MAHONING COUNTY Cases presented in kidnapping trial

A defense attorney said two men who are uncharged were actually responsible.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Trial is under way in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for two men accused of abducting a woman and her three children earlier this year and holding them for ransom.
Jose Placeres, 29, of Glenwood Avenue, Youngstown, and Joseph Gonzalez, 21, of Ninth Street, Campbell, are each charged with conspiracy to kidnapping, conspiracy to attempted aggravated murder and four counts of kidnapping.
Opening statements were Friday in the courtroom of Judge R. Scott Krichbaum.
Assistant Prosecutor Patrick Pochiro told jurors that Maria Rosario Romano and her three children, ages 7, 4 and 2, were abducted at gunpoint as they got out of their minivan on 13th Street in Campbell on May 2.
As Romano got out of the van, a man approached from behind, shot her in the hip and forced her back into the vehicle's passenger seat. The assailant then got in and drove the van away with the woman and children inside.
The driver pulled into a parking lot at South Avenue and Indianola Avenue, Youngstown, a short time later. A second man got in the van and covered Romano's eyes and mouth with duct tape, Pochiro said.
Held in closet: The family was taken to an apartment building on Glenwood and locked in a closet for about six hours. Romano's husband, Tito, received several telephone calls during that time demanding $100,000 ransom for his family.
The family was eventually taken to a gasoline station in Campbell and released around 3 a.m. the next day, Pochiro said.
Romano's 7-year-old son identified Gonzalez as the man who got into the van and put duct tape on his mother, Pochiro said. The original assailant's identity is not known.
Pochiro said Placeres helped plan the kidnapping with his uncle, Wilfredo Placeres, who lived in the same apartment building, though it's unclear whether Jose Placeres actually participated in the act.
Both deny involvement: Jose Placeres' attorney, Jeffrey Limbian, said Placeres had nothing to do with the crimes, and that he was home with his fianc & eacute;e that night.
Jose Placeres and his fianc & eacute;e, Brenda Marcarno, were actually close friends with the Romanos, Limbian said.
He said Wilfredo Placeres and another man, known only as Cuba, actually planned and carried out the acts, though neither of them are charged. Wilfredo Placeres left the area about two days after the abduction and has not been heard from since, he said.
Atty. Louis DeFabio, representing Gonzalez, also said his client was not involved. He said Gonzalez was visiting with friends that night, then went to his girlfriend's apartment in Struthers where he spent the night.
He said the little boy might have picked Gonzalez's picture out of a photo lineup because the two are related.
Both Limbian and DeFabio said the Campbell Police Department conducted a sloppy investigation into the matter.