Trial set for 3 held in assault

YOUNGSTOWN -- Bond was continued for three men who face numerous charges in a case in which shots were fired at police last month on the East Side.
Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court arraigned the three men Tuesday from the county jail by video. Each pleaded innocent to all charges, including nine counts of felonious assault.
They are:
U Jumal Edwards, 22, of Woodcrest Avenue, $1 million bond.
U Duniek Christian, 20, of North Garland Avenue, $500,000 bond.
U Brandon C. Jackson, 22, of North Truesdale Avenue, $250,000 bond.
Edwards also is charged with one count of aggravated robbery. Firearm specifications are also included in most of the charges.
The case was assigned to Judge James C. Evans, and trial was set for Sept. 21.
All the charges are first-degree felonies, which carry maximum penalties of 10 years in prison upon conviction.
The firearm specifications carry penalties ranging from three to five years.
By law, those penalties must be served before the time imposed for other convictions.
Police say that on July 1, Edwards came to Mount Zion Baptist Church requesting prayer, saying that his brother had been killed.
He later returned to the church and pointed a handgun at a woman and a girl, demanding the woman's car.
The car later collided with an unmarked police car, and occupants shot at police and ran into woods, police said.
Law enforcement agencies cordoned off several East Side streets, but the suspects escaped. Three men were arrested the next day.