Jeffrey Hume. Contributed photo.
A Masury man accused of endangering seven children by damaging a furnace has pleaded guilty to all the charges against him, while his sister is awaiting a competency evaluation in a case in which she is accused of sending threatening emails to public officials.
Jeffrey Hume, 38, of Vienna, pleaded guilty Feb. 20 in Trumbull County Eastern District Court to seven counts of endangering children and one count of criminal damaging. A charge of disorderly conduct was dismissed when Hume agreed there had been probable cause for the charge. Judge Marty Nosich sentenced Hume to 20 days in jail with credit for 6 he had already served, a $100 fine and 1 year of probation. Hume also was assessed $990 in court costs.
Brookfield police were dispatched Feb. 14 to a home in the 700 block of North Stateline Road, Masury, after one of the children called 911 and said Hume was tearing up the house and she did not feel safe. Police found Hume on Addison Road and he admitted breaking out windows and his own belongings, police said.
Hume had removed the duct work to a wood-fired furnace and the house filled with smoke, police said. There were seven children between the ages of 9 and 17 in the house, police said. Brookfield Fire Department was called to evaluate the furnace and deemed it a fire hazard.
Shannon Wentink. Contributed photo.
Six days after Hume’s arrest, Brookfield police received an email from Shannon L. Wentink, 40, of 1413 Stevenson Road, Masury, which read, in part, “If you guys don’t think Im gonna (expletive) (expletive) it you got it wrong. Why the (expletive) is my brother Jeff in jail….. Do I need to drop more planes out of the sky. Or maybe get rid of another pope. Idk I like fire. Maybe light another city on fire.”
The email went on to say that the earth’s magnetic field is in the wrong direction; that she can be “the beast,” a biblical reference to Satan; that “no one teaches at Brookfield how to read the Fibonacci sequence properly”; and said the bible book of Deuteronomy predicts something will “happen” on Aug. 1.
“We have less than 6 months to figure out why God is giving us a life or death ultimatum,” the email said. “Get over your (expletive) selves.”
The author said she will “stop by shortly to talk to Aaron,” a possible reference to Police Chief Aaron Kasiewicz. The email was received at 3:40 a.m., police said.
The email was signed by “Lady Shannon” and the author otherwise identified herself as “Lady Shannon Leann Hume.” The email came from an address with “shannonwentink”in it.
Wentink also sent emails to township Trustee Shannon Devitz and Brookfield High School Principal Megan Marino. The email to Marino said: “You guys better start teaching the Fibonacci Sequence or I’m gonna flip (expletive). Let me stop in and find out Brookfield didn’t heed my warnings. I’ll be by sometime.”
Brookfield police filed two counts of menacing against Wentink and she pleaded not guilty at arraignment. At a pretrial hearing Feb. 27, Wentink’s attorney asked for a competency evaluation, a motion granted by Nosich.
