Intimidation report sparks mistrial

Witnesses were told they would be killed if they testified.
YOUNGSTOWN -- A judge has declared a mistrial in a Mahoning County Common Pleas Court case because of reports of witness intimidation.
Antwon L. Lanier, 22, of Kenneth Avenue is charged with the July 27 felonious assault and aggravated robbery of Elijah J. Jackson, 20, of Magnolia Avenue.
A jury had been seated and opening arguments were to be heard Wednesday morning in Judge John M. Durkin's courtroom. Instead, Judge Durkin said he learned from Gina Arnaut, an assistant county prosecutor, that witnesses had been contacted and told they would be killed if they testified.
Arnaut wasn't sure how to proceed with her opening statement if some witnesses weren't going to testify after all, he said.
Victim becomes ill
Also, the victim showed up for the trial but became sick outside the courtroom, Judge Durkin said. Deputies who escorted Jackson to the restroom asked him if he was "high on drugs." The judge was concerned that jurors who were in the hallway at the time may have overheard the deputies' remarks.
Judge Durkin ordered a mistrial despite the objection of defense lawyer James S. Gentile, who said he wasn't aware of any evidence that Lanier was directly or indirectly responsible for the threats. Witnesses sometimes have second thoughts about testifying once trials begin, he added.
A new jury will be selected beginning Monday.
Jackson told police he was robbed at gunpoint of $20, then shot in the abdomen by Lanier, with whom he had an ongoing feud over a woman.
Previous charges
Lanier was out on $100,000 bond for an aggravated robbery charge from December 2004 when he was arrested in September on these charges. Judge Durkin later revoked Lanier's bond.
Lanier has another trial pending before Judge Durkin on a kidnapping charge. A Warren woman accused Lanier of forcing her from a South Side bar at gunpoint last September, assaulting her and taking $6 from her.