Wednesday, July 10, 2002
The cases will be tried separately.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Jury selection is to begin Monday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for one of four men accused of killing a 29-year-old McBride Street man in March.
Eddie Bryant, 25, of Cohasset Drive; Armin Moore, 24, of Kendis Circle; and Lorice Moore, 24, of McGuffey Road, are charged with murder and a firearm specification.
An outstanding warrant remains for the fourth suspect, Calvin Moore, 30, no address available.
They were secretly indicted by a county grand jury in March. Bryant and the Moores have been held in the county jail since then. It's unclear whether the Moores are related.
They are charged in the death of Stephen Shackleford, found March 19 outside his home in the Victory Annex housing complex of the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority on the East Side.
What took place
Witnesses told police Shackleford was chased from his home by two men who were shooting at him. Investigators said four men were involved. They shot at Shackleford, then came closer and shot him again.
The three men were scheduled for trial together this week, but defense attorneys Jeffrey Limbian and Gary Van Brocklin, who represent Armin and Lorice Moore, respectively, asked that their cases be postponed and tried separately so they can have more time to prepare a defense.
Bryant's case was to have gone forward today, but his attorney, Mark Lavelle, was granted a postponement so he can seek suppression of a photo array that was used by police to identify Bryant.
A hearing on the suppression request was Tuesday before Judge Maureen A. Cronin, who gave lawyers for both sides until noon Friday to submit follow-up written briefs. She will rule on the request before the trial starts.
Armin Moore has filed a notice of alibi contending that he was elsewhere at the time of the shooting, and so could not have been present when Shackleford was killed. Neither of the other suspects has filed such a notice, according to court files.
bjackson@vindy.com