ELYRIA – The city has dropped a misdemeanor charge accusing Lorain defense attorney Mike Duff of failing to maintain a Woodland Avenue home he owns.

Duff was given the property at 519 Woodland Ave. as payment for defending its former owner, Paul Hashman, against attempted murder and felonious assault charges for shooting his neighbor.

Hashman, 87, is serving a seven-year prison sentence after being convicted of the felonious assault charge.

Gerald Kline, assistant building official for the city of Elyria, said Duff had made the repairs the city wanted, so the case was dropped.

“That’s all we ever look for, is compliance,” he said.

Duff said the repairs to the house, including new windows, paint and gutters, cost him about $25,000.

“He did a real nice job,” Klein said.

Duff said he was pleased the city dropped the charge.

“They did the right thing,” he said. “I never should have been charged because it’s not the worst house in Elyria.”

Duff said he believes he was singled out because of who he is, an allegation Klein denied.

“We know there are worse ones than his, but when we get a complaint we follow up on it,” Klein said.

A neighbor filed a complaint with the city last August about the state of the house. That complaint followed several previous complaints about unmowed grass on the property, according to city records.

Duff fought a legal battle to win Hashman’s house, valued at $66,500, and $7,500 in cash as payment for his legal services.

The victim in the shooting, Darrell Oskins, won a $20.5 million lawsuit against Hashman but received only about $200,000, the balance of Hashman’s assets, after Duff was paid.

Hashman and Oskins had a long-running feud that began when Oskins built a garage on his property, which Hashman believed obstructed his view.

In January 2004, Hashman came outside with a gun and opened fire with a nine-shot .22-caliber revolver, nearly killing Oskins, who racked up more than $1 million in medical bills and had to have more than 50 surgeries.

Hashman testified during the trial that he shot Oskins in self-defense after his neighbor charged at him with a snowblower.

A prosecutor in that case, Assistant County Prosecutor Mike Kinlin, also was charged with an unrelated property maintenance code violation for a rental property he owns on Fifth Street in Elyria. The charge against Kinlin was also dropped after he made the repairs requested by the city.

Duff said he plans to rent out the old Hashman house when interior renovations are completed.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.

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