Jurors convict man of assault

A harsh sentence should send a message about assaulting officers, a prosecutor says.

By PETER H. MILLIKEN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — After only two hours of deliberations, a jury convicted a 19-year-old Glenwood Avenue man of seven counts of felonious assault on police officers, all with firearm specifications, in a police pursuit more than two years ago on the city’s East Side.

The defendant, Craig Franklin Jr., faces 56 to 105 years in prison when he is sentenced by Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court at 11 a.m. Monday.

“Hopefully, we’ll get a very hard sentence for this young fellow because, you know, you can’t shoot at the police. They’re our last line of defense,” Timothy Franken, chief trial lawyer in the county prosecutor’s office, said after the verdict was rendered Thursday. Franken said he hopes a harsh sentence sends a message to others who might engage in such behavior.

During the four-day trial, seven police officers identified Franklin as a man who shot at them July 1, 2005. But Franklin, who testified in his own defense, denied being present during the chase and said he had no involvement in the crimes.

Franklin fired at police through a fleeing Cadillac’s back window, Franken told the jurors. Three assault rifles allegedly fired at police by the car’s occupants and their magazines lay on the prosecution table during the trial.

Others involved

The other three men prosecutors say were in the Cadillac will be tried separately. They are: Brandon C. Jackson, 23, of Truesdale Avenue, an alleged backseat passenger; Duniek Christian, 22, of North Garland Avenue, the alleged driver; and Jumal Edwards, 23, of Woodcrest Avenue, the alleged front seat passenger.

The chase led to evacuation of the Mahoning County Department of Job and Family Services, then on Garland Avenue, and a six-hour manhunt involving a helicopter, a small plane, search dogs and police from multiple jurisdictions, after police said the suspects fled the Cadillac and ran into a wooded area. There were no injuries. The four suspects were arrested the morning after the chase.

Franklin is already serving 25 years to life in prison for robbery and murder convictions stemming from a May 21, 2005, incident at Atway’s Market on Lexington Avenue.

There, the store owner, acting in self defense, shot and killed Eric Farmer, 15, of St. Louis Avenue, an accomplice of Franklin’s in the robbery. Prosecutors said Franklin knew the store and organized the robbery, so he was responsible for Farmer’s death.