Painesville Councilman Charged With Criminal Trespassing After Helping Teenagers Avoid Curfew Violation Charges

Mario Rodriguez, Painesville’s first Hispanic councilperson, spoke at a rally in front of the Painesville Municipal Courthouse on July 7. Credit: Like Minded Lake County

It was late at night on May 17 when Mario Rodriguez got the call. A group of teenagers had been playing basketball past park hours on Painesville’s east side and were now in midst of being detained by police.

Rodriguez, the city’s first and only Hispanic councilman, felt compelled to act. He and his wife Rachel, a teacher in the Painesville City Schools system, drove to the park to try and bring temperatures down and resolve the matter.

The Rodriguez’s mediation seemed to work. Police let the teens go despite a violation of park hours. Rodriguez and his wife ended up driving them home.

Six days later, Rodriguez was charged by the Painesville prosecutor with one count of criminal trespassing. His wife was charged the same, with a thrown in charge of obstruction of official business.

“I don’t know why they were charged,” William Livingston, Mario Rodriguez’s attorney, told Scene on Thursday. “I think they were just there. The only reason they went there to the park was to try and help.”

“I think everybody was pretty surprised that they were charged,” he said.

Bringing Painesville’s only Hispanic councilperson to court for deterring the police from reprimanding several teenagers of color on a basketball court seems to not really sit well in the community, which boasts one of Northeast Ohio’s largest Hispanic populations.

Protestors framed the charges as an attack on Paineville’s minority community. Credit: Like Minded Lake County

On July 7, a rally in support of the couple formed in front of the Painesville Municipal Courthouse, where speakers from the group Like Minded Lake County joined the Rodriguez family in denouncing what they saw as a politically-charged legal attack.

With only one logical remedy: for the city to drop the charges.

“Good working families deserve safety and stability,” one protestor said through a bullhorn. “And so do many other vulnerable families in the Painesville immigrant community.”

Rodriguez, who stood beside Rachel and two of their daughters, framed his arraignment in court last month as a retaliation with clear racial and ethnic undertones.

“My wife and I dedicated our lives to teaching and protecting children, and serving our community. That is exactly what we were trying to do on that night in question,” Rodriguez told the crowd. “We should all be standing up for the marginalized, especially our youth in this community. We need to come together.”

Joseph Hada, the city prosecutor for Painesville, did not return a call or email for comment in time for publication Thursday.

As of now, Rodriguez is scheduled to go to trial later this year.

A decision that Livingston thinks should be reconsidered.

“It’s a councilman, a public servant, and his wife’s a teacher. They dedicated their lives to protecting children,” he said. “And that’s what they’re trying to do on the night in question. That’s why we just think these charges should never been brought.