A preliminary hearing for a Detroit, Mich.

Monday, December 13, 1999

A preliminary hearing for a Detroit, Mich., man charged with falsification and being a fugitive of justice is scheduled for 1 p.m. Dec. 20 in Lawrence County Municipal Court.

Frankie H. Trotty, of 17322 Anchester, Detroit, Mich., was arraigned Friday. Mark McCown was appointed as his attorney, and bond was set for $100,000, a court spokesperson said.

He pleaded not guilty on the falsification charge.

More serious charges await him in Iowa, however, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Jim Cochran said.

A routine traffic violation stop resulted in the Trotty’s arrest. He also is wanted in connection with an attempted murder charge in Iowa, Cochran said.

Trotty was arrested by Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department deputies at 11:45 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of falsification and an out-of-state/county warrant, according to a department report.

"We were working the shopping centers – Kmart and Wal-Mart," Cochran said. "We were having quite a few problems with things disappearing out of vehicles. The initial stop was initiated because they went left of center. Trotty was the passenger. We realized he gave us a false name when he couldn’t tell us his date of birth or Social Security number."

The vehicle, a black Nissan truck with a West Virginia license plate, was traveling eastbound on County Road 1 west of Chesapeake at the time of the incident.

The passenger, Trotty, originally gave responding deputies Wes Collins, Rodney Armstrong and Cochran the false name of Chris Ross of 1416 Leeann St. in Huntington, W.Va.

After checking with West Virginia authorities, deputies discovered there was no record of a Chris Ross having a driver’s license in the state, according to the report.

The subject was then placed under arrest and taken to the Lawrence County Jail, where he was fingerprinted to determine his identity, according to the report.

Before being fingerprinted, the subject admitted to his real name – Trotty.

A warrant search resulted in the discovery of the Iowa attempted murder warrant, for which Trotty is now being held.

"That was kind of a surprise," Cochran said. "And the Ohio Revised Code says if you falsify information to cover up a felony, it’s a felony of the same degree."

The felony-level falsification charge will probably be nullified, however, if Trotty agrees to waive extradition, Cochran added.

"It would benefit him also because the time he would spend here would not go forward to anything," Cochran added. "It would not be credited to any sentence that he had to serve there."

Iowa law enforcement officers have been notified of Trotty’s arrest.

And Iowa officials will be responsible for the extradition and transportation of Trotty back to the state of the originating offense, Cochran added.

A cash bond has been set for Trotty in Iowa of $32,000. If department officials receive a Teletype saying Trotty can post bond here, he could be allowed to return to Iowa on his own, Cochran said.