Family maintains convict's innocence

They hope new witnesses will step forward to help with the appeal.
& lt;a href=mailto:bjackson@vindy.com & gt;By BOB JACKSON & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Nearly six months after Michael J. Hogan was convicted in the hit-skip death of an elderly Struthers man, Hogan's family and friends still say he is innocent.
"Michael did not do this," said Hogan's mother, Beverly Hogan. She was among about a dozen people who gathered Monday in front of the Mahoning County Courthouse to call attention to the case because they believe Michael is wrongly imprisoned.
A jury in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court convicted Hogan in October 2003 of murder and aggravated robbery. Hogan, 38, of Boardman, was sentenced to a total of 25 years to life in prison. The conviction and sentence are being appealed.
Authorities said Hogan was the driver of a car that ran over and killed 71-year-old John K. Ruble Sr. at a Boardman recycling site in March 2002. Ruble was trying to get back his wife's purse, which had just been snatched by Hogan.
Atty. James T. Hartford defended Hogan during the trial, and attended the demonstration Monday. He and Hogan's family are hoping that by calling attention to the case, people who witnessed the crime might come forward with new information to help with Hogan's appeal.
"There are other people out there who saw things," Hartford said. "There are other people out there who know things."
Four people who said they witnessed the hit-and-run did testify for Hogan at the trial, but their descriptions of the car and its driver conflicted with each other.
At Hartford's request, the Ohio Public Defender's Office is representing Hogan in the appeal.
Testimony
Beverly Hogan said there was other conflicting testimony in the trial. She said police claimed that a denim belt loop, found stuck in the undercarriage of Hogan's car, was likely ripped from Ruble's shorts when he was run over.
But the medical examiner who conducted Ruble's autopsy said there were no loops missing from Ruble's shorts when he received the body.
Assistant Prosecutor Jay Macejko said the state's case against Hogan was strong enough to convict him, even without the belt loop.
"Simply put, all the evidence pointed to Michael Hogan, and the jury has spoken," Macejko said. "Believe me, there was no mistake here."
& lt;a href=mailto:bjackson@vindy.com & gt;bjackson@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;