4 Ascent workers plead ‘not guilty’

4 Ascent workers plead ‘not guilty’

Trial date set for child service employees charged with manslaughter in hot- van death of 5- year- old

news@theeveningtimes.com

Four former Ascent Children’s Health Service workers have been arraigned in circuit court on Manslaughter charges in the hot van death of Christopher Gardner. Monday morning, three of the four stood with their attorneys in front of Judge John Fogleman in the Second Judicial Circuit Court in Marion. The former Ascent employees – van driver, Felisha Phillips; Transportation Supervisor, Wanda Taylor; Safety Director, Kendra Washington each plead not guilty.

Van chaperone Pamela Robinson, represented by Bart Zeigenhorn, also plead not guilty, but had been arraigned earlier.

“We’ve already arraigned Mr. Zeigenhorn’s client, because he had a prior court date in Tennessee,” said Prosecutor Tom Young.

Judge Fogleman set the trial dates for Nov. 6-9, though continuaces could push the trial back to a later date.

The prosecutor had not yet moved to join the four cases for one trial but indicated he would.

“Technically they are not joined,” said Young. “We will file a motion to consolidate all four. There’d be no sense in separate trials as they all are standing on the same thing. We intend to try them all at the same time.”

While the criminal court proceedings moved forward in Marion on Monday, the family had already filed a multi-million dollar civil suit against Ascent, its corporate entities, and the four former employees at its West Memphis care center. On July 20 the attorney going against Ascent in the civil case, Randy Fishman, hoped the giant lawsuit would serve to “raise the bar a bit,” increasing awareness for drivers with children in the vehicle.

Five year old Christopher Gardner, Jr. was overlooked in the his van car seat and found dead in the hot van later in the day after police say workers neglected to do their job.

As both the civil and criminal cases move forward Gardner’s mother Ashley Smith spoke publicly about her son being forgotten on the Ascent van.

“I just feel like justice needs to be served, and they need to be shut down,” said Smith.

Wanda Taylor

By John Rech