MAHONING COUNTY Witnesses' testimony differs

Three defense witnesses said they saw all or part of what happened.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Sandra Campana of Struthers said she'll never forget seeing an older man being dragged and run over by a speeding, dark-blue car outside a Boardman fire station.
The driver of the car was a white man wearing a baseball cap, she said, noting that it happened sometime after 1 p.m. May 31, 2002.
About that same time, Sarah J. Cassidy of Boardman saw a dark-blue car tearing out of the parking lot of the same fire station onto South Avenue. She was certain the driver was a black man, but didn't see the elderly man being dragged or run over.
Patricia Billet of Youngstown saw the older man get run over in the fire station parking lot, but said the car in question was charcoal gray and was not a Cadillac. She did not see the driver.
Jurors must sort out those details, among other things, once they begin deliberating the fate of Michael Hogan, who is on trial in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on charges of murder and aggravated robbery.
Hogan, 38, of Boardman, is accused of being the driver of a 1987 navy-blue Cadillac Fleetwood that ran over and killed 71-year-old John K. Ruble Sr. of Struthers. Police said Ruble was trying to get back his wife's purse, which had just been stolen from the front seat of their car.
What was happening
The Rubles had gone to the fire station on South Avenue, near Mathews Road, to drop off materials in recycling bins. Campana, Cassidy and Billet were among 10 witnesses presented Wednesday by Hogan's attorney, James T. Hartford. They all said they were driving by the fire station on South Avenue and saw parts of what happened.
Billet insisted that the car she saw was charcoal gray, but under cross-examination by assistant prosecutor Jeffrey Limbian said it could have been Hogan's car.
Limbian showed her a photograph of the car in which it was covered with dust from being in police storage. The dust made the car appear to be gray, Billet said.
Cassidy said the car she saw speeding from the scene was dirty and needed to be waxed but was dark blue. She said the driver's window was open and she could clearly see that the man driving was black.
When Cassidy learned that police had charged Hogan, who is white, she called them and said they had the wrong man.
Other witnesses were called to support Hartford's theory that another man was actually responsible for the crimes.
Testimony was expected to conclude today in the courtroom of Judge James C. Evans. Hartford and Limbian then will make their closing arguments to the jurors, after which deliberation will begin.
bjackson@vindy.com