Lawsuit: Circle C Youth and Family Services

“A Carrick group home, site of a beating death of a 16-year-old in January, was negligent when it hired a man with a criminal history who went on to be charged with beating a different juvenile resident last April, a lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday on behalf of a juvenile identified in court papers simply as John Doe, alleges negligence, negligent hiring practices, assault and other complaints against Circle C Youth and Family Services and former employee Jaymar Gilbert.

Circle C administrators could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit alleges that on April 25, Gilbert and the juvenile argued and that Gilbert attacked the juvenile and threw him down a flight of concrete stairs.

Gilbert was charged with simple assault on April 28. He was released on his own recognizance. A jury trial is scheduled March 17.

Court papers list public defender Michael McFarland representing Gilbert; McFarland could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit alleges Circle C administrators did not perform an adequate background check before hiring Gilbert.

Court records show Gilbert has a 10-year criminal history, including drug and firearms charges, burglary and theft.

Gilbert pleaded guilty in 2008 to carrying a firearm without a license and possession of a controlled substance. He pleaded guilty later that year to a separate charge of possession of a controlled substance.

He was charged in 2007 with disorderly conduct.

In 2005, he pleaded guilty to burglary, receiving stolen property and three counts of theft and was sentenced to up to one year in prison. In 2000, he was sentenced to up to one year in prison and five years of probation for theft. In 1999, he pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver, possession of marijuana and traffic violations and was sentenced to up to two years in jail. The year prior, he pleaded guilty to theft and receiving stolen property. He was sentenced to up to three years of probation.

Gilbert’s criminal record should have raised a red flag for Circle C administrators, said Todd Hollis, of Hollis Law Officers Downtown, who filed the lawsuit.

“I just don’t think that he’s a good fit for acting as a caregiver to children — potentially children who are already in an at-risk situation,” Hollis said.

The Carrick home is one of four residential homes for minors that Circle C is licensed to operate in the Pittsburgh area. The others are: Oasis Group Home in Perry South, the Euclid Group Home in Bellevue and the Patak House in California-Kirkbride.

Police say that on Jan. 10, Malik Crosby, 16, and Yusuf Shepard, 15, beat 16-year-old Nicholas Grant in the Carrick Avenue home until he stopped breathing.

Grant died four days later from lack of oxygen to his brain, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office.

“Circle C has represented itself to be a safe place for children who have been referred to it by the juvenile justice system,” Hollis said. “It’s my hope that no other child will suffer the same consequences.”

Circle C and Gilbert have 20 days to respond to the lawsuit.”

Suit alleges Carrick group home where teen was killed was negligent
k[Trib Live 3/6/15 by Megan Guza]

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