YOUNGSTOWN Defendant in shooting seeks change of venue

Defense lawyers say the potential juror pool has been tainted by publicity.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Lawyers for a man accused of peppering a house with bullets from an assault rifle, killing a baby who lived inside, want his trial to be moved outside Mahoning County.
They say extensive press coverage of the case will deny their client, John Drummond Jr., a fair trial.
Drummond, 26, of Allerton Court, faces trial Jan. 12 in common pleas court for charges including aggravated murder, for which he could receive the death penalty if he is convicted.
Lawyers James Gentile and Ronald Yarwood filed documents Tuesday arguing that the community has been "saturated" with press coverage about the case, which has tainted the pool of prospective jurors.
"Whether these reports are accurate or not, they have implanted in the public from which the jury is to be drawn, a one-sided version of the facts which appears to be the version the state will advance at trial," the court document says.
Prosecutors say Drummond fired several shots into a house on Rutledge Drive on Youngstown's East Side in March. One of the shots struck 3-month-old Jiyen C. Dent Jr. in the head, killing him. The baby was sitting in a swing in the living room at the time.
Attached to the motion are photocopies of six Vindicator articles about the trial of Wayne Gilliam, who was convicted in August of being an accomplice in the killing and was sentenced to 54 years in prison.
Gentile and Yarwood say coverage of Gilliam's trial generated publicity that will adversely affect their client. They are asking that Judge Maureen A. Cronin move Drummond's trial to another county, where an impartial jury can be seated.
bjackson@vindy.com