Carpenter

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Belmont County Prosecutor Chris Berhalter testified Thursday that Martins Ferry Police Chief Barry Carpenter asked him if it would be illegal to sell pictures he took inside the home of a Martins Ferry woman with Hollywood ties. Berhalter had never been a witness in a case prior taking the stand in the third day of Carpenter’s trial in Belmont County Common Pleas Court before Judge John M. Solovan. Carpenter is accused of burglarizing the Martins Ferry home of Michelle Ross before attempting to sell stolen items that identified her as the surrogate mother for the children of Hollywood stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick. Berhalter said he received a call from Carpenter in May in which the police chief told him he had entered the Ross home after finding a door to the residence open. Berhalter testified that Carpenter told him he took photos inside the home with his cellular phone, and then asked him if he could legally sell those images. Berhalter said he told Carpenter those pictures were taken during an investigation, and therefore, they could not legally be sold for personal profit. Berhalter said the pictures taken were of a plaster cast of Ross’s pregnant stomach and other documents and writings found in the residence. The jury also heard recorded conversations between Carpenter and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation special agent Mark Rohrer. In those recordings, Carpenter repeatedly said he did nothing wron.