Witness in homicide arrested after chase

By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A material witness in a pending murder trial who a prosecutor said has been dodging police was arrested after a brief chase.
Jessica Hendricks, 23, of North Manchester Avenue, was arraigned Friday via video in municipal court on charges of resisting arrest and obstruction of official business. She sobbed throughout the entire proceeding.
Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. set bond on the charges at $1,500.
Bassil Ally, an assistant prosecutor, told the judge that Hendricks, wanted as a material witness, has been dodging police. He said the warrant, issued by a Mahoning County common pleas judge, orders that Hendricks be held in jail without bond.
Hendricks was spotted Thursday afternoon in the Circle K convenience store parking lot on Mahoning Avenue by Detective Sgts. John Kelty and Brad Blackburn. The detectives recognized Hendricks as a witness in the murder of a homeless man they investigated last May.
What happened
The detectives approached Hendricks in the parking lot and asked her to remain with them until they checked to verify a warrant had been issued for her arrest as a material witness. Instead, Hendricks ran and jumped into a car, and the driver, later identified as David Brown, 26, of Crandall Avenue, pulled away, police said.
The detectives, joined by officers on patrol, pursued the car to Manchester, where Hendricks jumped out and ran to a porch. Blackburn said she struggled and pulled her arms away from him to resist arrest.
Brown was issued traffic citations charging him with driving under suspension and failure to comply with a police order. Police said the license plates on the car were fictitious.
The murder trial pending in common pleas court involves two defendants -- Janero Mitchell, 20, and William A. Williams, 24, both of New York Avenue. Both have been in the Mahoning County jail since last summer. Trial had been set for January; a new trial date is pending the result of a suppression hearing.
Kelty said Friday that Hendricks failed to show twice in court for suppression hearings. He said she stays in jail unless the prosecutor can be assured that she will appear when needed.
The detective said he and Blackburn had gone to Circle K to pick up a DVD of a recent robbery when they saw Hendricks leave the store.
Mitchell and Williams are charged in the May 7, 2005, shooting death of Anthony McBride, 39, who was found on the sidewalk between 810 and 840 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. on the North Side around 12:15 a.m. Hendricks once lived at 810 Martin Luther King Blvd., records show.
Police found McBride lying on his side. Three bullet holes were found in his back and two in his chest, reports show.
A search of the area turned up three 9mm casings, two in the grass and one on the sidewalk.
meade@vindy.com