YOUNGSTOWN Court upholds killer's sentence
The next step for the murderer will probably be an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 38-year-old Struthers man will remain on death row for killing the owner of the Downtown Bar in January 1997.
In a decision handed down Monday, the Ohio Supreme Court unanimously upheld the aggravated-murder conviction of Scott A. Group and his subsequent death sentence.
Janice T. O'Halloran, an assistant Mahoning County prosecutor, praised the decision.
"He got what he deserved," O'Halloran said of Group. "This was a horrific crime."
Atty. John P. Laczko, appointed to represent Group on the appeal, could not be reached to comment.
Group was convicted by a Mahoning County Common Pleas Court jury in April 1999 of murdering Robert Lozier, a retired Pepsi worker and owner of the bar.
Group stole $1,000 after shooting Lozier in the back of the head. Lozier's wife, Sandra, was shot in the neck and temple, but survived. Before losing consciousness, Mrs. Lozier used her own blood to write, "Ohio Wine," on the floor of the store as a clue for police.
Group was a delivery man for Ohio Wine at the time. Mrs. Lozier later identified him as her husband's killer.
Group is incarcerated at the Mansfield Correctional Institution.
O'Halloran said this was the first in a long line of possible appeals for Group.
"But it's an excellent first step," she said.
What appeal was about
Among the issues raised on appeal were what Group's lawyers felt were problems with the juror selection process for Group's trial, but the high court ruled that nothing was done improperly.
Defense lawyers also argued that the conviction and death sentence should be overturned because there was not enough evidence to support them, but the justices disagreed with that argument as well.
Finally, attorneys said Group's standing as a hard worker and a family man should have been enough to warrant his getting a life prison sentence instead of the death penalty.
"Group's history as a hard-working family man who has earned the love of those closest to him clearly deserves weight," the court's ruling says.
However, the aggravating circumstances of the crime outweigh Group's mitigating factors, the court said.
bjackson@vindy.com