Butler County Sheriff Rick Jones drew blistering criticism Wednesday from some landlords and from Hamilton County Sheriff Si Leis for ordering deputies to stop evictions when people have nowhere else to live.

"That's something I would never do. I can tell you that," Leis said in an interview on WLW radio.

Leis, a former judge, also told the radio station, "If I were still on the bench and I ordered an eviction order, and the sheriff said, 'I'm not going to do it,' guess where that sheriff would be ... in jail for contempt of court."

On Tuesday, Jones said it would be "just heartless" to put people out on the street in mid-winter. He even called on Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland to order a moratorium on winter evictions, claiming that lives could be lost if people don't have shelter.

Jones further defended his position Wednesday.

"I don't intend to break or violate any court orders, period. ... The old sheriff isn't going to go to jail, even though Sheriff Leis probably would like for me to go there. As I said, I still love him."

Jones' order reads, in part: "If you determine that these persons will not have shelter, you are to halt the service of the forced eviction and return the paperwork to the courts with an explanation of non-service."

The deputies are also ordered to notify Jones immediately of any such action.

Quick notification will help prevent violation of court orders, Jones said.

"The deputies will work with people to help them find a place to live within the court-ordered time frame," which may vary from case to case, Jones said. "You can still be compassionate and still follow the court order."

In a similar situation, the sheriff in Cook County, Ill., Thomas Dart, said in October that he would suspend evictions in foreclosure cases. Within about a week, Dart's office resumed evictions after a judge helped craft new rules to protect tenants who had paid rent while unaware that their landlords were in foreclosure.

Some type of compromise may be in the works in Butler County, Jones said.

"One landlord group thinks they have a solution, and I'm going to meet with them. So maybe something good can come out of this," he said.

However, it appears Jones won't be getting help from Strickland.

"While the governor understands the sheriff's concerns, this is not something he has the authority to do, by law," said Keith Dailey, a Strickland spokesman.

Nevertheless, Jones' phone lines lit up all day Wednesday, with dozens of callers reacting to his directive. About half praised him for having compassion; the other half lambasted him.

Landlords, who were among Jones' harshest critics, can be compassionate - but they have bills, too, says Christopher V. Arnold, a College Hill man who owns ACF Mortgage in the Butler County part of Sharonville.

Arnold and his business partner, Greg Fail of Middletown, said that by the time people reach eviction proceedings, the landlord has already tried every other possible remedy - and may be struggling to prevent foreclosure of the property and pay his own family's bills.

"For the sheriff to step in and say, 'You can't evict somebody because they're on hard times.' ... Well, I'd like to know: What is the county going to do to help the owner through this tough time? ... I shouldn't have to pay for somebody else's obligation," Arnold said.

Fail said the sheriff's directive probably would apply to a very small percentage of cases.

Jones' office has served about 500 eviction orders this year.

Of those, 47 resulted in "set-outs," in which residents' possessions are placed on the street and the locks are changed under a deputy's supervision. Of those cases, only a few people said they had nowhere else to live, Jones said, and deputies helped find shelter for them.

Fail said he owns hundreds of properties in 14 communities in Butler, Warren and Hamilton counties. He said he has rented to probably hundreds of thousands of tenants, yet has seen only two "set-outs."

In most cases landlords prefer to get the rent paid rather than try to evict the people.

If a tenant loses a job, "I'll even try to find work for them," Fail said, or barter to settle the bill, as in, "Can you do this roof job and I'll take care of two months' rent?"

Enquirer reporter Jon Craig and the Associated Press contributed to this story.

news.cincinnati.com/article/20081211/NEWS01/812110351/1055/NEWS

jmorse@enquirer.com