MAHONING COUNTY Prosecutors seek death penalty in 2 cases

Ohio law establishes criteria by which cases qualify for the death penalty.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The decision last week to send convicted cop killer Martin L. Koliser Jr. to death row isn't the last of Mahoning County's capital punishment cases.
Two other men -- John Drummond and Lance Lynch -- are in the county jail awaiting trial on aggravated murder charges. They, like Koliser, could face the death penalty if they are convicted.
Drummond, 26, of Allerton Court, is charged in a March 24 shooting at a Rutledge Drive home in which a 3-month-old boy was killed. His case is set for trial in January before Judge Maureen A. Cronin of common pleas court.
Lynch, 25, of Chicago Avenue, is accused of kidnapping, torturing and killing a 39-year-old truck driver from New York in November 2001. Judge James C. Evans will preside over his trial, for which a date has not been set.
"They are both horrible, heinous crimes," said Timothy Franken, chief assistant prosecutor.
He said the prosecutor's office isn't shy about seeking the death penalty in such cases, but doesn't rush into such a decision either.
Ten specifications
Ohio law outlines 10 specifications under which the death penalty can be sought in aggravated murder cases. If any of them apply, prosecutors begin weighing it as an option, Franken said.
"Then we have to sit down and talk about whether we think we realistically have a shot at getting it," he said. "If we don't think it's a viable option, we probably aren't going to waste the taxpayers' money by pursuing it."
Death-penalty cases are different from noncapital cases because they are more costly in both time and money to prepare for and to prosecute, Franken said.
"It's not that we take the other cases lightly, but when someone's life is at stake, it becomes the focus of the office," he said.
One of the death-penalty specifications is if the victim is 13 or younger, which is the case with Drummond.
Authorities say Drummond riddled a Rutledge Drive house with bullets from an assault rifle. One of the bullets tore through the walls and struck 3-month-old Jiyen C. Dent Jr. in the head. The infant was sitting in a swing in the living room. His parents also were home but were not shot.
Co-defendant in prison
A co-defendant, 21-year-old Wayne Gilliam, was sentenced in August to 54 years in prison for his role in the shooting. Prosecutors say he drove Drummond to Rutledge, waited in the car while Drummond got out and sprayed the house with bullets, then drove him away.
Franken said the death specification for killing a child is fairly new. Drummond is the second of two people in Mahoning County to face the death penalty under that section of the law.
The first was Anthony Anderson, who was convicted in 2001 of killing a 21-year-old pregnant woman and her 4-year-old son during a robbery.
"If ever anyone deserved the death penalty, it was him," Franken said.
The jury in that case didn't agree, though, and opted instead to sentence Anderson to life in prison with no chance of parole. Franken said only one juror on that panel held out against the death penalty. A unanimous decision is required to impose it.
Difficulty of drug cases
Franken said prosecutors are generally reluctant to seek the death penalty in drug-related cases because it's difficult to persuade jurors to impose it. He said jurors often are not sympathetic to someone who was killed while participating in a drug deal, so aren't likely to impose the death penalty in such cases.
Lynch's case centers on drugs, but prosecutors sought the death penalty anyway.
"We feel that he qualifies," Franken said. "We're a little leery of drug cases, but he went overboard."
He said the victim, Robert Mahar, bought drugs from Lynch when he passed through Youngstown. He owed Lynch $600 for drugs, for which Lynch threatened to kill him.
Mahar telephoned relatives in New York and asked them to wire-transfer him the money. While they waited for the money to arrive, Lynch bound Mahar with duct tape, tied him to a pole in Lynch's basement and tortured him for several hours, Franken said.
At one point, Mahar broke loose and ran from the house, but Lynch caught him, retaped him and shot him, Franken said. Mahar's body was later found on Atkinson Avenue, where it had been dumped. He still had duct tape on his hands and mouth.
"Death penalty cases are usually horrendous crimes," Franken said.
bjackson@vindy.com