Trial delays

Edward C. Anderson had been in the Mahoning County jail since Aug. 6, 2004, accused of murder in the July 15, 2004, shooting death of his girlfriend, Mary M. Thompson, after a domestic dispute in the residence they shared. The 61-year-old East Philadelphia Avenue man went through several lawyers, complained about jail conditions in letters to a federal judge, and saw his trial continued more than a dozen times. In the midst of his jury trial before Judge James C. Evans, he pleaded guilty March 21 to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter. On March 30, Judge Evans sentenced him to 13 years in prison, with credit for 982 days served in county jail.
David E. Bagnoli has been in jail since July 31, 2004, accused of raping a 6-year-old girl and, as the child told police, showing her "dirty movies about making babies." Bagnoli, 41, of Calloway Circle, Austintown is charged with rape, gross sexual imposition and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles. The trial has been reset 11 times and is now set for June 27 with Judge Maureen A. Cronin presiding.
Donteill Grant, 27, of Youngstown was indicted Jan. 22, 2004, and charged with aggravated murder and robbery. At the time, he was in prison for unrelated crimes but was moved to the Mahoning County Jail on Jan. 30, 2004, and has been there since, said Warden Alki Santamas. Grant is accused in the September 2002 murder of Jefferson Smith Sr., found shot to death in his South Side home. Detectives said they solved the cold case with information they received from a suspect in another homicide in 2004.
A trial had been scheduled to begin Jan. 22 but was continued, for the 10th time, to last Monday. As a jury was about to be selected last Monday in the courtroom of Judge James C. Evans, Grant pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and to the reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter with a gun specification. Authorities attributed the long delay to changes in prosecuting and defense lawyers assigned to the case, missing files and delays in sharing of the prosecution's evidence with the defense in a process known as discovery. Grant will be sentenced at 10 a.m. June 20.
Bobbie Peterson, 53, of Niles was indicted April 14, 2005, on charges of aggravated burglary, kidnapping and seven counts of rape. The accuser was a woman in her late 50s. He was in jail since April 9, 2005, the day of the alleged crimes at the woman's South Side home. The case was assigned to Judge Jack Durkin. The trial was reset 10 times, mostly at the request of the defense. Peterson had four lawyers. Trial was set for Feb. 20, but Peterson reached a plea agreement Feb. 15. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison Feb. 20.
Craig Franklin Jr., 19, of Glenwood Avenue; Jumal Edwards, 23, of Woodcrest Avenue; and Duniek Christian, 22, of North Garland Avenue, are charged with seven counts of felonious assault with firearm specifications because police said the three men fired at them from a car as the officers chased them July 1, 2005 in Youngstown. Court records show 14 continuances for Christian, 12 for Edwards and four for Franklin. As the three were about to be tried together, Judge Evans disqualified the jury March 6 because, during jury selection, a prospective juror told the entire jury panel that one of her relatives died in the May 21, 2005, Atway's Market robbery organized by Franklin, who is serving 25 years to life in prison in that case. Christian has been jailed here since July 2, 2005; and Edwards since Oct. 6, 2006. Because of the court's busy docket and limited availability of all three defense lawyers, the case was reset for trial Aug. 13, more than two years after the incident that spawned the charges.
Timothy A. Overman, 23, of Shetland Lane, Poland, was secretly indicted on a murder charge in June 2005 in the Jan. 20, 2004, shooting death of Jason W. Gasior, Jr. 23, in his Midlothian Boulevard apartment. Police said the shooting likely stemmed from an argument over drugs or money. Overman has been jailed here since June 10, 2005, and his case before Judge Maureen A. Cronin has been continued 11 times, with his trial now set for Aug. 20.