Ronald Lee Pheils spent part of his 19th birthday Friday in shackles facing charges regarding the death
of a 3-year-old.
A dozen of the toddler’s family and friends sat in silence at the back of the courtroom. Across the
aisle, the defendants family sat similarly.
Pheils, a resident of Perrysburg, was arraigned on one count of reckless homicide before Wood County
Common Pleas Court Judge Alan Mayberry. He is accused of shaking the toddler on March 23 while
babysitting and causing his death.
Through his attorney Christopher Zografides, Pheils entered a not guilty plea to the charge.
Pheils turned himself into Perrysburg Police on March 28, following an unsuccessful attempt to arrest him
on a warrant at his Hufford Road residence where the crime is alleged to have occurred.
In part, due to those circumstances, Gwen Howe-Gebers, an assistant prosecutor for the county requested
the bond set in Perrysburg Municipal Court be continued.
Mayberry agreed with the prosecution and set bond at $100,000 with no 10 percent applicable.
The investigation began as an EMS run for an unresponsive 3-year-old at the residence. The boy was taken
to the Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, Toledo, and was pronounced dead there on March 26.
The court complaint alleges Pheils shook the boy "violently causing extensive brain injury and
death."
It’s a third-degree felony. If convicted, the maximum penalty is one to five years in prison.
Zografides had requested his client be released on his own recognizance due to his young age, good
standing and lack of criminal record.
The attorney said Pheils was respected, was a volunteer and worked with the rugby club.
A pre-trial hearing was set for May 6 at 10 a.m., with a three-day jury trial set for June 13-15.
The family of the victim, who has not been identified other than "John Doe," declined any
comment.