital

HIGHLAND HILLS, Ohio (AP) — A teenage boy accused of being part of a group that committed six carjackings in Cleveland escaped from a state-run hospital after ordering a ride-sharing pickup for himself while he smoked cigarettes outside the facility with hospital employees, authorities said.

Lavelle Spencer, 17, remains at large Wednesday after escaping Saturday from the Warrensville Developmental Center in Highland Hills, according to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley. Spencer was undergoing court-ordered mental-health treatment at the facility.

Spencer is accused of being part of a group that committed six carjackings in late 2019 on Cleveland’s West Side. He also faces an unrelated sexual assault charge, and pleaded not guilty to the counts after his cases were moved to adult court in July.

“It’s incomprehensible that he had these charges and was allowed outside to smoke and accessed a phone,” O’Malley told Cleveland.com. “It’s outrageous. The (Ohio) state patrol needs to do an in-depth investigation into what happened, and the facility needs to review all policies to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

O’Malley also questioned how Spencer got a cellphone while in custody at the hospital.

The state patrol is investigating the escape because it happened at a hospital run by the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities.

Spencer was being held in the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center until his transfer Dec. 9 to Warrensville, one of eight state-run hospitals that treat people with developmental disabilities. That came after a court psychiatrist found Spencer incompetent to stand trial because of a developmental disability that rendered his IQ below the legal threshold of 75, but also said legal competency could be restored with treatment.