A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for the Lorain County District Attorney’s chief of staff who faces criminal charges

ELYRIA, Ohio (WOIO) – Lorain County District Attorney J. D. Tomlinson and his chief of staff, James Burge, are scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing Friday morning. according to court records.

The court appearance comes days after Tomlinson was fired as Lorain County District Attorney in the last election.

Oct. 16, Tomlinson and Burge appeared side by side in Elyria Municipal Court on Wednesday afternoon.

The October hearing was held in the presence of guest judge Patrick Carroll.

“I understand that this case has taken on a life of its own, being politically charged,” Carroll said.

Tomlinson is accused of tampering with evidence, intimidation and attempted bribery.

Burge is accused of tampering with evidence and intimidation.

Former Franklin County District Attorney Ronald O’Brien was appointed as the special prosecutor in the case.

According to a twenty-two-page report by the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office, the charges stem from allegations made by a former employee, Jennifer Battistelli.

According to the report, Battistelli began working at the prosecutor’s office in January 2021 and began dating Tomlinson later that spring.

Battistelli claimed that Tomlinson became obsessed with her and called her a hundred times a day.

In the summer of 2023, Battistelli filed a formal complaint against Tomlinson and resigned.

She said Tomlinson and Burge tried to make false statements to get her to drop her complaints.

During the hearing, Battistelli’s attorney requested a no-contact order for him and his client.

“The defendants made many false statements about me. In fact, defamatory,” Lowder said.

Neither Tomlinson nor Barge pleaded guilty.

19 News reached out to Tomlinson and Burge for comment, but did not hear back.